Desertification of Spain

Spanish technology to predict the spread of desertification 

- El Mundo 24/11/08

Researchers at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) have created an index to measure the desertification that will create risk maps and identify the areas most threatened....

According to the Ministry of Environment, more than two thirds of Spanish territory is potentially affected by land degradation: the entire southern half (with the exception of the highest mountain ranges), the plateau north of the Ebro basin and the Catalan coast . Worldwide, desertification and drought affecting more than 110 countries and threaten the livelihood of over 1,200 million people.According to the United Nations, one third of the land area would be threatened by desertification.

The causes are varied. In general, one can say that is the result of several factors, both natural and man-closely interrelated and influence on the ecosystem causing its gradual deterioration.These include droughts, fires and recurrent irrational use or overuse of soil by man, causing land degradation and loss of biological and economic productivity.