8
Land Degradation and Desertification
Basher A. Nwer, Hamdi A. Zurqani, and Azalarib S. Ali
Abstract
Desertification and land degradation represent a major
threat to agricultural sustainable development. It puts the
livelihoods of billions of people around the world at risk
in arid and semi-arid regions. This is especially the case
for people living in rural areas where the majority of the
poor live in rural areas. Human pressures and climate
variations are the main causes of land degradation and
desertification. It occurs because drylands ecosystems are
extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation and inappropriate land use that resulted in underdevelopment of
economies and in entranced poverty among the affected
population. Libya is no different from other parts of arid
and semi-arid zones in terms of the climatic conditions
and human activities as the main reasons behind land
degradation and desertification. However, many human
factors are contributing to the deterioration of environmental conditions and the occurrence of desertification in
Libya. This chapter discusses land degradation and
desertification in Libya, emphasizing the main causes,
impacts of the phenomena, and efforts to combat it.
Keywords
Libya Á Mediterranean region Á Population Á Sahara
desert Á Soil resources Á Soil erosions Á Salinization
8.1 Introduction
Land degradation and desertification are among the most
serious global, regional, and local environmental issues
(UNEP 1997). Nowadays, desertification is considered to be
one of the greatest environmental challenges. It constitutes a
major difficulty in meeting basic human needs and sustainable agriculture development in semi-arid and arid lands. It
has severe consequences on many living aspects such as
food security, economic activity, infrastructure, human
health, natural resources, and the environment. The direct
effect of land degradation varies from the reduction in land
productivity or the complete abandonment of agricultural
land. The desertification leads to agricultural productivity
losses and increases poverty. This could cause a food crisis
facing wide areas in arid regions.
Land degradation puts the livelihoods of billions of
people around the world at risk (IPBES 2018). Over 250
million people are directly affected by desertification and
one billion people in over 100 countries are at risk. This is
especially the case for people living in rural areas where the
majority of them are poor. Estimates report that 80% of the
extremely poor live in rural areas and 65% work in the
agricultural sector (Castaneda et al. 2018).
Desertification is recognized as a complex phenomenon
that requires researchers’ expertise in disciplines such as
climate science, soil science, meteorology, hydrology, range
science, agronomy, veterinary medicine, geography, political science, and economics. Researchers in these and other
disciplines, as well as many national disciplines, have
defined it in many different ways. As a result, there were a
number of definitions for desertification; for instance, at the
1992 Rio Conference it was defined as degradation of sensitive drylands resulting from several factors, including climate variations and human activities. The United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has
defined desertification as “land degradation in arid, semi-arid
B. A. Nwer Á H. A. Zurqani (&) Á A. S. Ali
Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil and Water Sciences,
University of Tripoli, Tripoli, 13538, Libya
e-mail: h.zurqani@uot.edu.ly
B. A. Nwer
e-mail: bashir.nwer@yahoo.com
A. S. Ali
e-mail: az_alarib@yahoo.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
H. A. Zurqani (ed.), The Soils of Libya, World Soils Book Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66368-1_8
119
Land Degradation and Desertification
Basher A. Nwer, Hamdi A. Zurqani, and Azalarib S. Ali
Abstract
Desertification and land degradation represent a major
threat to agricultural sustainable development. It puts the
livelihoods of billions of people around the world at risk
in arid and semi-arid regions. This is especially the case
for people living in rural areas where the majority of the
poor live in rural areas. Human pressures and climate
variations are the main causes of land degradation and
desertification. It occurs because drylands ecosystems are
extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation and inappropriate land use that resulted in underdevelopment of
economies and in entranced poverty among the affected
population. Libya is no different from other parts of arid
and semi-arid zones in terms of the climatic conditions
and human activities as the main reasons behind land
degradation and desertification. However, many human
factors are contributing to the deterioration of environmental conditions and the occurrence of desertification in
Libya. This chapter discusses land degradation and
desertification in Libya, emphasizing the main causes,
impacts of the phenomena, and efforts to combat it.
Keywords
Libya Á Mediterranean region Á Population Á Sahara
desert Á Soil resources Á Soil erosions Á Salinization
8.1 Introduction
Land degradation and desertification are among the most
serious global, regional, and local environmental issues
(UNEP 1997). Nowadays, desertification is considered to be
one of the greatest environmental challenges. It constitutes a
major difficulty in meeting basic human needs and sustainable agriculture development in semi-arid and arid lands. It
has severe consequences on many living aspects such as
food security, economic activity, infrastructure, human
health, natural resources, and the environment. The direct
effect of land degradation varies from the reduction in land
productivity or the complete abandonment of agricultural
land. The desertification leads to agricultural productivity
losses and increases poverty. This could cause a food crisis
facing wide areas in arid regions.
Land degradation puts the livelihoods of billions of
people around the world at risk (IPBES 2018). Over 250
million people are directly affected by desertification and
one billion people in over 100 countries are at risk. This is
especially the case for people living in rural areas where the
majority of them are poor. Estimates report that 80% of the
extremely poor live in rural areas and 65% work in the
agricultural sector (Castaneda et al. 2018).
Desertification is recognized as a complex phenomenon
that requires researchers’ expertise in disciplines such as
climate science, soil science, meteorology, hydrology, range
science, agronomy, veterinary medicine, geography, political science, and economics. Researchers in these and other
disciplines, as well as many national disciplines, have
defined it in many different ways. As a result, there were a
number of definitions for desertification; for instance, at the
1992 Rio Conference it was defined as degradation of sensitive drylands resulting from several factors, including climate variations and human activities. The United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has
defined desertification as “land degradation in arid, semi-arid
B. A. Nwer Á H. A. Zurqani (&) Á A. S. Ali
Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil and Water Sciences,
University of Tripoli, Tripoli, 13538, Libya
e-mail: h.zurqani@uot.edu.ly
B. A. Nwer
e-mail: bashir.nwer@yahoo.com
A. S. Ali
e-mail: az_alarib@yahoo.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
H. A. Zurqani (ed.), The Soils of Libya, World Soils Book Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66368-1_8
119