PREPARED BYBOHRA SHAHEEN .S.

WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT

MONTHLY CONTRACTOR MEETING

Environment Awareness Session

26th July 2016

In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 17 the "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" to promote public awareness of the issue, and the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification.

WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT

The World Day to Combat Desertification is a unique occasion to remind everybody that desertification can be effectively tackled, that solutions are possible, and that key tools to this aim lay in strengthened community participation and co-operation at all levels.

DESERTIFICATION

• Desertification is the result of a cycle of land degradation, turning once fertile soils into sterile land as a consequence of over-exploitation by intensive farming, forest exploitation for fuel and timber, and overgrazing. Thus, desertification does not refer specifically to desert areas, nor to arid lands but to the consequences of over-use of the Earth’s resources.

• From the food we eat, to the clothes we wear and the houses we live – it all stems from land resources.

• Desertification is a global phenomenon, affecting the livelihoods of 900 million people across the five continents and representing a third of worldwide threats to biodiversity. It requires global attention.

Causes of Desertification

Combating Desertification• When desertified lands stretch as far as

the eye can see, the situation may appear hopeless, but in many cases, recovery is still possible.

• This year’s World Day to Combat Desertification advocates for the importance of inclusive cooperation to restore and rehabilitate degraded land

Protect Earth. Restore Land. Engage People

Combating Desertification• Plantation – An Efficient Way to Combat Desertification.

• Here Plantation means in a broader sense to not to just plant trees but also, carry out plantation with proper management of resources and a technical knowhow keeping in mind the aim to restore the land.

COMBATING DESERTIFICATION

Agroforestry – A major breakthrough against Desertification

Agroforestry  is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops. Following are its benefits:

• Restoring the soil fertility for food crops

• Reduced nutrient and soil runoff

• Countering global warming

• More diverse farm outputs, improved human nutrition - Multifunctional site use

• Typically more drought resistant.

• Stabilizes depleted soils from erosion

• Bioremediation

• Increased crop stability

Crop RotationCrop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar or different types of crops in the same area in sequenced seasons.

Benefits:•Increased crop yield

•Nitrogen Fixation

•Pest control

•Improvement in soil health

•Preventing soil erosion

•Resources conservation – less nutrients and water needed, less ploughing required.

•Risk management - Different crops can reduce the risks of adverse weather

• Reduction in Global Warming by using CO2

• Provide Habitat for birds and species

• Provide Rains

• Provide Shade

• Release Oxygen that we breathe

Other Benefits of Plantation

ACHIEVEMENTS IN COMBATING DESERTIFICATION

Globally Recognized Achievement

PLANTATION PROJECTS IN KOC

Together we can and we will,

make a difference

Combating Desertification

THANK YOU ! ! !Let us join hands to Combat Desertification and Let us join hands to Combat Desertification and

Protect EnvironmentProtect Environment