Why Desertification
May 13, 2008
Early pastorals along with their small groups of domestic animals used to move from one place to another in search of food and water. Such regular live stock movements prevented overgrazing of the fragile plant cover. Shepherds living in northern mountain of Pakistan (called Gujjars) and those living in Cholistan or Thar still move from one place to another. Beyond their movements, overgrazing is another foremost cause of desertification in different parts of the country.
Increasing human population and poverty contribute to desertification as poor people are forced to overuse their environment in the short term, without the awareness or affordability to cater for the long-term effects of their actions. In Pakistan, the consumption of fuel wood and timber is a major practice that contributes to deforestations, which in turn accelerates desertification.
Loss of productivity increases poverty, loss of biodiversity and forces internal and or cross-border migrations of people and wildlife. The reduction in plant cover that accompanies desertification also affects domestic animals, agricultural crops, and speeds up soil erosion by wind and water.
As vegetation cover and soil layer are reduced, rain drop impact and run-off increases. Water is lost off the land instead of soaking into the soil to provide moisture for plants. Even long-lived plants that would normally survive droughts die. A reduction in plant cover also results in a reduction in the quantity of plant nutrients in the soil, and plant production drops further. As protective plant cover disappears, floods become more frequent and more severe. Desertification is self-reinforcing experience. Once the process starts, conditions are set for continual deterioration.
posted by Shirazi @ 2:11 PM,
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