Desertification is one of the biggest

environmental challenges facing the

planet. A process by which fertile land

in dry regions becomes desert due to

changes in the climate and human

activities. According to the United

Nations, over 24 billion tons of fertile

soils disappear every year. Two-thirds of

the earth is today in the process of

becoming desert. If we don't do anything

by 2050 one and a half million square

kilometers of agricultural land will be

lost, an area equivalent to Peru and

Ecuador combined. Indiscriminate logging,

exhaustion of land by intensive farming

and over grazing are the main causes of

desertification. Extreme weather

phenomena, especially droughts, also

reduce arable land to desert land, that

is of vital importance in feeding the

population. This is why desertification

is such a lethal phenomenon for the

planet. It is contributing to the

disappearance of plant and animal

species, causing poverty conflict and the

migration of millions of people across

borders. It also affects the climate through the

formation of hurricanes, flooding and

water pollution, but the good news is

that governments have promised to fight

desertification from now until 2030.

Measures such as reforestation and the

natural fertilization of the land to

reduce evaporation, responsible planning

of grazing, rotation of crops and

protection of soils from wind erosion,

can halt desertification and return the

planet to good health.

ACCIONA
Sustainability for all