The process of desertification does not have climate boundaries. Justify with examples. (150 words, 10 marks)

Desertification is land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions caused by climatic variability and human activity; it is not confined to naturally hot deserts.

• Unsustainable cultivation, overgrazing, deforestation, mining and faulty irrigation can degrade land wherever vegetation cover is fragile.
• In India, expanding aridification affects Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, the Deccan plateau and parts of the Gangetic plain.
• Salinisation from canal irrigation has degraded land in Rajasthan, Haryana and parts of the Indus basin.
• Overgrazing and fuelwood extraction accelerate erosion in Himalayan foothills and central Indian drylands.
• Wind erosion and sand deposition have extended desert-like conditions beyond the Thar, including parts of western Uttar Pradesh and the Aravallis.
• Globally, the Sahel, Mediterranean basin, northern China and Australia show desertification under different climatic regimes.

Watershed management, drought-resistant crops, controlled grazing, agroforestry, rainwater harvesting and restoration of commons can reverse degradation. Thus, desertification is a socio-ecological process, not merely a climatic phenomenon.

land degradation, aridification, salinisation, overgrazing, watershed management, agroforestry, Thar Desert.