Desertification a quiet phenomenon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Desertification a quiet phenomenon - Essay Example Desertification needs to be addressed by the governments of the world on the grounds of social justice as well.   Many affected and displaced by desertification are among the poorest in the world.   In many cases, they live in societies that are not free and democratic.   In these instances, their livelihoods are threatened by decision made by governments seeking to enrich national leaders at the expense of the poor.   In societies ruled by power and patronage, the most helpless suffer for the unwise decisions of the powerful.   Desertification needs to be addressed by the international community because it is a symptom of other dire societal ills.   Nearly two billion people live in the areas that are in danger of desertification for one reason or another.   Most of these people live in the developing countries.  The geographic locations that are most susceptible to desertification are found in the marginal lands surrounding the world’s great deserts.   Dese rtification usually brings to mind the Sahael region of Africa and the Caspian Basin in Asia.   These are surely the most famous areas of desertification currently recognized in the world, but they are by no means the only areas suffering from this issue.   The geographic expanse of this problem is indeed massive.   Nearly 40% of the landmass on earth has a dry land climate.   This means the areas are already desert.      The mechanism causing the transformation of productive or stable soil into desert can be any of a number of things, but their end result is always the same.