Causes: A combination of climatic variations (e.g., prolonged droughts, reduced rainfall) and human activities (e.g., deforestation, overgrazing, unsustainable agricultural practices, improper irrigation, land mismanagement).

Impacts: Leads to loss of biodiversity, reduced agricultural productivity, increased soil erosion, water scarcity, dust storms, food insecurity, and can contribute to climate migration.

Indicators: Visible signs include loss of vegetation cover, soil salinization, sand dune formation, and reduced water availability.

Prevention & Mitigation: Strategies include afforestation and reforestation, sustainable land management practices, water conservation techniques, promoting agroforestry, and community-based natural resource management.

Global Efforts: The UNCCD aims to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030, which means avoiding new degradation and restoring degraded land.

India faces significant desertification, with 29.32% of its land area undergoing degradation, as per the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India 2016.

Causes: A combination of climatic variations (e.g., prolonged droughts, reduced rainfall) and human activities (e.g., deforestation, overgrazing, unsustainable agricultural practices, improper irrigation, land mismanagement).

Impacts: Leads to loss of biodiversity, reduced agricultural productivity, increased soil erosion, water scarcity, dust storms, food insecurity, and can contribute to climate migration.

Indicators: Visible signs include loss of vegetation cover, soil salinization, sand dune formation, and reduced water availability.

Prevention & Mitigation: Strategies include afforestation and reforestation, sustainable land management practices, water conservation techniques, promoting agroforestry, and community-based natural resource management.

Global Efforts: The UNCCD aims to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030, which means avoiding new degradation and restoring degraded land.

India faces significant desertification, with 29.32% of its land area undergoing degradation, as per the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India 2016.