Trends in Land Degradation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Dr. Fernando SantibañezCenter on Agriculture and Environment (AGRIMED)

University of Chile

Arusha, Tanzania, 11-15 Dec. 2006

One of the biggest reserves for new cultivable area

The greatest reserve of fresh water in the world

The richest reserve of plant and animal species

One thirth of the forests of the world

Some of the less disturbed biomes in the world

Due to its interaction with Antactic waters, has the highest marine biodiversity

Some facts aboutLatin America and the Caribberan

Emisiones industriales

Debido al cambio de uso de la tierra

Global changes

ErosionOvergrazing

Soil denudation

Mining

Charcoal

Slope cultivation

Human drivers Climate drivers

How climate change is affecting this continent?

Climatic drivers for land degradation

Changes in Minimum temperaturesChanges in Minimum temperaturesin the Western side of Los Andesin the Western side of Los Andes

CHILE

ARGENTINA

Pacific Ocean

ice field

SANTIAGO CITY

Present climatePresent climate (anual (anual ΣΣT-10ºT-10º))

+ 1.8 ºC+ 1.8 ºC

2*CO22*CO2

T Max-Min in Copiapó (Chile)

0

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48

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Tem

per

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re º

C

Winter Chilling hours (Copiapo)

0

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14001948

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Tyear

Ho

urs

Enero Febrero Marzo Abril Mayo Junio

Julio Agosto Septiembre Octubre Noviembre Diciembre

Concepción 1930-2002

1100,0

1180,0

1260,0

1340,0

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Año

Pre

cipi

taci

ón A

nual

(m

m)

(med

ia m

óvil-3

0 añ

os)

year

Annual rainfal

Indice Modificado de Fournier La Serena

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Indice Modificado de Fournier Vicuña

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IFM

Fournier index

year

year

2*CO22*CO2

Warm Amazonian

Temperate

Cold Patagonian steppes

PolarAndean

The most remarcable expected modifications

PrecipitationIncrease

Precipitationdecrease

Higherclimatic variability

How human activity is affecting this continent?

The human drivers

Land use / Human activities

Marginal lands good lands

Poverty intensive agriculture

Unsound practices unsound practices due todue to lack of the lack of environmentaltechnology considerations.

Plan cover removal soil compactionand forest fires salination chemical deterioration flooding slope cultivation overgrazing

soil erosiondecay of soil productivity

AGRI DESERTIafforestationurbanizationminingnatural restoration

The LAC degradation cycle

LS LS M ES

LS M M ES

ES ES ES ES

Warm

Cold

Dry Humid

NE Catinga Chaco

Temperate forest

RainForest

sub antarcticTundra

Dry Pampas

Andeanaltiplano

Atacamadesert

Sclerophylusforest

Patagoniansteppes

H H H H

H H

H HH H

H L

L HH L

H LL L

H LPopulationpressure

Climate changepressure

Present situation of the main LAC Biomes

Guayaquil 1985

Guayaquil 2000

Iguazú 1973

Iguazú 2000

Rondonia 1975

Rondonia 2000

Santa Cruz 1975

Santa Cruz 2000

MONITOR STRUCTURE

EDITOR

DATA BASEMAPPING

TOOLSSTATISTICAL

MODULE

FILTERS

DESERTIFICATIONINDICATORS

DESERTIFICATIONINDICATORS

MAPSSTATISTICALANALYSIS

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACILITYLATIN AMERICAN UNITUNITED NATIONALENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM

TIME MODELS

TIME TRENDS

SIMULATOR MODELS USERS DEFINEDALGORITHMS

THEMATIC LAYERSCHANGE SCENARIOS

POVERTY = INCOME + HEALTH +

EDUCATION

Monitor development

Pilot areas

Mining Slope cultivation

Soil fertility deteriorationUnsound agricultural practices

Inefficient irrigation

Soil exposure to precipitation

Solid deposition

Irrigation with saline water

Contamination

Erosion

SalinationContamination

CompactionLoss of OM

Physicaldestruction

Degree of erosion Degree of salination Level of Pollution Degree of compaction OM contentLoss of agricultural lands

iSoil

UNEP/GEF

Database

Filters

Indicators

Tendencies Standards

Scenarios Projects

Maps

Maps

Histograms Matrices

Maps

x2

EditorMONITORStructure

Biodiversity

Mapas no a escala

Mexico

Brazil

Chile

Clearly, the war against desertification is won or lost at the local level

Fos this, we need to connect actors having diverse capacities.

Research

ActionPolicy

Participation

Major symptoms of desertification in LAC

1. Loss of native vegetation 2. High topsoil erosion rate

3. Declining groundwater tables 4. Salinization of topsoil and water

5. Reduction of surface water

All of these symptoms show negative trends

Slope cultivation

Overgrazing

Habitat fragmentation

Soil erosion

Deforestation

LAC has originally 6.93 millions Km2 of forests, it has been reduced at present to 3.66.

The continent loss near 15.000 Km2 of forest every year

306 millions hectares are moderate or intense degradation

Irrigated lands are about 15 millions hectares, the most part of them show simptoms of soil degradation

20% of physical surface is already degraded …are we waiting for more?

Soils

The region contains 40 per cent of the plant and animal species of the planet.

The biota of all LAC countries are threatened.

Brazil has the second largest number of threatened bird species (103 species) in the world, and Peru and Colombia occupy the fifth place with 64 species each

A third of Chilean vertebrates are threatened

Brazil also has 71 threatened mammal species (the fourth highest in the world).

More than 50 per cent of Argentinean mammals and birds are also threatened.

Areas with large numbers of threatened birds tend also to have large numbers of threatened mammals.

Biodiversity

Will our economies continue to grow based on environmental subsidies?

Will we halt this tendency before a real catastrophe?

Will the agriculture be able to take a relevant role to prevent

future (ecological, energy, water) crisis?

Who will pay for…the crisis….the equilibrium?

Will we have enough capacity to adapt to new planetary situations? (this imply restrictions, opportunities and decision)