This chapter from the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land explores desertification, a growing global issue driven by climate change and human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable land use. Drylands, which cover nearly half of the world’s land and support 3 billion people, are increasingly vulnerable to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity. The report highlights how desertification reduces agricultural productivity, worsens food insecurity, and amplifies poverty, particularly in regions like South Asia, the Sahel, and the Middle East. It also examines how desertification feeds back into climate change through dust storms, increased land surface temperatures, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite these challenges, the report outlines solutions, including sustainable land management (SLM), afforestation projects, and policy interventions that promote land restoration and climate resilience. Case studies from around the world illustrate both the risks and the potential for reversing degradation. With climate change projected to intensify desertification, this report provides essential insights for policymakers, researchers, and anyone concerned with environmental sustainability.
Access the full report here: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2022/11/SRCCL_Chapter_3.pdf
This chapter should be cited as: Mirzabaev, A., J. Wu, J. Evans, F. García-Oliva, I.A.G. Hussein, M.H. Iqbal, J. Kimutai, T. Knowles, F. Meza, D. Nedjraoui, F. Tena, M. Türkeş, R.J. Vázquez, M. Weltz, 2019: Desertification. In: Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, E. Calvo Buendia, V. Masson-Delmotte, H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, P. Zhai, R. Slade, S. Connors, R. van Diemen, M. Ferrat, E. Haughey, S. Luz, S. Neogi, M. Pathak, J. Petzold, J. Portugal Pereira, P. Vyas, E. Huntley, K. Kissick, M. Belkacemi, J. Malley, (eds.)]. https://doi. org/10.1017/9781009157988.005