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Desertification
by Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme
Desertification is a complex phenomenon whose effects are manifested
socially. The hardships suffered by the millions who stay behind
in a land gradually losing all its productivity and the millions
of those who decide to leave their impoverished surroundings to
an even more miserable existence in an urban setting - are the
social manifestations of this malaise.
These marginalized citizens - often women - have little support
and few to care for them. Economically invisible, they do not
appear on the spread-sheets of economists; they may have very
little access to community services, to national programs, even
to the processes of democracy. They may have no security of tenure
on their land or even for the trees they plant.
Programs in the past to control desertification have had limited
success. Those which succeeded did so only in some areas and only
for limited periods. Even small projects which were successful
have seldom been replicable over large areas. The reasons for
our failure are apparent: a palpable lack of political will, inadequate
resources, emphasis on abstract planning rather than on field
action, and neglect of the social dimensions of the problem.
Today, we have the knowledge and technical skills to halt these
destructive trends. But it is political and economic factors,
not scientific research, that will determine whether or not the
wisdom accumulating in our libraries will be put into practice.
Governments must create the conditions of security of tenure and
food security, within which these resilient but marginalized people
can maintain sustainable livelihoods for themselves. If they do
not, more people will suffer and require direct support, millions
will migrate and the pressures and social tensions on the humid
lands and the urban areas around the world will increase. Endless humanitarian relief after each succeeding crisis
that has inevitably occurred is not the answer. It is in the interest
of all of us that Governments act now to help the disadvantaged
help themselves.