"THE EARTH'S SKIN" IS SHRINKING

Today, humanity clearly understands that the resolution of problems associated with the development of the state economy and other issues will be in vain if we are faced with serious and intractable environmental disasters. Global warming, air pollution, the depletion of the ozone layer, land degradation and desertification are all problems that many civilized countries are studying, along with the principles of sustainable development, while drawing up national development programmes for the short and long-term. From now on, they cannot be ignored.

Azerbaijan, with its unique biological diversity, part of the global ecosystem, is not ignoring these problems, and they must be addressed. The seriousness of the adverse ecological situation in the country is underlined by the fact that in 2010, President Ilham Aliyev declared a year of ecology in Azerbaijan, i.e. the head of state has drawn the attention, not only of government agencies, but also of the public to the environmental problems facing the country. In anticipation of 17 June - World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, we recall that soil degradation is one of the most pressing problems in Azerbaijan, situated as it is in an arid climate.

A desert?

Desertification is currently one of the most important global problems facing mankind. How is it caused? As fields are ploughed, myriads of particles of fertile soil rise into the air to be taken away by water flows; huge quantities settle irreversibly on new sites and in the oceans. This natural process of the destruction of topsoil by water and wind, and the flushing and dispersal of its particles, are amplified and accelerated significantly when people overuse the land and do not allow the soil to "take a rest".

Living organisms, water and air gradually form an important ecosystem, thin and fragile - soil, called "The Skin of the Earth" - on the surface of the lithosphere. This is the holder of fertility and life. A handful of good soil contains millions of microorganisms which maintain fertility. It takes one hundred years to form a new layer of soil with a depth of 1 cm, while it may be lost forever in just one field season. According to geologists, before people began to engage in agricultural activity, graze cattle and plough land, rivers washed about 9 billion tonnes of soil into the oceans annually. Today the estimate is approximately 25 billion tonnes.

Soil erosion - a purely local phenomenon - has now acquired a universal character. In the US, for example, about 44 per cent of cultivated land is subjected to erosion. In Russia, the unique, rich, black soil, with a humus concentration of 14-16 per cent, hailed the citadel of Russian agriculture, has disappeared. In Russia, the area covered by the most fertile land, with a humus concentration of 10-13 per cent, has shrunk to one fifth of its former size. Soil erosion is greatest in the largest and most densely populated countries. The Hwang Ho River in China washes around 2 billion tonnes of soil into the ocean every year. Soil erosion does not only reduce soil fertility and crop yields. As a result of soil erosion, artificial water reservoirs are silted up and the capacities of irrigation and electricity generation at hydroelectric power plants are reduced much faster than is usually provided for in projects. A particularly difficult situation arises when not only the soil, but also the bedrock on which it develops, is washed away. We then approach the threshold of irreversible damage, and a man-made desert takes shape. The Shillong Plateau in Cherrapunji in north-eastern India presents a striking example. This is the most humid place in the world, where average annual precipitation is more than 12 m of rain. But in the dry season, when the monsoon rains cease (October-May), Cherrapunji resembles a semi-desert. Soil on the slopes of the plateau is practically washed away, exposing barren sandstone.

One of the most global and continuous processes of modern times is the expansion of desertification and the decline and, in extreme cases, complete destruction of the Earth's biological potential, which leads to conditions analogous to natural desert. Natural deserts and semi-deserts occupy more than one third of the Earth's surface. These lands are home to about 15 per cent of the world population. More than 9 million sq. km of desert appeared in the last quarter of 20th century as a result of human activity, and today deserts cover 43 per cent of total land area.

Since the early 1990s, desertification has threatened 3.6 million hectares of dry land. Today the problem of desertification and land degradation is a global one and it poses a real threat to the existence, welfare and development of nearly one billion people. Due to prolonged periods of drought, hunger and increasing poverty, many of them have no choice but to leave their permanent places of habitation. Environmental migrants number 24 million and, by 2050, this figure could rise to 200 million. Desertification can occur in different climatic conditions, but it is particularly fast in hot, dry areas. UN experts say that as a result of the modern loss of productive land, by the end of the century the world could lose almost one third of its arable land. Such a loss, in a period of unprecedented population growth and increasing demand for food, could be truly disastrous.

Erosion and salinity

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources told R+ that, currently, 3.7 million hectares of the country's territory are subject to erosion and 1.2 ha to salinity. Approximately 300 sq. km of flood-affected territory and 30,000 hectares of land under which minerals have been discovered, are currently unusable. In addition, 264,000 hectares of forests located in the occupied Azerbaijani territories are being destroyed by Armenian separatists, which leads to a decline in forest resources and, consequently, to desertification. Most of these processes are observed in heavily populated areas of the Kura-Araz lowlands, in the Abseron peninsula and the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic, where there is developed agriculture. As a result, in highly saline land, productivity has declined to 75-85 per cent: in average saline land to 30-50 per cent and in slightly saline land to 20-30 per cent. The level of groundwater has risen from 1.5 to 1.8 m, which increases the amount of evaporation and salts the upper layers of fertile soil. And this is the first step towards desertification. In addition, the aftermath of the floods and river overflows that have occurred this year is currently being calculated.

In Azerbaijan, over 80 per cent of agricultural products are grown on artificially irrigated land. The irrigation infrastructure - water reservoirs and canals - often stimulate the process of land degradation and, therefore, it is necessary to make radical changes and reconstruct them in accordance with international standards, because ecological processes are interrelated and affect each other. For example, land degradation - desertification - stimulates the degradation of biodiversity and this, in turn, leads to climate change. Of course, there are counter measures. For example, over the last 10 years alone, the government of Azerbaijan has developed more than ten national and state programmes on poverty reduction, forest development, sustainable development of the regions, summer and winter grazing, alternative energy sources and improvements to Abseron lakes. Some capacity is being created at systemic and institutional levels and, on 24 April 1998, the government joined the International Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought. Now we need to implement the activities planned using financial resources from international institutions, the State Oil Fund etc. It is necessary to take action, on the one hand, in order to reduce the anthropogenic component of this process and, on the other, to adapt to new climatic conditions. For example, practical work to expand forests, the use of alternative energy sources, the improvement of waterworks etc. represent significant steps in addressing all these problems. As part of the UN Development Programme, the Ministry of Environment plans to implement a project called the "Sustainable Management of Pasture, Forest and Land Resources"; at a preliminary stage further research will be carried out to identify locally specific causes of desertification and sociological surveys and training will be conducted for herders, farmers and businessmen.

The Ministry has already conducted studies which show that the density of livestock per hectare in Azerbaijan significantly exceeds the permitted limit. The active exploitation of forests and areas suitable for planting and pasture eventually leads to desertification and, consequently, to other adverse natural phenomena. It was noted that, as part of the project, farmers will be given full information on the impact of nomadic cattle-breeding on land resources. The Ministry of Environment believes that the implementation of this action plan will yield positive results. Ongoing practical work to expand the forests and improve melioration work will ultimately help prevent soil degradation. But we need to expedite this activity, since the rate of degradation has been much greater than the effectiveness of countervailing measures over a very long period. Today, one thing is clear: if the consumer approach to land continues, we will have to forget about our famous beautiful scenery.