Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
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wind and water erosion of soils
applied contributions here. In addition,
geographers have only a minor voice in the
formulation of national action plans. This is
particularly so in desertification-prone countries
in the developing world, with the exception of
some of the Central Asian republics, India and
some countries in southern Africa. This situation
is partly historical and relates to which (European)
model of geographical investigation has been
adopted in a particular country. It has also arisen
because of inadequate investment in universities
and research institutes in developing countries.
This has, for instance, reduced the opportunities
for geographers to develop skills in key areas such
as remote sensing and GIS, which are critical
selling points of the discipline in the development
work carried out in such countries.
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monitoring vegetation dynamics using
remotely sensed data
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land cover and land degradation monitoring
using remotely sensed data
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biofuel production systems
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agricultural production systems, in particular
rain-fed cultivation systems
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drought climatology and related (surface)
water resource issues
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population-environment relations
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development studies, especially with reference
to gender and poverty.
In some of these specialist areas geographers are
active globally, e.g. soil erosion. In other areas, rates
of research activity among geographers are high
in some countries but low in others with equally
large numbers of geographers. A case in point is
drought climatology, which is an important
research area among US geographers but is less so
in the UK. This is partly due to the greater
relevance of drought climatology over much of
North America but is also an outcome of the
relationships of geographical sub-disciplines and
allied disciplines, in this case climatology and
meteorology, in different countries.
The main role of geographers in 'desertification
studies' since 1977, and that which will be carried
out in response to the CCD, will be in:
GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
Beaumont, P. (1989)
Drylands. Environmental
Management and Development.
London: Routledge.
Written from a geographical perspective, this is
probably the best general, introductory review of
the rail range of environmental management issues
in drylands.
Glantz, M.H. (1994)
Drought Follows the Plow.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A series
of historical and contemporary case studies of
desertification from around the world. These
studies stress the anthropogenic influences in
desertification.
Mortimore, M. (1989)
Adapting to Drought: Farmers,
Famines and Desertification in West Africa.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A wealth
of research on the behaviour of West African
farmers. The droughts (and famines) that
characterise the Sudanian and Sahelian zones of
West Africa are summarised in this topic. Although
set in a West African context, much can be
gathered about how people and households
respond to drought in other parts of the world.
Thomas, D.S.G. and Middleton, N. (1995)
Desertification: Exploding the Myth.
Chichester: John
Wiley. This topics argues that desertification is less
of an objective scientific fact and more of a socio-
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surveying the extent of the problem, by
applying our spatial analytical and mapping
skills to remotely sensed data and in using
GIS; and
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assessing the impact of desertification on the
physical environment (in particular soils and
vegetation) and people's livelihoods (at a
variety of scales but concentrating on the
household/village level).
Geographers are not very active in researching the
influences of changing environmental and
economic policies on desertification, nor the
impacts of the declining resource base and the
increased vulnerability of people to drought on a
wide range of policies and issues at both national
and regional scales. Nonetheless, geographers have
the skills to make significant theoretical and
