What Is Desertification?
Desertification, according to the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification signed in Paris in October 1994, is a
process of “land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid
areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations
and human activities.”
Known as the “cancer of the earth,” desertification is one of
the four eco-environmental problems that haunted human society in
the last five decades of the 20th century and into the 21st
century; the other three are global climate change, biodiversity
preservation, and environmental pollution.
(China.org.cn September 12, 2007)
