Land deterioration serious obstacle to African development: UNEP

Land deterioration is the biggest obstacle to Africa's efforts to fully attain its potential, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned in a report launched on October 25.

The report, titled "Global Environment Outlook 4, GEO-4," reveals that land deterioration not only threatens livelihoods but poses a risk for forests, fresh water, coastal and marine resources and favours the advance of deserts in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to one of the authors of the report, Pascal Houenou of the Network for Environment and Sustainable Development in Africa (REDDA), all African countries are directly affected by the effects of climate change.

"Migratory influxes from southern to northern countries can also be explained by the need to adapt to climate change and desertification," he said.

The report finds that land deterioration can take various forms, from land erosion, a phenomenon more frequent in Africa, to coastal erosion.

It shows that Togo and Benin are losing 30 metres of their territories to sea encroachment annually.

Agricultural production dropped in Africa from 0.4% between 2000 and 2004 while the food production plummeted by 12% against 1981 figure, Therry De Oliveira, an economist at UNEP, said.

UNEP blames "the continuous unfair farm subsidies in the developed countries" for worsening land deterioration, adding: "It is often cheaper for developing countries to import food rather than produce it." According to the document, the situation "limits the agricultural possibilities for small-scale farmers and causes food insecurity and a migration towards cities."

Oliveira argued that countries must deliver on their pledges by placing the environment high on the agenda of their development policy.

The GEO-4 report examines the current state of the global atmosphere, land, water and biodiversity, describing the changes that have occurred and noting the progress made in addressing environmental issues over the last 20 years.

Climateark