The Hindu : New Delhi News : Campaign to create awareness on `desertification'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 03, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Campaign to create awareness on `desertification'

Staff Reporter

One billion of the world's population is affected by the process

NEW DELHI: The Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) and the Federation of NCR Doctors will observe World Environment Day by organising a two-day awareness campaign here in the Capital beginning June 5. The theme for this year's campaign is "Deserts and Desertification" and will include a tableau-cum-mobile exhibition.

"Dust from deserts and dry lands is blown into cities around the world. Dust particles when inhaled cause health problems. This has been shown to boost death rates," said the HCFI president, Dr. K.K. Aggarwal, at a press conference here on Friday.

Desertification takes place in dry land areas where the earth is especially fragile. No rainfall and harsh climatic conditions result in the destruction of topsoil followed by loss of the land's ability to sustain crops, livestock or human activity.

A Union Ministry of Environment and Forests official, Sanjay Kumar, said: "One billion of the world's population is affected by desertification, forcing people to leave their farms for jobs in cities.

Climatic changes can trigger the desertification process, but human activities are frequently the proximate cause. Over-cultivation exhausts the soil while over-grazing of livestock strips the land of grasses. Adding to this is deforestation that results in soil erosion. About 3.6 billion hectares of the world's 5.2 billion hectares of dry land, which could be used for agriculture, has suffered erosion and soil degradation. According to a United Nations study, about 30 per cent of the Earth's land -- including the 70 per cent of dry land -- is affected by drought. This leads to the death of 33,000 people every day due to starvation."

"We need to concentrate on reforestation. One-third of the geographical area of India needs to be covered with forests. The 2003 survey by the Forest Departments showed India's forest cover to be 23 per cent of the total land. We need to get it up to 33 per cent as early as we can," he said.

Also present at the conference were renowned Kuchipudi dancers Raja, Radha and Kaushalya Reddy. As a symbol of their determination to "make the world green", they held up a globe covered with fresh green leaves.

"The two-day awareness campaign comprises several activities," said Dr. Aggarwal. "We will place 50 hoardings across the city to spread our message. A tableau on the subject will move around the Capital and attempt to create awareness by distributing pamphlets and performing street plays. There will also be an immunisation programme for children and women besides an anti-rabies vaccination programme for dogs in slum areas."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail