Our misuse and abuse of land and water is changing fertile land into deserts.
But not only developing countries are at risk; almost 1 billion tonnes of soil is lost every year because of erosion resulting from poor land management in Europe alone.
Desertification is one of the biggest environmental problems facing humanity, and has already affected over 40 per cent of the world’s population — 3.2 billion people.
Given that climate change could cause more frequent droughts and that population growth puts more pressure on natural resources, land degradation is an increasing global threat to food security, a contributor to poverty and a barrier to achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
It is clear that desertification is a problem of global proportions, requiring a unified strategy among all countries.
The threat of land degradation is so widely recognised that the UN established the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) nearly 25 years ago, in 1994.
However, Canada rejoined last year, acknowledging the link between desertification and many of Canada’s development priorities.
Why Canada should care Canada has already cooperated on a regional level with other countries to combat drought and minimize the impacts of reduced agricultural productivity, wildfires and water shortages.
And although North America is one of five regions identified by the UN as facing relatively fewer challenges related to land compared to the countries most at risk, the region does face significant water stress challenges.
We must also look to how we manage our water resources to help agriculture adapt to climate change and stop desertification.