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BBC News - UN project shows how trees help halt desertification
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13767255
20 June 2011 Last updated at 12:22 ET

UN project shows how trees help halt desertification
By Mark Kinver Science and environment reporter, BBC News
Planting an acacia sapling (Image: FAO/Sayllou Diallo) Tree planting can 
help halt the loss of arable land to the encroaching desert
Continue reading the main story
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A UN-led pilot scheme hopes to highlight how trees can help people in 
arid zone, considered to one of the most hostile habitats on the planet.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Acacia project's goal is to 
show how trees provide, food, fuel, shelter and income during times of 
hardship.

So far, six nations - including Senegal and Sudan - have hosted tree 
planting schemes for at-risk communities.

Drylands cover 30% of the Earth's land area, and are found in 100 nations.

"People do not often associate forests with arid areas, yet they are 
critical in terms of soil protection, mitigating climate change, 
maintaining biodiversity etc," said Eduardo Rojas, FAO's assistant 
director general.

"In terms of supporting livelihoods for local communities, forests are 
very important, " he told BBC News.

Roots of hope

Speaking at the end of the first UN Africa Drylands Week, he added: 
"Desertification poses a very serious challenge to the world.

"The pace of land degradation and the impact of climate change are 
threatening food security, exacerbating poverty and impeding sustainable 
development."
Extracting gum from an acacia tree (image: FAO/Sayllou Diallo) Acacia 
trees can offer vulnerable villages a steady income, as well as fuel and 
fodder for animals

Mr Rojas explained that people living in dryland ecosystems were most 
exposed to this risk, especially rural and pastoral communities.

Globally, an estimated two billion people depend on ecosystems in dry 
land areas, 90% of whom live in developing countries.

The UN says that about 30% of dry lands are degraded, with particular 
susceptibility to desertification. In Africa alone, it is feared that 
two thirds of arable land is expected to be lost in Africa by 2025.

Figures suggest that land degradation accounts for a loss of 3% of 
agriculture gross domestic product annually in sub-Saharan Africa.

Projections show that more than half of the cultivated agricultural area 
in Africa could be unusable by the year 2050, leaving the region 
struggling to feed just 25% of its population.

This was one of the reasons why the FAO had developed the Acacia pilot 
project, Mr Rojas continued.

"Forests and trees in arid zones are central to understanding the 
process of desertification - they provide local communities with 
sustainable livelihoods but also fodder livestock, fuelwood, medicine, 
timber, resin and gums.
Acacia derived products Planting an acacia sapling (Image: FAO/Sayllou 
Diallo) Extracting gum from acacias allow people to earn money from 
alternative revenue streams

"They are also invaluable for carbon storage and for the provision of 
clean water and for soil protection."

The project was set up in 2004 with the goal of helping people to plant 
and manage of acacia forests in an effort to halt desertification, while 
helping villages in at-risk areas.

As well as providing foliage for animals and fuel for cooking, the trees 
also produce arabic gum, which is a product that is used in the food and 
pharmaceuticals industries.

'Funding drought'

Speaking at an event in Dakar, Senegal, Luc Gnacadja - a UN 
desertification expert - said the inaugural Africa Drylands Week had 
ended with a very simple, yet stark, message.

He said that it was essential to convince international donors to ensure 
arid zones would "no longer be 'deserts' of investment".

Mr Gnacadja's calls were backed up by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon: 
"The management, conservation and sustainable development of dry forests 
are central to combating desertification.

"The ongoing greening of the Sahel and other success stories around the 
world show that degraded lands can be reclaimed by agroforestry and 
other sustainable practices," Mr Ban added in a statement.

"We need to scale up these interventions and disseminate their results 
widely."

He said that the UN General Assembly was scheduled to hold a High-Level 
meeting in September to address the threats from desertification, and he 
urged the international community to use next year's Rio+20 summit to 
tackle the problem.

More on This Story

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Related Internet links

FAO Forestry Department
http://www.fao.org/forestry/en/
Forest Europe
http://www.foresteurope.org/
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
http://www.unccd.int/
Rio+20 - UN Conference on Sustainable Development
http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/