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How much land has been affected by desertification worldwide?
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desertification
Young trees planted to hinder sandstorms and reverse desertification in the Xihu preservation area of the Gobi Desert, near Dunhuang, China.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), desertification has affected approximately 36 million square kilometers (14 million square miles) of land worldwide.1
This phenomenon is a significant international concern, as it impacts the lives of 250 million people and threatens to displace as many as 135 million people by 2045. Desertification, which is driven by both climatic variations and unsustainable land-management practices, is particularly severe in Africa, where large portions of rangeland and cropland have already been moderately harmed. Addressing this crisis is a moral imperative, as it directly undermines the stability and survival of populations living in vulnerable dryland ecosystems.12