Action needed to combat drought and land degradation

Droughts are said to be the biggest threat to sustainable development for both developed and developing nations around the globe. It’s for this reason that World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought carries an important message.

Observed annually on 17 June, the United Nations (UN) initiative aims to increase awareness on the consequences of desertification and drought and highlight the methods for prevention and recovery.

In response, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Associate Professor Gina Ziervogel, a geographer and climate change adaption expert, spoke to UCT News about drought in the South African context – while focusing specifically on Cape Town’s record-breaking drought in 2018 – and what’s needed to combat it.

Associate Professor Ziervogel is based in the department of environmental and geographical science in the Faculty of Science. Her work to date sheds some much-needed light on the manner in which the city handled this once-in-a century drought.

Explain the terms desertification and drought?

Desertification refers to a type of land degradation in drylands where biological productivity is lost as a result of natural processes or human activities. When desertification occurs, fertile areas become arid. In South Africa, areas in the Northern Cape are particularly prone to desertification.

Drought on the other hand refers to a prolonged period without rain, or abnormally low rainfall levels, which leads to a shortage of water in the region. This is exactly what the Western Cape experienced in 2018, and what part of the Eastern Cape is experiencing now.

Talk to us about the impact of climate change on desertification and drought in southern Africa?

Desertification and drought have been a feature of southern Africa’s climate for centuries. And as the impact of climate change intensifies and more people move to cities, there’s increasing need to find ways to manage drought, particularly as it starts to impact cities more.

Drought-related food security is also a massive concern for southern Africa and emerged as a key theme in the latest Sixth Assessment Report of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Drought-related food security affects everyone – the producers of food crops such as farmers, as well as consumers. After all, we are the ones who need to contend with the escalating food prices – and these have a ripple effect on everything.

Source: Food for Mzansi