Desertification Natural Background and Human Mismanagement [Paperback]

After UNCED (United Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, July 1992), a second edition of Desertification was necessary. About 150 corrections, amendments and additions take scientific progress into account. The author also presents an updated chapter in which the results of UNCED are analyzed.
This book aims at an understanding of what is commonly called desertification - a term which is proposed to be replaced by land degradation . Each level of technology, excessive or insufficient, creates its own mismanagement. This is reflected in an increase in land degradation and eventually a decrease in soil productivity. The benefit to the reader is an awareness of the ecozones and a global overview of the phenomena, mechanisms and existing solutions.After UNCED (United Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, July 1992), a second edition of Desertification was necessary. About 150 corrections, amendments and additions take scientific progress into account. The author also presents an updated chapter in which the results of UNCED are analyzed.
This book aims at an understanding of what is commonly called desertification - a term which is proposed to be replaced by land degradation . Each level of technology, excessive or insufficient, creates its own mismanagement. This is reflected in an increase in land degradation and eventually a decrease in soil productivity. The benefit to the reader is an awareness of the ecozones and a global overview of the phenomena, mechanisms and existing solutions.1. What is Desertification?: Definitions and Evolution of the Concept.- 1.1 Definitions of Desertification.- 1.2 The Evolution of the Concept of Desertification.- 1.2.1 The Age of Awareness.- 1.2.2 The Age of Wrong Perception or Misconception.- 1.2.3 The Age of Doubt.- 1.2.4 The Myth of the Encroaching Desert.- 1.2.5 The Dawning of the New Realism.- 1.3 General Conclusion, Chapter lc&