Desertification is not just an ecological issue but also one of shrinking food and water supplies, a loss of jobs and mass migration.
Currently, some two billion people are affected by desertification and the degradation of land and 41 per cent of the landmass worldwide is prone to desertification.

Impact of climate change on desertification:-

1. Expansion of deserts leading to humanitarian and economic consequences:- The Sahara, which is already the biggest desert in the world, is getting bigger and expanding to what was once an arable land, says a study. The desert has expanded significantly in the 20th century, by 11–18 per cent  As temperatures rise across the globe and weather patters are thrown in turmoil, this kind of an expansion of extremely dry landscapes will not just be limited to the Sahara.
2. Expansion of dry lands is now being increasingly linked to Intensification of Hadley cell. Scientists fear that Climate change may widen the Hadley cell and lead to northward expansion of subtropical deserts.
3. The impact of desertification is intensifying due to climate change, which is reducing the
4. availability of freshwater, fertile soil, and forest and vegetatio As the degraded land loses value, investments in agriculture and rural development decline even more
5. Hundreds of thousands of hectares in the arid and semi-arid regions and drylands around the world are becoming sand dunes every year.This means fewer and fewer hectares are available for agriculture, livestock rearing and allied activities that offer livelihood sources to hundreds of millions of world population, especially the poor.
6. Due to climate change desertification cuts on the availability of food and water even as the global population is increasing. It also causes disasters such as sandstorms which wipe out large swathes of habitable lands. Aquifers vanish and biodiversity is greatly reduced.

Way forward:-

Setting up of an Intergovernmental Panel on Land and Soil will be very helpful in speeding up efforts to check desertification.
Developing countries need to integrate their poverty eradication programmes with strategies to fight desertification.

Lessons from the world:-

• In Africa, several countries have come together to form a 12,000 sq.km “great green wall” extending from Senegal to Djibouti with the participation of local communities.
• People’s participation is crucial in reclaiming lands. China’s “great green wall” project is on a massive scale and is now starting to show results.

The techniques include agro-forestry and farmer-managed natural regeneration. Small community initiatives like

• Closure of degraded lands for grazing
• Curtailing farming
• Growing fast-growing plants
• Raising tall trees that serve as a barrier against winds and sandstorms are very effective.

National governments could consider building large green belts, prioritise forestry programmes and launch projects of fixing and stabilising sands.

Conclusion:-

Both desertification and climate change are mutually inclusive so a comprehensive sustainable developmental approach is needed by the countries.