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Mapping and Monitoring Methods
Published in Ajai, Rimjhim Bhatnagar, Desertification and Land Degradation, 2022
Towards the development of Desertification/Land Degradation Status Map (DSM) for India and also to fulfil India's commitment towards the preparation of regional DSM under Thematic Program Network-1 of UNCCD, the nationwide mapping was done at 1:500,000 scale by Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad (Ajai et al., 2007, 2009). Remote sensing and GIS have been used to produce desertification status map that is intended for use at the national level for making an assessment and planning for combating desertification. The study employed multi-season satellite data (IRS-Resourcesat AWiFS) that has been analysed to delineate the extent of various types of land degradation/desertification and their severity. This was the first-ever effort towards mapping land degradation processes at national level using multi-temporal satellite data. DSM gave information on various land degradation processes and their severity. The national classification system for DSM consists of three levels, where Level 1 comprises land use classes, Level 2 describes the land degradation process and Level 3 deals with the severity of degradations. The flowchart of the methodology is shown in Figure 9.13. Here, base maps are prepared using the Survey of India topographical maps on 1:250,000 scale.
Water into the 1990’s: The Problems of the Desert Biome
Published in J. Rose, Water and the Environment, 2017
John Leonard Cloudsley-Thompson
Although the major deserts of the world are undoubtedly caused by low rainfall, the paradox remains that, in general, desert expansion is not always the consequence of drought. It is now generally accepted that the main causes of desertification are overgrazing and trampling of the soil by domestic stock (Figures 1 and 2), the felling of trees for fuel, and bad agricultural practices which are often forced on desert peoples by necessity.1,2 During the past half century, the Sahara has engulfed some 650,000 km2 of arable land, vast areas of India have been overrun by the Thar Desert (Figure 3) and the Atacama has swallowed thousands of km2 in northern Chile and Peru. Similar disaster have befallen large areas of the United States (Figure 4) and Mexico, the Middle East, Venezuela, Argentina, southern Africa, Siberia, China and New Zealand.3,4
The UN, global governance and the SDGs
Published in Raimund Bleischwitz, Holger Hoff, Catalina Spataru, Ester van der Voet, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Routledge Handbook of the Resource Nexus, 2017
Maria Ivanova, Natalia Escobar-Pemberthy
Through the UN Convention to Combat Desertification governments acknowledged the connection between environment and sustainable land management and established a partnership to reverse and prevent desertification and land degradation, and to mitigate the effects of drought in affected areas (United Nations, 1994). Under this framework, the UN proclaimed the year 2006 as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification to highlight the threat of desertification and its implications for biodiversity loss. The problems persist and the 2010–2020 decade was named the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification (Figure 32.1). The UN entities leading the work on land during the decade include UNCCD, IFAD, UNEP, UNDP and the Department of Public Information (DPI). In 2015, the convention established a Global Mechanism to support countries in achieving specific targets, defining national baselines, and making progress in land degradation neutrality.
Reversing deforestation in a time of changing climate: implications for water management
Published in Water International, 2023
Gauravjeet Singh, Mihretab G. Tedla, Oscar Alvarado
Climate change has not only increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, but also has disrupted the water cycle, groundwater recharge and overall water management. Irrefutable evidence has prompted world leaders to initiate action against climate change at the global, regional and national levels. Large-scale tree plantation campaigns are being organized in different parts of the world. These initiatives have the potential to create inspiration among communities because most of the tree plantation is done by the community. Moreover, afforestation is seen as a tool for controlling desertification, restoring degraded land and reducing poverty. Some studies have shown that large-scale afforestation programmes do not benefit the environment as much as claimed and it is difficult to control the complex interaction with the local climate. China has invested extensively in some of the world’s largest afforestation programmes. However, in the period 2000–15, the conversion of farmland to tree monoculture resulted in a net loss to biodiversity in native forests in China (Hua et al., 2018). In Japan, after the Second World War, extensive plantation with only two species by 1985 resulted in the conversion of more than 44% of the country’s total forest to a two-species forest, the fast-growing evergreen hinoki (Japanese cypress) and sugi (Japanese cedar) (Saito, 2009).
Dynamic evolution of spring sand and dust storms and cross-border response in Mongolian plateau from 2000 to 2021
Published in International Journal of Digital Earth, 2023
Yu Zhang, Juanle Wang, Altansukh Ochir, Sonomdagva Chonokhuu, Chuluun Togtokh
Strengthen the construction of a coping mechanism related to cross-border dust weather in China, Mongolia, Japan, and Korea. A joint monitoring and cooperative research project for land desertification and dust weather should be established to improve the emergency response capacity for regional SDSs and related ecological issues. Examples include a joint monitoring system, a joint sandstorm simulation and visualisation system, and online land degradation and dust weather monitoring platforms. Since 2007, the Chinese Academy of Sciences has performed cooperative studies pertaining to desertification control and gained experience in desertification control through local studies (Dong 2010). In February 2022, the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Mongolia issued a joint statement, which clearly stated that the two countries should strengthen their cooperation for the ecological environment and desertification control, jointly manage global climate changes, and create a clean and pleasant ecological environment. In November 2022, leaders of the Chinese and Mongolian governments proposed to discuss the establishment of a China – Mongolia Desertification Control Cooperation Center (http://www.forestry.gov.cn/main/586/20221223/081117780672009.html). Recently, the Chinese government issued the National Plan for Desertification Prevention and Control (2021–2030), which prioritises prevention such that the classified protection of desertified land can be realised. (https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21372372?commTag = actual). Meanwhile, Mongolia and South Korea co-funded the Korea – Mongolia Greenbelt Project in 2005 (Mu¨hlenberg et al. 2006), which is intended to extend 250 km east – west across the countries, with a width of at least 600 m.
Desertification detection model in Naiman Banner based on the albedo-modified soil adjusted vegetation index feature space using the Landsat8 OLI images
Published in Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 2020
Ye Wen, Bing Guo, Wenqian Zang, Dazhuan Ge, Wei Luo, Huihui Zhao
Desertification, which is a major type of land degradation in arid and semi-arid zones, is considered to be a problem related to global change (Chang et al. 2014; Binal et al. 2018; Ya et al. 2018). Desertification is a land degradation process that is characterized by wind and sand activities and is caused by the comprehensive influence of human activities, climate change, and some other factors (Chen et al. 2019; Guo, Yang, Fan, et al. 2019; Guo et al. 2020).