United Nations Radio

Land degradation is intensifying in many parts of the world.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization- FAO says the data indicate that despite the stated determination of more than 190 countries that ratified the United Nations Conference to Combat Desertification in 1994, land degradation is worsening rather than improving.

Defined as a long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, land degradation is increasing in severity and extent in many parts of the world, with more than 20 percent of all cultivated areas, 30 percent of forests and 10 percent of grasslands undergoing degradation.

The Director of FAO's Land and Water Division Parviz Koohafkan says "land degradation also has important implications for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as the loss of biomass and soil organic matter releases carbon into the atmosphere and affects the quality of soil and its ability to hold water and nutrients."

An estimated 1.5 billion people, or a quarter of the world's population, depend directly on land that is being degraded.

The consequences of land degradation include reduced productivity, migration, food insecurity, damage to basic resources and ecosystems, and loss of biodiversity through changes to habitats at both species and genetic levels.

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

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