U.N.: Deserts could drive out 50 million

U.N. report urges nations to ‘reverse the decline of drylands’

BANGKOK, Thailand – Desertification represents one of the “greatest environmental challenges of our times” and, coupled with global warming, could set off mass migrations of people fleeing degraded homelands, a United Nations report warned Thursday.

The report called on governments in arid regions to revise rules on land use to halt overgrazing and unsustainable irrigation practices. It also urged better coordinated policies to address the problem of desertification.

“It is imperative that effective policies and sustainable agricultural practices be put in place to reverse the decline of drylands,” says Hans van Ginkel, a professor at the United Nations University, which produced the report.

MSNBC