MADRID, Dec 11 (IPS) – The available data is self-explanatory: human activities driven by business have already changed more than 70% of the world’s land, with 24 billion tons of fertile soil lost due to industrial agriculture, excessive use of chemicals. , overgrazing, deforestation, pollution and other major threats.
Extreme human-caused climate events, such as heavy rains followed by drought, accelerate soil degradation, while deforestation and overgrazing reduce soil quality by compacting it and depleting essential nutrients.
So much so that the United Nations program has identified that more than 40% of all fertile soil has already been damaged.
This result is scary enough when you read that “it can take 1,000 years to produce only 2-3 cm of soil,” as explained by the UN Environment Program (UNEP), and other special bodies such as the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. (UNCCD), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The story of Africa
In the specific case of Africa, home to 1.3 billion people, this great continent is responsible for barely 2-3% of global warming, but has been the victim of more than 80% of its harmful effects.
Adding to this is the fact that Africa’s fertile soil is desperate for international commercial business for large-scale food production and trade, which is produced through land grabbing, leading to loss of fertility and water scarcity.
Therefore, Africa is often associated with severe droughts, land degradation, hunger and famine, not to mention the exploitation of its minerals and a host of conflicts.
Five major threats:
According to the UN, these are the five main causes and consequences of man-made disasters:
1. Drought
More than one-third of the world’s people live in areas without water, according to the report The UNCCDsGlobal Land Outlook Report.
As the land degrades, the soil loses its water-holding capacity, leading to loss of vegetation and creating a vicious cycle of drought and erosion.
“This issue is exacerbated by climate change, which is particularly severe in sub-Saharan Africa, which causes food shortages and hunger.”
Adding to this is the fact that Africa’s fertile soil is desperate for international commercial enterprise for large-scale food production and trade, produced by land grabbing.
2. Destruction of the earth
Human activities have changed more than 70 percent of the world’s land surface, resulting in the destruction of forests, mountain ranges, and grasslands to name a few natural habitats. This reduces soil fertility, reduces crop yields and threatens food security.
3. Industrial farming
Although industrial agriculture produces a lot of food, it is very damaging to the health of the soil.
The use of heavy machinery, planting, monocropping, and excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers degrades soil quality, pollutes water sources and contributes to biodiversity loss.
Industrial agriculture also accounts for 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Chemicals and pollution
Soil pollution, often invisible, harms plants, animals and human health. Industrial processes, mining, poor waste management and uncontrolled farming practices introduce chemicals, such as synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and heavy metals, into the soil.
Excessive use of fertilizers disrupts the nutrient balance, while pesticides harm beneficial soil organisms, such as earthworms and fungi. Heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, accumulate in the soil, interfering with bacterial activity and plant nutrient uptake.
5. Food and nutrition
The world’s current food and nutrition choices greatly affect soil health through the agricultural practices used to produce food. A diet that depends on staple crops, such as wheat, corn and rice, often promotes intensive monoculture farming.
This practice depletes soil nutrients, reduces organic matter, and leads to compaction and erosion.
Similarly, a diet high in animal products, especially beef, increases the use of land for planting and feeding crops. Overgrazing by livestock increases soil compaction and soil erosion.
With these facts in hand, is it any wonder that the UN announced the years 2021 to 2030? The UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.
Any way out?
There are so many factors that justify the pressing need to act.
“The survival of our planet depends on a precious relationship with the soil. More than 95 percent of our food comes from the soil. In addition, they provide 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemicals that are important to plants,” the UN reminds.
The world body also reminds that there are solutions through sustainable soil management practices, such as minimal tillage, crop rotation, organic matter application, and cover cultivation, to improve soil health, reduce erosion and pollution, and improve water infiltration and retention.
These practices also maintain soil biodiversity, improve fertility, and contribute to carbon sequestration, playing an important role in combating climate change.
Up to 58% more food could be produced through sustainable soil management, the UN reveals, and warns that agricultural production will have to increase by 60% to meet global food demand by 2050.
Obscene greed…
Despite all of the above, and no matter how many conferences are held, the greed behind such a collapse remains unchanged.
In fact, large industrial companies – especially from Western countries – seem to have no limits in their practices to make more profit, at any cost, including poisoning people, animals and plants, in short, the entire natural process.
So much so that “big business” is profiting from the “month” of $1 trillion a year during the cost of living crisis,” according to Oxfam, a global organization of people fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice, and ActionAid, a global coalition working for a world without poverty and injustice.
“722 mega-corporations earn $1 trillion a year in unsustainable profits each year for the past two years amid rising prices and interest rates, while billions of people have to cut back or starve,” revealed two major public coalitions.
Business news only?
A small one tax only seven of the world’s largest oil and gas companies can raise the UN Disaster Response Fund once Damage more than 2000%, as shown in analysis naturally organizationsgreen Peace International and Stamp Out Poverty.
“Paying taxes ExxonMobilThe 2023 release could cover half of the Hurricane’s costs Berylwhich devastated large parts of the Caribbean, Mexico and the USA…
… Taxation A shellThe 2023 release could cover most of the Hurricane Carina‘s damage, one of the worst that the Philippines has experienced this year. Taxation Absolute Power‘ The release of 2023 could cover more than 30 Kenyan sessions for 2024 floods.”
What seems more important is that global trade is poised to hit a record 33 trillion USD in 2024, marking an increase of 1 trillion USD over 2023, according to the UN’s trade and development organization (UNCTAD)’s Global Trade Update.
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
