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Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts. It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world's land area, are extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation and inappropriate land use. Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing, and bad irrigation practices can all undermine the land's productivity. Over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification. Combating desertification is essential to ensuring the long-term productivity of inhabited drylands. Unfortunately, past efforts have too often failed, and around the world the problem of land degradation continues to worsen. Recognizing the need for a fresh approach, 179 governments have joined as of March 2002, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This Convention aims to promote effective action through innovative local programmes and supportive international partnerships. The treaty acknowledges that the struggle to protect drylands will be a long one - there will be no quick fix. This is because the causes of desertification are many and complex, ranging from international trade patterns to unsustainable land management practices. Real and difficult changes will have to be made, both at the international and the local levels. Countries affected by desertification are implementing the Convention by developing and carrying out national, sub-regional, and regional action programmes. Criteria for 'preparing these programmes are detailed in the treaty's - five "regional implementation annexes": Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Central and Eastern Europe and the Northern Mediterranean area (i.e., the Annex IV countries). The DesertWatch project focuses on the latter. In this context, the DesertWatch project addresses the information needs of the national and local authorities of the Annex IV countries of the UNCCD. In particular, the project has been prepared in close collaboration with the national authorities of Italy, Greece, Portugal and Turkey. ESA funds the project with 1,000,000 Euros within the context of the Data User Element of the Earth Observation Envelope programme. |
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