One of the greatest environmental challenges that the world is facing today is desertification and it is getting worse because of climate change. Discuss.

India hosted 14^th COP to UN Convention on Desertification which brought to light concerns & challenges around desertification.

Nearly 30% of India’s land is undergoing desertification.

Desertification: An environmental challenge:

• Loss of biodiversity – biodiversity is always supported by land, e.g. Himalayan biodiversity is eroding due to desertification.
• Reduced ground water recharge due to tree cover loss. It will aggravate the water scarcity.
• Greater vulnerability to natural disasters, e.g. Mangrove loss reduces the buffer against cyclones and tsunami.
• Other challenges such as food security, livelihood losses for farmers & nomads, etc.

Climate Change: Exacerbating Desertification:

• Increased frequency of droughts and floods, e.g. Central & Western India becoming dryer.
• Enhanced frequency of natural disasters, e.g. last decade witnessed most number of severe cyclones in coastal region.
• Wildfires risk increasing, e.g. Australian bushfire due to a dryer year.
• Ocean warming & changed wind patterns are causing dry winds in some regions and wetter in other regions, causing destruction of natural biodiversity.

Way Forward:

• Climate resilient planning approaches, e.g. NAPCC (National Action Plan on Climate Change).
• Enhanced impetus to reforestation via locally suited trees.
• Fulfil commitments to UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification).

India’s commitment to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 via planting trees is a step in right direction.