In May 1934, 350 million tons of rich topsoil were lifted by the winds from the farms of the U.S. Middle West and deposited on the Atlantic seaboard and in the ocean. This vivid example of the processes which were creating the Dust Bowl did not go unheeded by the New Deal administration. Conservation techniques were developed to rebuild the productivity of the land, and farming techniques were devised to prevent this disaster being repeated.
Today, in many parts of the world, there is soil loss. Population pressure pushes people onto marginal lands. They and their animals destroy the tree and scrub cover which holds the soil in place. The marginal lands become desert.
Typical of this plight is the case of trees. Trees prevent water-borne erosion. They provide wind breaks and stablize sand dunes preventing wind-borne erosion. Trees provide shade for man and animals. Trees provide food as fruits and raw material as timber. The planting of trees will increase the productivity of the land. So in the same way, the loss of trees will impoverish the land. Today, deforestation is rampant, and reforestation is inadequate.
A recent, 4 April 2024, report written jointly by the University of Maryland and the World Resouces Institute highlights the continued loss of forests and woodlands. This is particularly true in countries where the government is weak and disorganized such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thus, there needs to be international, UN-led, measures to strengthen the structures of governments and to encourage policies of protection of groundcover. Climate change can also have a negative impact as we see in the Sahel area of Africa and the forest fires in Canada. Action is needed at the local, the national and at the UN system levels. Our future depends on action now.
René Wadlow, Association of World Citizens
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