Synergy Of Scientists, Research And Policies Needed To Combat Desertification.

Humans have come a long way since the prehistoric times. Through thousands of years of evolution we are now in the age which we term as the Modern world. Things have changed, life has become easier, and the world has become one Global village. However, there are some changes that are happening that are not at all favorable for residents of the only habitable planet in the solar system. 

One such change that is fast happening is desertification. It is not just the rising sea levels that we need to worry about but this is one term that we need to get acquainted with. Desertification is the process where the land gets drier and becomes extremely deteriorated as a result of various human activities like overgrazing, extraction of excess water from aquifers, rerouting water from its natural sources to cities, towns and industrial sites to meet the requirements of the ever growing population and added to that climate change, inadequate rainfall etc. Desertification is a devastating process in many ways as it leads to loss of biodiversity at a rapid pace as the flora and fauna dependent on the depleting water sources die out of move to different areas. Once the land turns into desert it becomes non-productive as no farming can be done. Unfortunately a recent analysis of the global desertification threat has revealed that 38% of surfaces around the world are vulnerable and can turn into deserts.
The scarier picture is that India a country that heavily depends on its agriculture is at risk as more than a quarter of the country is turning into desert. As per reports from ISRO the satellite images show that about 32% of India's land is affected by degradation of which desertification is a major component.
“Earlier, soil loss was a slow process which took millions of years. Now, we have managed to change that in just a few decades, but the natural time for the soil to regain what it loses is still as long. So we must take up stalling of degradation on priority”, says CP Rajendran, a senior scientist at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR)
However, with the right intent and endeavor this process cannot just be slowed but also restored. There needs to be a synergy between scientists, government along with the farming communities. Research, and restore initiatives and government policies need to be focused so that they involve he farmers specifically as their livelihoods and communities need to be addressed in order to tackle this encroaching menace.

By: Madhuchanda Saxena
Content: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/research-can-play-a-crucial-role-in-combating-desertification-experts-66481