2000 UNEP News Release. For use as information. Not an official record. The World Atlas of Desertification summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge on the drylands of the globe. The Atlas clearly shows that desertification is one of the world's most pressing environmental problems, and that it is a global issue which is accelerating.
Most maps show land.
Around the globe we are literally 'losing ground'. About 130 million hectares can no longer be used for food production. The global extent of the problem of desertification was indicated in the first edition of the World Atlas of Desertification published by UNEP in 1992. The new edition has been extensively revised and expanded to cover related environmental issues, including concerns surrounding biodiversity, climate change and the availability of water. Over one billion people are at risk - they face malnutrition, or worse, through decreasing productivity of the soil on which they depend for food.