Group members preparing summary: Mark Kochen, Brian Vote, Trevor Dickerson, and Kyle TackettDesertification is defined by the 1992 Earth Summit as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities." Desertification is occurring rapidly in the world´s drylands. Drought is only a part of the desertification process, with the majority of the problem due to human pressures on the land. Desertification is not limited to poor countries. Many developed countries in the world face the same problem. A desert is created when areas of strained land goes through a period of drought, through time these areas spread and merge together to form a desert. Solutions for desertification have initially failed. Today´s approach is the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which has been signed by 110 governments. The Convention plans to change local and international levels of land use through programs. These programs will be sub regional and regional, and should be dealt with a democratic, bottom up approach. The convention programs will also focus on awareness, education, and training in developed and developing countries. The treaty has divided the world into four different regions, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Northern Mediterranean. The treaty requires a decentralized authority, participation from farmers, pastoralists and empowering women.
Somalia has been able to set up the Somali Environmental Protection and Anti-Desertification Organization (SEPADO). They were able to due this because of their decentralized government, SEPADO is a non-governmental organization (NGO). SEPADO website
Dialog Summary:
Some input from dialog seems to indicate that not all deserts are created due to the influence of man and global circulation´s, but instead are created in whole by global circulation. Lake Chad at the edge of the Sahara desert has now shrunk to 10% of its original size compared to earlier in the century. However, this seems to be a part of a natural cycle which occurs every 200 years. Another comment had to deal with the natural deserts of the 30 degree north and south latitudes these do not to be caused by human influence but instead global circulation´s. Two web sites were identified. One describing conditions in the southwest U.S. and one associated with pictures of deserts and ways to protect sandy land.