Degradation of soil: scientists sound the alarm
The degradation of our soil, due to human activities, today harms our well-being. It causes the extinction of species and accentuates climate change. It also contributes to the displacement of populations and the multiplication of conflicts. These are the alarming results of a study released yesterday.
Pollution, deforestation or unsustainable agricultural practices deplete our soils. This is the alarming conclusion of a report published on Monday. The result of the first-ever study of its kind conducted worldwide by a hundred researchers from 45 countries.
"Soil degradation is not an isolated problem: it affects multiple regions and many people around the world. It impairs food production and water quality . When the land is deteriorating, people often migrate because there is no more arable land and therefore a loss of livelihood, " said scientist Robert Watson.
According to specialists, more than 75% of the Earth's surface suffers today - and this could reach more than 90% by 2050 - substantially, the consequences of human activities. © Popsuievych, Shutterstock
At the root of this degradation, humanity will suffer the consequences
Degradation starts with the "transformation of all original vegetation. It can be the conversion of a forest to farmland or a mangrove shrimp farm , " said Robert Watson. And unreasonable land management causes soil degradation by causing pollution, erosion, soil depletion, loss of nutrients and productivity. However, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization , 95% of our food comes directly or indirectly from the land.
There is therefore urgency to act. The report also proposes a number of avenues, such as the implementation of livestock management practices in grazing areas, the restoration of wetlands by drainage , the planting of native species or the remediation of contaminated soils .
We must save the soil
Soil degradation would be "the silent crisis of the world" according to one of the international experts gathered in Iceland. It is largely involved in the release of greenhouse gases and will complicate the task of feeding the nine billion humans who will inhabit the Earth in 2050.
Article by Jean-Luc Goudet , published on 05/09/2007
" By 50 years from now, it will be necessary to produce as much food as during the last 10,000 years . In their preliminary message, the organizers of the International Forum, which brings together 150 world experts from 31 August to 4 September in Selfoss, Iceland, announce the color . Designed for the centenary of the Soil Conservation Service , created in 1907, this forum will address this crucial issue.
Land degradation and desertification , which can be seen all over the world, will soon be an arduous problem to be solved, but which remains today almost ignored. Andres Arnalds, deputy director of the Soil Conservation Service , speaks of a "silent crisis". " The information on soil health around the world is not accurate," he says, " but we know that soils and vegetation are degraded to an alarming level in many countries. Some believe that each year a plant surface the size of Iceland disappears . "
This attack on arable land occurs when it is necessary to prepare the increase in agricultural production essential in the short term to feed the three billion additional men expected in fifty years. " Soil degradation has a devastating effect on food production, " says Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Forum Manager.
In red on this map, the arid areas on our planet. © USDA, Wikipedia, Public Domain
From the protection of the earth to that of the Earth
But other consequences are already being felt, on water resources and climate . " Soil and vegetation cover the water and release it gradually ," says Zafar Adeel, Director of the Department of Water, Environment and Health at the UN International University. Where vegetation is shrinking, the resistance of ecosystems to other aggressions is also decreasing. The effect on the climate is also known. Soil degradation and desertification would contribute about 30% to the increase in greenhouse gases by reducing uptake by vegetation.
Last June, a UN report, written by 200 international experts led by Hans van Ginkel, rector of the United Nations University, was already sounding the alarm. Unfortunately, this summary was relatively unnoticed and indicated that two billion people, one in three, already suffered from at least one of the consequences of land degradation. Zafar Adeel, who was one of the authors of this report, said at the time that " political powers and public decision-makers do not measure the seriousness of the situation ".
Yet solutions exist. The UN report made the list, from a brake on deforestation to help countries and populations in desert areas. Soil protection would have a very effective impact on the well-being of a large number of people, on agricultural production and on the fight against the greenhouse effect.
To convey this message, the experts want to take advantage of their meeting in Iceland and, in particular, call for the establishment of an international year of soil protection.
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