Deserts Eat the Land, The People Eat Little

One of the major causes of famine, starvation, malnourishment, and world hunger is desertification and its destructive effects.  Desertification is defined as the growth or expansion of a desert due to human activity.  One of the most drastic examples of this can be found in Africa's Sahel region.  The Sahel is a dry grassland region that acts as a transition zone in Africa, transition from Arab to traditional Africa, transition from arid Africa to tropical Africa.  It is also home to some of the most malnourished people on this planet.

What causes desertification?

• a region with naturally dry conditions, often times hard-hit by extended drought conditions, such as the drought conditions that have been plaguing the Sahel since the 1960's.  There have been regions within the Sahel that have been without rain for five years. 
• removal of vegetation through poor agricultural practices and over-grazing of animal herds.  The "unprotected, dry soil surfaces then blow away with the wind or are washed away by flash floods, leaving infertile lower soil layers that bake in the sun and become an unproductive hardpan. Overgrazing destroys valuable plant species, leaving mostly unpalatable ones. Losses of vegetation and biodiversity threaten habitat for other species." (http://www.oasisglobal.net/what_cause.htm)
• over-irrigation or incorrect irrigation practices (Go here to see what can happen.)
• war and conflict, which can disrupt local agricultural practices.  Frequently war refugees will move into  "marginal ecosystems", bringing with them native farming practices not necessarily suited for the region.
• "Perhaps the greatest cause of soil degradation and desertification is an explosion in world population, particularly in developing countries. Throughout the 1990s, dryland regions experienced a population growth of 18.5 percent, mostly in desperately poor, developing nations [source: GreenFacts.org]. In their daily struggle to survive, these expanding populations have put a deadly strain on their environment." (http://science.howstuffworks.com/desertification1.htm)

So what's the result of desertification?

• destruction and loss of vegetation, as well as land degradation and loss of crucial arable land.
• loss of food sources, famine, malnourishment, starvation and death.
• "flooding, poor water quality, dust storms, and pollution. All of these effects can hurt people living near an affected region. (The Facts of Desertification and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, 2000)" http://desertificationb.tripod.com/id3.html
• ULTIMATE COST:  human dignity at the cost of poverty and world hunger.