2006, International Year of Deserts, Desertification and Dust

Desertification ranks among the major environmental challenges of the 21st century and is defined by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification as ‘land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities’. Currently, desertification affects a total area between 6 million and 12 million square kilometres and generates large loss of income, estimated at US$42 billion each year. Areas threatened by desertification occupy 34% of the Earth’s land area and are home to about 2 billion people. [...]