"SINGAPORE - The world is losing almost 1 million square kilometres (386,000 square miles) of productive land a year to sand and dust storms made worse by human activities, the United Nations body in charge of fighting desertification warned on Wednesday.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) said an estimated two billion tons of sand and dust enters the atmosphere every year, wreaking havoc across large parts of Asia and Africa and causing significant economic damage throughout the world.
In a report released during a meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to review the recent progress made in reversing land degradation, the UNCCD said at least a quarter of the storms could be attributed to human activities, including overmining and overgrazing.
Topsoil losses were not only having a material impact on food supplies in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, but were also driving migration, impeding navigation and creating security risks, Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD executive secretary, told Reuters."
David Stanway reports for Reuters November 15, 20233.
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