ABSTRACT
The direct cause of desertification was shown in previous chapters to be poor land use. If desertification is to be controlled it is therefore imperative to improve the productivity and sustainability of each major type of land use in the areas best suited to it. This should be accompanied by efforts to prevent soil erosion on cropland and rangeland by planting trees or introducing soil conservation techniques, and to reclaim land that has already been significantly desertified. Chapters 5 to 9 of this book describe the four main types of techniques which the UNCGO Plan of Action (Table 5.1) recommended for improving land use and controlling desertification:
1. increasing the productivity of rainfed cropping on good land so that soil erosion and the expansion of cropping on to marginal land are halted; improving the management of irrigated cropping and rehabilitating failed irrigation schemes to reduce salinization and waterlogging (Chapter 5);
2. improving range management and developing new livestock breeds to increase productivity and reduce pressures on the land; intensifying rainfed cropping on better lands and restoring traditional fallows should make more pastures available for the grazing of livestock in the dry season (Chapter 6);
3. restoring tree and woodland cover to stabilize cropping and pastoralism (by reducing soil erosion and providing more supplementary fodder), halt widespread deforestation for fuelwood, and reclaim desertified land so that it can be more productive again (Chapters 7 and 8).
