4. Where do drought and desertification occur?

In Mediterranean regions the worst affected zones can be subdivided as follows: 

  • hyper-arid zones where precipitation is less than 100 mm;
  • arid zones where precipitation is between 100 mm and 350 mm;
  • semi-arid zones where precipitation is between 350 and 600 mm;
  • sub-humid zones, where precipitation is between 600 et 800 mm.

The zones particularly affected by drought represent approximately 5.1 billion ha (51 million km2), which is equivalent to 100 times the surface area of France.

The continent most affected by desertification and drought is Africa, with nearly 60% of its ground classified as either desert or arid. Several significant periods of famine have already been attested in the Sahel area, resulting in the migration of large parts of the population towards more habitable ground. Tens of millions of people who are victims of famine in sub-Saharan Africa will undoubtedly seek to move towards North Africa and Europe, increasing the migratory flux.

According to UNESCO and UNCCD, more than 110 countries have arid lands which are potentially threatened by desertification. These dry lands (whether arid, semi-arid or sub-humid), are found all across Africa, but also cover large parts of Asia, Latin America, Australia and the United States. 

Africa (the old forgotten continent)

Two thirds of the African continent is desert or arid land. Africa comprises a vast area of arid arable lands, of which close to the three quarters already suffer from degradation, to various extents. In Africa, droughts are both serious and frequent. In order to ensure their subsistence, many African countries are obliged to draw abundantly on their natural resources. Desertification of the continent thus has serious consequences in terms of poverty and food safety.

  • Niger
​In this country, where climate conditions, explosive growth of the population, for lack of arable lands (insufficient to ensure a harvest or breed cattle), help increasing the vulnerability of this country towards food insecurity, more than three million people were jeopardized by the famine in 2005.
Much of them are confronted with forced exiles towards more fertile zones, in the South, towards the Benign and in the North towards Algeria and Libya and even Europe through fortune boats. This means not improbable that an important exodus of immigrant populations, like the natives of Niger or Burkinabe, is directed towards the Beninese territory where the conditions of life are less difficult. This will without any doubt cause tensions between migrants and autochthones. More over, This process is already locally started (Pierre OZER, 2005).
  • The region of the Sahel
West Africa undergoes a drought without precedent. This persistent drought resulted in an increased desertification of the region: impoverishment of the soil in the surface and depth of the Chad Lake, modification of the flow of certain watercourses and the level of the groundwater. This desertification has dramatic consequences for the 44 million inhabitants of the Sahel: reduction in drinkable water resources, lower agricultural outputs, losses of livestock and famines (in particular for the periods 1968-1973 and 1980-1984). The drought of the Sahel is the one which sensitized the international opinion with 600000 deaths between 1972 and so much between 1984-1985 (Matari, 2007).
  • Countries of the Maghreb
The Maghreb, with a lesser intensity, was not saved from this risk. Indeed, multiannual droughts continued during these last decades and had an indisputable impact on the steppe ecosystems, in this particular case, the most vulnerable ecosystems to the desertification but also in particular on cereal and fodder agricultural productions.
  • Asia
Asia presents 1.7 billion hectares of arid lands, semi-arid lands and arid sub-wetlands located between the Mediterranean coast and the Pacific shores. The degraded areas include deserts expanding in China, in India, in Iran, in Mongolia and in Pakistan, sand encroachment in Syria, mountainous slopes deeply eroded in Nepal, and medium mountains deforested and overgrazing in Popular Democratic Republic of Laos. In terms of many people affected by desertification and drought, Asia is the most seriously affected continent.
In terms of number of persons affected by the desertification and the droughts, Asia is the most seriously affected continent.
  • Latin America and the Caribbean
Deserts and arid lands cover approximately a quarter of Latin America and the Caribbean, rather known regions for their ombrophil forests. Poverty and pressures exerted on the available lands resources cause degradation of the grounds in these arid areas.
  • Europe

At the moment, 17 % of the European population is affected by the problem of water lack. However, in the absence of new measures, the situation of ” severe hydric stress ” could increase more.

The drought is pertaining to the natural conditions, such as the pluviometric deficit. During the last thirty years, these episodes considerably increased in number and in intensity in the Union. The cost of the damages caused in the European economy during this period was estimated at an amount included between 85 and 100 billions €.

In 2003, one of the greatest droughts affected more than 100 million persons and near a third of the territory of the EU, involving a damage evaluated to 8,7 billions €. As a rough guide, in the U.E. 1303: knew the most important aridity of the millennium: the Rhine could be crossed on foot.
The droughts of the years: 1540, 1719, 1874, on 1906, 1911, 1912, on 1921, 1945, 1947, on 1949, 1953, 1957, on 1964 are very revealing of the continent vulnerability.

For recent period, the droughts of 1976, 1988 1989, 1990, 1991, on 1992 and 2003 had important impacts on the ecosystems and the cultures
Europe, as well as on the health (abnormally high death rate linked to the scorching heat, the number of deaths being from 15000 deaths to France (vulnerable persons)).

Also, Spain is confronted with a water shortage stressed by the drought (MARGAT, on 1990).
Besides, forest fires know an outbreak in particular in the Mediterranean Basin. Portugal was a victim since 2001: 800 000ha missing persons. It’s the same for Greece, Spain and the South of France.