World atlas of desertification : mapping land degradation and sustainable land management opportunities : introductory brochure

Exponential increase in human population and changes in consumption patterns have created unprecedented pressure on the Earth's natural resources. These natural resources (land, water, air, etc.), and the ecosystem goods and services derived from them, support the livelihoods of all humans. It is the responsibility of all to manage these resources so that the present generation can fulfil their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. In a rapidly changing world this is an enormous challenge because a multitude of global drivers - including demographic pressures, globalised economies, intensified agriculture, overharvesting of natural products, and climate change - are interacting simultaneously. When this leads to land degradation it poses serious threats to nutrition and food security, water resources, clean air, cultural values, and economic development. To properly address the complicated challenge of land degradation, decision makers, environmental managers and all interested stakeholders need reliable and understandable information. The third edition of the World Atlas of Desertification (WAD) builds on state-of-the-art scientific concepts on land degradation. Given the complexity underlying land degradation, it is not amenable to single global maps that can satisfy all views or needs. Rather, this WAD presents a number of global datasets to identify important, ongoing biophysical and socio-economic processes that, on their own or combined, can lead to unsustainable land use and land degradation. This brochure provides a short overview of these issues. It also provides some examples that reflect global patterns of land degradation to highlight and extract practical principles and methods for developing solutions.