Desertification
by John Misachi
With rising temperatures and changing climates, higher rates of desertification is becoming a major issue in many parts of the world.
Severe land degradation has affected over 168 countries around the world. The number indicates a significant increase in the number of affected countries from 110 states in the 1990's. The cost of land degradation has also increased significantly to a whopping $490 billion USD per year. The degradation is also wiping out areas three times the size of Switzerland annually. Desertification is impeding development, especially agriculture in most of these countries leading to widespread famine and malnutrition. These countries have to rely on donations from other countries as their land is rendered useless for any meaningful production. Desertification has also played a major part in shaping the human history. Several empires such as Greece and the Roman Empire collapsed because of desertification.