Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Climate Change Impacts
Climate change will result in extreme weather events for the region affecting both
the intensity and frequency of climate factors such as temperature, precipitation,
rainfall and droughts (IPCC
2007
). In Libya water scarcity is endemic and changes
in precipitation could pose a strain to freshwater resources, vegetation and rate
of desertification (El-Tantawi
2005
). Currently many areas became prone to land
degradation and the situation will only get worse if climate change and human
activities continue to accelerate land degradation processes. Climatic factors con-
tribute to both desertification and the scarcity of water and there is no doubt that
global warming is exacerbating these problems. Many believe that these problems
can be tackled by re-planting tree in shelter belts as a major afforestation programs,
planting grasses to stabilize the soil and halt wind and water erosion, and adopting
proper crop rotation and use of manure as a fertilizer, as a good farming practices.
Rehabilitating all of the desertified land is not economically feasible, some measures
although technically possible cost in excess of $4,000 per ha. Prevention is more
feasible. If people stop misusing the land and overexploiting resources beyond the
carrying capacity, desertification can be controlled to a large extent and management
practices can be implemented more effectively. The successful approaches outlined
in other chapters of this topic are testimony to this and we are also encouraged by the
outcomes of land degradation control in the Asia Pacific region (Yang et al.
2011
).
8
Conclusion
As the degree and types of desertification varies from one part of the country
to another, land management has been acknowledged to be extremely important
in desertification prone areas. Understanding the desertification process more
explicitly requires detailed knowledge about where desertification occurs (spatial as
well as geographic). Advances in remote sensing and the use of indicators such as
land cover change are also important here. The UNCCD at COP 8 asked country
parties to adopt two indicators of desertification in their reports on progress in
combating desertification and accelerated land degradation. These two indicators
are
land cover change
and the
number of people living in poverty.
Climate change is expected to decrease water availability and water quality,
increase the impact of droughts, floods and salinity leading to a decrease in soil
fertility and loss of vegetation that threats food security. The increasing pressure
on resources by people in addition to the severe climate and low soil fertility
has rendered ecosystems even more fragile, and in some places their renewal is
jeopardized. It is reported that the progression of desertification is making the
unaided recovery of vegetation on cleared and abandoned land impossible, so
human assistance through soil preparation, use of fertilizer and watering during
regeneration and careful monitoring is needed.
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