Foreward

Desertification and land degradation (DLD) are considered major global change issues. The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15) contends that “desertification affects as much as one-sixth of the world's population, seventy percent of all drylands, and one-quarter of the total land area of the world.” Consequently, DLD is a vital societal concern because of its impacts on human populations (e.g., food security and economics) and environment quality (e.g., dust storms, soil erosion, and nutrient depletion). Similar to climate change and biodiversity, DLD is the subject of an international framework convention, The Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), the aim of which is to “target poverty, drought and food insecurity in dryland countries experiencing desertification, particularly those in Africa”.

Duke Scholars

Author James F. Reynolds Environmental Sciences and Policy