The phenomenon of desertification is one of the main environmental challenges of our time. However, most of us have never heard of this issue or do not know the scale of the problem.
Every year, on the 17th of June, the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed. The desertification is an increasingly pressing problem with devastating consequences for development, economic growth and ecosystems across the world. As droughts increase as a result of climate change, desertification is likely to intensify.
Today, drought threatens the livelihoods of more than 1.2 billion people worldwide, who depend on land for most of their needs. In fact, 25 per cent of the Earth's surface, some 3.6 billion hectares, is desertified.
Projections of the incidence of these phenomena are not good: it is estimated that by 2030 water scarcity will cause the displacement of between 24 and 700 million people.
