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Interesting desert facts
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Hectares desert growth
Globally, this year
The world’s deserts grow about 120,000...
square kilometers annually. According to the United Nations, desertification is potentially the most threatening ecosystem change impacting livelihoods of the poor. See more disturbing and interesting desert facts below.
Top 5 facts about growth of the world's deserts
1
The world's deserts are growing
Drought has been labelled “the silent killer”. Each year, an area of fertile soil the size New Mexico or Poland is swallowed by desserts and made useless for farming. Often in areas where people already are starving.
2
Desert growth is bad
In Africa alone, 36 countries are affected by desertification or land degradation. Some estimate that 75 percent of the entire continent’s farmland is rapidly losing the basic nutrients needed to grow crops.
3
We are responsible for it
The main reasons why deserts are growing are climate change and human activities such as too intensive farming, poor irrigation and clearing of forests. Today, growing deserts are threatening an area larger than the combined area of the US, India, China and Russia (40 million square kilometers).
4
What about the future?
It will be a huge challenge to secure food for everyone when our lands for farming are degrading, or disappearing, and the world's population is growing by 200,000 people every day…
5
We can reverse the development !
Think about this: every year we lose about 42 billion US dollars worth of agricultural products because of desertification and drought. Taking action to prevent this loss would only cost 2.4 billion US dollars per year.
Growth of the world's deserts
The world’s deserts grow about 120,000 square kilometers annually. According to the United Nations, desertification is potentially the most threatening ecosystem change impacting livelihoods of the poor.
- Global Footprint Network Annual report 2007
- United Nations Millenium Assessment: Ecosystems and Human Well-being - Desertification Synthesis, p4
The world's deserts are growing
Desert growth is bad
We are responsible for it
What about the future?
We can reverse the development !
MORE FACTS
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Hectares of forests cut down or burned
Globally, this yearloading...
Hectares of replanted forests
Globally, this yearloading...
Certified forest-friendly products' share
Of globals salesloading...
Cubic meters of wood produced
Globally, this yearloading...
Number of species gone extinct
So far this yearloading...
Percent of wild forests left
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