Geography says that 70% of land mass on our planet is suitable for human life. The rest is an extreme environment where people can hardly survive. But that proportion is rapidly changing. 40% of the soil humanity uses to sustain itself is already degraded and is becoming barren. Brought about by climate change, drought, misuse of agricultural land and other human activity, much of the habitable land is turning into a desert with natural, known deserts expanding every day.
This crisis was detected and its effects scientifically described already in the 20th century. The United Nations appealed to the member states saying that every community needs land to sustain life. Without land there is no food and it triggers poverty, migration and conflict. That is why the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was approved in 1994 and came into force in 1996. It has 197 signatories. They meet regularly to find mechanisms to fight desertification and land degradation.
This year the United Nations entrusted Mongolia with organising the conference of parties, COP17. It opened in the capital of Ulaanbaatar on August 17 with participation of most UNCCD member states and over 400 different organisations and community representatives.
