World Bank urges rich nations to fund reversal of desertification

New Delhi, June 16 (UNI) The World Bank has called upon the rich countries to provide more financial support to reverse the present trend of desertification.

On the eve of United Nations' Desertification Day tomorrow, it also urged member countries to integrate comprehensive climate risk management into development planning, programmes and projects with the objective of reducing land degradation.

The World Bank estimates that over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification and drought and one billion people in over 100 countries are at risk.

''Climate variability and change can, and does, exacerbate land degradation,'' said Warren Evans, the Bank's director of environment. '' We are actively implementing and advocating a risk management approach to combat desertification. The initial emphasis is on minimising the risk to development and human livelihood posed by present climatic extremes.'' The current global focus on climate change provides a unique opportunity to act, he added.

The World Bank said the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) has confirmed that desertification is potentially the most threatening ecosystem change impacting livelihoods of the poor. More than 100 countries, including Niger, Mali, China, Pakistan, India, Brazil and Chile, lie entirely or partly within drylands - arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas.

Describing the challenge posed by desertification as considerable, Evans said '' 40 per cent of the earth's land surface is categorised as drylands, and over 25 per cent of the world's people live there. 40 per cent of Africa's population is based in drylands, but 39 per cent of Asians (1.3 billion people) and 30 per cent of South Americans also live in similar environments, and face similar risks.

The World Bank said the scale of the land degradation challenge calls for sustained and collective action by the international community through the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). It was created to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in member countries.

On meeting world food needs, the World Bank held the view that it will depend increasingly on strengthening the capabilities and resources of women. About 98 per cent of rural women, classified as economically active, are engaged in agriculture and are the primary food producers in many parts of the world.

Women, the Bank said, make up 60 per cent of the world's 1.2 billion poor. The percentage of women below the poverty line has increased by half since the 1970s, while the comparable figure for men is 30 per cent. It is, therefore, crucial to strengthen awareness and support with respect to women and vulnerable groups in land management activities, it added.

UNI