Concerted Efforts Needed to Curb Land Erosion and Desertification

Human activity and climate change are putting severe pressure on dry regions across the world, creating drought and desertification. Many Commonwealth governments, particularly in Africa, are concerned about the consequences.

In a 17 June 2006 message on International Desertification Day, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon pointed out that global warming could cause Africa to face water shortages by up to a quarter of its current needs by the end of this century, according to research. He cited the case of Lake Chad -- shared by Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria - which has shrunk to a quarter the size it once was. 

"Drought represents a real threat to food, economic and even political security, both within and alongside the areas affected," said Mr McKinnon. "Commonwealth countries in East and Southern Africa are now struggling with severe drought. In northern Nigeria, where some 350,000 hectares of land are lost yearly to desertification, 35 million people are caught in the vicious circle of increased population and demand for animal products, which has led to land being overgrazed and made unusable."

The Secretary-General noted that other Commonwealth countries also face this problem: one-tenth of India's land surface suffers from the threat of desertification. In Australia, vast fields of crops have been destroyed by drought, leading to lower exports and higher food prices. Parts of Canada's 'breadbasket' prairie are also being lost to desert. The UK is currently facing water-use restrictions in some areas as a result of low rainfall.

Mr McKinnon said unsustainable agricultural practices such as over-mechanisation of farming and the misuse of agricultural chemicals have caused the degradation of habitats. These need to be replaced by more sustainable practices like growing a wider range of new crops, and developing agro-processing and biotechnology enterprises.

The Secretary-General pointed out that the Commonwealth Secretariat is working with international organisations including the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation to support and train the staff of small and medium-sized enterprises involved in agricultural production and agro-processing. He said the Secretariat has also organised regional ministerial meetings on land policy in the Pacific, Asia, Africa and Caribbean regions.

"Sound land policy is vital to the fight against poverty: it deals with issues of tenure and ownership, of modernising agriculture, of devolving land management and helping communities and districts to make better use of their resources, and increasing the incomes of the rural poor," stated Mr McKinnon.

He stressed that improving other income-earning opportunities in rural areas through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) will reduce the pressure on the land. Moreover, the application of ICTs to agriculture will enable farmers to access information on best farming practices, pricing and markets.

Mr McKinnon called for concerted action to tackle drought and desertification, the solving of which is expressly linked with wiping out poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goals. He stated that the Commonwealth has been focusing on combating land degradation and emphasised the need for greater commitment and co-operation among governments and other organisations to reverse land erosions that cause desertification. Promoting environmentally sound and socially sustainable economic development is the way, he said.

CNIS - Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 290, 21 June 2006