Introduction to Deserts and Desertified Regions in China - Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - page 12

Fig. 1.5 Sand encroachment and accelerated desertification is forcing villagers to abandon their
homes and migrate to other regions (Photos Victor Squires)
degradation of the environment can further affect adjacent areas, either directly
(invading sand dunes, siltation of dams downstream) or indirectly (migration of
population), increased international tensions over increasingly scarce resources
(Fig. 1.5 ).
The intensity of desertification processes can vary from slight to very severe in
terms of degradation of plant and soil resources. Different processes and interactions
take place in different ecosystems, but the general tendency is towards degradation
that results from the interplay of these processes and interactions are common to