THE UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION
Committee: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Topic B: Tackling Land Degradation and Desertification Written by: Daniela Martellotto and Alexandra González I. Committee Background The Food and Agriculture Organization, also known as FAO, has three main goals which are as follows: the eradication of hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management of natural resources. This organization was founded on October 16, 1945 in Quebec City, Canada mostly on account of food shortages and lack of sustainable agriculture. Now, its headquarters are located in Rome, Italy and it is present in 130 countries with regional level offices. The creation of this committee also set a neutral forum where nations negotiate agreements as equals, providing knowledge and information to help developing countries and nations in transition, to modernize and improve certain aspects. The issues that FAO addresses when aiding these nations are agriculture, forestry and fishery practices to ensure nutrition and food security.
II. Topic information A) History of Topic According to World Health Organization, desertification is a form of land degradation by which fertile land becomes a desert. Land degradation and desertification occurs when the ground is negatively affected and therefore unable to provide the goods and services to support an ecosystem. The root of these problems comes from the nutrients in plants being lost. This could be caused by humans or animals eating away plants excessively, or even when the nutrients are diminished due to intensive farming and intensive cropping in places such as the Amazon. Other aspects that affect land degradation are extreme weather conditions such as droughts and harmful human activities that produce contamination and pollution. This has a direct impact on the soil quality as well as on the use of land. In some areas, deserts expand causing the land to degrade and water resources to dry up. Food production is to reduce, the population is obligated to move to more hospitable places, leaving the land useless. The range of impact of land desertification includes various health issues; like the spread of infectious diseases when people begin to migrate, water and food transmitted diseases increase due to the lack of hygiene and availability of clean water, as well as respiratory diseases which are caused by atmospheric dust from the wind erosion and air pollutants.
Land degradation has affected nations worldwide. This problem affects 1.5 billion people globally. Relying on the United Nations, 2.6 billion people depend directly on agriculture, but 52% of the land used for agriculture is moderately or severely affected by soil degradation. This demonstrates how the consequences of reduced land productivity, socio-economic problems, uncertainty in food security, migration, limited development and damaged ecosystems have impacted the world. Desertification and land degradation started because of natural and anthropogenic means in the Mediterranean. There were many powerful changes in the environment until 5000 BCE. Consequently, to the present day, human interactions have been growing. Although the human impact has been growing over time, the repercussions or consequences were not as severe as they are now. Initially, the reasons for land use were agriculture and the keeping of livestock. The consequences of this were land erosion and forest degradation. Due to the fact that land degradation is the result of the human interactions, the problem expanded with the growth of the human population and the greater demands this population placed on the natural resources. Land use is also another major cause of land degradation and desertification. According to the World Resources Institute, the first documented evidence of land degradation was found in Africa s Rift Valley region and around the Tigris and Euphrates river systems in the Middle East. In such places, irrigated land and secondary salinization together with waterlogging has resulted in the decline of fertile soil. To the present day, technological advancement, industrialization of agriculture
and subsidy policies have accelerated the rate of land degradation during the last 50 years in the areas vulnerable to desertification. There is no evidence in the Mediterranean or western Europe that can explain the physical degradation continuing to desertification without human action. According to findings of the Archaeomedes project, land degradation is immediate when physical degradation is in phase with agro-pastoral (crops and livestock) activities. Furthermore, impact breaks the ecosystem, so that minor instability in the physical boundaries bring serious land degradation. In conclusion, the degradation and desertification of land worldwide is occurring due to human interaction. Much needs to be done to ensure safe and eco-friendly land practices that will protect the health and stability of ecosystems worldwide. B) Current Issues New Zealand: New Zealand has been facing problems in land including soil, water and food. Some areas in New Zealand are showing intense land degradation and loss of topsoil due to erosion. There has also been land instability and erosion problems. Ecological fall away has been caused by land degradation, insects and weeds. There is land degradation since the potential of wind erosion has been increasing and causing droughts. The agriculture of the country needs to change and more sustainable practices should be promoted.
Ethiopia: Land degradation is affecting the lives of thousands of people in Ethiopia and it will have a great impact on future generations. In this country, the major cause of land degradation is the rapid population increase, soil loss, deforestation and unbalanced crop and livestock production. When land is not used correctly, it causes desertification and produces the loss of agrobiodiversity. Since the land supplies such as fertilizer and farm machinery are low, the equilibrium that exists between crops, livestock and forest production are disturbed. Several United Nations sponsored projects are researching possible solutions to Ethiopia s land degradation issue. These projects include the Soil Conservation Research Project, the National Soil Service Project and the Land Use Project. Malawi: Land in Malawi has been a very important part in the country s economic growth and development. The main source of employment is in the agricultural and natural resource sectors. Land degradation and desertification is a significant problem that has been greatly affecting Malawi in the past decade. It happens because of the incorrect use of land, the small and large scale farms that are practiced and managed, building and road construction. Traders in forest and wildlife products are a major cause as well. Since there is a lack of coordination on policy between departments who are in charge of protecting and helping to manage land, it has been a challenge for Malawi. However, there are various initiatives to help reduce land degradation and desertification. The United Nations Convention for Combating Desertification (UNCCD), the
Southern Africa Action Programme for Combating Desertification, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), and many more who are supporting Malawi with this problem. Vietnam: Nguyen Ba Ngai, the director of Administration for Forestry in Vietnam, said that Vietnam needs to take stronger action against desertification, defined as the direct consequences of longterm unsustainable land use. According to Vietnam News, Vietnam has 9.3 million hectares that could be categorised as going through a process of desertification, accounting for 28 per cent of the total land. In this nation, land degradation has been happening due to a natural anthropogenic phenomena. Since this country is located in East Asia and is tropical, more than 75% of the country s landmass is mountains and hills. The decreasing of the land s biological productivity happens because of natural soil erosion, landslides, lateralization and acidulation. For the last two decades the economic development and population growth has been rapidly increasing and this has caused a high amount of pressure to be placed on natural resources. Rwanda: Erosion and land degradation have been major cause for the poverty and food insecurity that is found in Rwanda. It has been a significant problem in the southwest of Rwanda. The Gikongoro, Kibuye and higher zones of Cyangugu, Butare and Gitarama have reported 246 tonnes per hectare of soil loss per year, as well as declining land productivity in this territory. In a study conducted by the Rwandan government in 2006, Farmers reported that 56 percent of the fields in Kibuye and 49
percent of the fields in Gikongoro had declined in fertility since they had started cultivating their land. The devastating cause of the degradation is the incrementation of the rural population, which is putting more pressure on already depleted farmland. Kenya: Desertification in Kenya is a major problem that is preventing the country from developing. In Kenya, the major cause of land desertification is the poor use of land. Due to this, the land in this country has been suffering from serious erosion. There is a project in Kenya called School and Dropout Services that has the objective to increase and raise awareness in the community. This means that this project is encouraging people to use natural resources in a sustainable way to lessen the impact of farming and manufacturing on the land. Indonesia: One of the most important areas of tropical forests worldwide is in Indonesia. This country has been affected mostly by land degradation. According to the World Resources Institute, it is estimated that the land in Indonesia has been degraded from 12 to 74 million hectares. The main cause has been mostly focused on farmers using unsustainable cultivation practices. To prevent further harm, Indonesia must reverse its outdated agricultural methods that could only worsen land conditions.
C) UN Action The United Nations has been educating farmers in more sustainable cultivation practices. The UN s goal is to tackle the effects of land degradation and desertification that happens because of erosion. The efforts are mainly focused in Africa and China, which has been able to reverse desertification after five decades of sustainable farming practices. Jan McAlpine, the director of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), said that the Forum s Secretariat is taking part in initiatives like the Global Partnership with Forest Landscape Restoration. This partnership is working on the restoration of the billions of hectares that have been degraded in land across the world. They are also trying to rejuvenate the large tracts of the agricultural and forest lands that have been affected by desertification. According to the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification, which runs from January 2010 to December 2020 to promote action that will protect the drylands. The Decade is an opportunity to make critical changes to secure the long-term ability of drylands to provide value for humanity's well being. III. Conclusion Tackling land desertification is a serious and severe problem that must be solved. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, about 33% of the world s territory is considered desertificated and more than one billion people have been affected by it. Land serves many purposes and so it has a great impact on life around it. Countries need to address this issue because if land continues to be lost to degradation and desertification, it can no longer be used for farming,
leading to a world food crisis. This is why many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability (PAES), Cological Society Ruzgar and Green Asia Network are working to promote consciousness and build environments and lands that are sustainable to use. In conclusion, governments must tackle the issue or land degradation and desertification or face a worldwide crisis that will result in population upheaval, lack of food and clean water and the spread of disease. IV. Essential Questions 1. How is your country affected by land degradation? 2. What is your country doing to combat land degradation? 3. How common is land desertification in your country? 4. What are your country s solutions to eradicate this problem? 5. What is your country s position on this topic? 6. How can countries reverse the effects of land degradation and desertification on their ecosystems? 7. Are there any NGO s in your country that are helping with this problem? If so, which ones and how are they helping? 8. Which farming methods are utilized in your nation? How have these impacted the environment?
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