The Hindu : International : Spain warns deserts are spreading

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 20, 2005

International

International

Spain warns deserts are spreading

MADRID: The deserts of North Africa are threatening to leap the Mediterranean and creep through Spain, according to Government figures made public as part of a national campaign to halt desertification. A third of the country is at risk of being turned into desert as climate change and tourism add to the effects of farming. More than 90 per cent of land bordering the Mediterranean from Almeria in the south to Tarragona in the north is considered to be at high risk. But that figure climbs to almost 100 per cent in Alicante and Murcia. Spain's Environment Ministry has announced a £50-million programme to combat desertification. Over-grazing and irrigation methods that wash away topsoil were to blame for some of the damage, experts said. Building developments and climate change were doing the rest. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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