Central Asia Threatened With Desertification
Central Asia Threatened With Desertification
In the wake of a United Nations report which found that Central Asia is particularly vulnerable to desertification, NBCentralAsia experts are saying that all the countries in the region urgently need to develop a joint strategy to combat the threat.
A UN study on desertification has found that Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are most vulnerable to desertification, according to a BBC report on June 28.
The report warns that climate change, over-exploitation of land and unsustainable irrigation practices are degrading the soil. As a result, some 50 million people could be displaced in the next ten years.
Desertification affects 100 to 200 million people around the world and is already having a negative impact on social and economic conditions as well as the global ecosystem. The report concludes that decisive political measures must be taken.
Most of Central Asia lies in an arid climatic zone with high temperatures, seasonal droughts and low annual rainfall.
NBCentralAsia analysts agree with the report’s findings, saying that improper land use, deforestation, excessive grazing and poor coordination of water use is putting Central Asia at massive risk.
Academician Seifulla Abdraimov of Kazakstan’s National Academy of Sciences, who founded an institute for researchers into desert issues, says the methods used to combat desertification in Central Asia are too general and often limited to merely monitoring the situation.
“The desert is advancing in Central Asia, changing the environment. In Kazakstan alone, 1.5 million hectares of land is subject to wind erosion, and soon they will turn into desert,” he said.
The Karakum and Kyzylkum, located in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakstan are the region’s largest deserts. Areas near the Aral Sea which suffer from soil salination as well as desertification are at particular risk.
Most people in Central Asia live in rural areas and work in agriculture, and soil degradation is one of the main catalysts for the spread of poverty, according to Muazama Burhanova, who coordinates the NGO network combating desertification in Tajikistan.
“The loss of fertile land due to over-cultivation leads to people becoming alienated from the land and losing their sense of ownership. It also causes migration, rising poverty and social tensions,” said Burhanova.
Experts highlight the need to revive the region’s irrigation systems and adapt them to the threat of desertification.
Kazak environmental management expert Yelemes Tulemisov says disagreements between the Central Asian countries over cross-border water resources stands in the way of large scale tree planting, which is one of the main methods used to fight desertification. Ineffective water management means the saplings do not receive enough water to survive.
Hikmatullo Ahmadov, a leading scientific fellow at the Tajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences, says Central Asia can only tackle the problem if all of the countries work together. Each state should introduce proper land-use methods and regulate grazing while cooperating on farming technology, forestry and water management.
“Soil degradation knows no boundaries,” said Ahmadov. “For example, dust and sand from Afghanistan can destroy cotton crops in Tajikistan. We must therefore work together. One country can do nothing alone.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
A UN study on desertification has found that Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are most vulnerable to desertification, according to a BBC report on June 28.
The report warns that climate change, over-exploitation of land and unsustainable irrigation practices are degrading the soil. As a result, some 50 million people could be displaced in the next ten years.
Desertification affects 100 to 200 million people around the world and is already having a negative impact on social and economic conditions as well as the global ecosystem. The report concludes that decisive political measures must be taken.
Most of Central Asia lies in an arid climatic zone with high temperatures, seasonal droughts and low annual rainfall.
NBCentralAsia analysts agree with the report’s findings, saying that improper land use, deforestation, excessive grazing and poor coordination of water use is putting Central Asia at massive risk.
Academician Seifulla Abdraimov of Kazakstan’s National Academy of Sciences, who founded an institute for researchers into desert issues, says the methods used to combat desertification in Central Asia are too general and often limited to merely monitoring the situation.
“The desert is advancing in Central Asia, changing the environment. In Kazakstan alone, 1.5 million hectares of land is subject to wind erosion, and soon they will turn into desert,” he said.
The Karakum and Kyzylkum, located in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakstan are the region’s largest deserts. Areas near the Aral Sea which suffer from soil salination as well as desertification are at particular risk.
Most people in Central Asia live in rural areas and work in agriculture, and soil degradation is one of the main catalysts for the spread of poverty, according to Muazama Burhanova, who coordinates the NGO network combating desertification in Tajikistan.
“The loss of fertile land due to over-cultivation leads to people becoming alienated from the land and losing their sense of ownership. It also causes migration, rising poverty and social tensions,” said Burhanova.
Experts highlight the need to revive the region’s irrigation systems and adapt them to the threat of desertification.
Kazak environmental management expert Yelemes Tulemisov says disagreements between the Central Asian countries over cross-border water resources stands in the way of large scale tree planting, which is one of the main methods used to fight desertification. Ineffective water management means the saplings do not receive enough water to survive.
Hikmatullo Ahmadov, a leading scientific fellow at the Tajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences, says Central Asia can only tackle the problem if all of the countries work together. Each state should introduce proper land-use methods and regulate grazing while cooperating on farming technology, forestry and water management.
“Soil degradation knows no boundaries,” said Ahmadov. “For example, dust and sand from Afghanistan can destroy cotton crops in Tajikistan. We must therefore work together. One country can do nothing alone.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
