Quash The Dogma

Most policies to tackle desertification are bound to fail. The problem will get solved as soon as they become holistic

- Allan Savory

I ONCE heard evolutionary biologist Elisabet Sahtouris say, “If we had viewed Earth from space for thousands of years, we would describe humans as a dessert-making species.” Over that time, we would have watched the few natural deserts that receive almost no rainfall, expanding into regions that receive rainfall as high as 1,000 mm, or more. Such environmental degradation caused by one species is terrifying and it is entirely due to humans. This desertification is occurring in regions that experience seasonal rainfall with long dry periods and is the greatest visible sign of human presence.

Before I go any further, let’s look at the symptoms of desertification, which include increased frequency and severity of droughts and floods, poverty, social breakdown, mass emigration, violence, war, and climate change. I do not include biodiversity loss as a symptom because desertification itself is a symptom of biodiversity loss, starting with the loss of vital soil-covering plant material. Exposed soil between plants results in the available rainfall becoming less effective as water runs off the soil surface or evaporates out of soil, which is why droughts and floods increase.

Over millennia, desertification has led to the failure of many civilizations. During my lifetime (and I’m 84), trillions of dollars have been spent and millions of lives lost because we continuously address only the symptoms. We all know that to be successful, we must address the cause of a problem.