According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), sand and dust storms (SDS) are an underappreciated problem now “dramatically” more frequent in some places worldwide, with at least 25% of the phenomenon attributed to human activities.
- UNCCD is one of three Conventions that originated at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Key findings
- The “Sand and dust storms: A Guide to Mitigation, Adaptation, Policy, and Risk Management Measures in Agriculture” was released by UNCCD, FAO and partners.
- Sand and dust storms usually occur when strong winds lift large amounts of sand and dust from bare, dry soils into the atmosphere.
- They are known to have adverse impacts on human health, the environment and economies.
- Sand and dust storms (SDS) are known by many local names: the sirocco, haboob, yellow dust, white storms, or the harmattan.
- SDS events typically originate in low-latitude drylands and sub-humid areas where vegetation cover is sparse or absent.
- The main sources of sand and dust storms are the world’s drylands. About 75 per cent of emissions come from natural sources such as hyper-arid regions, topographic depressions in arid areas and dry ancient lake beds with little vegetative cover.
- Anthropogenic factors such as land-use change, agriculture, water diversion and deforestation contribute to the remaining 25 per cent.
- The dried-up Aral Sea is a major source of SDS, emitting more than 100 million tons of dust and poisonous salts every year, impacting the health not just of the people living in the vicinity, but far beyond and generating annual losses of US$ 44 million.
Rio Conventions
- Climate change, desertification and biodiversity loss are heavily interlinked and pose existential challenges to humanity.
- In response to these challenges, governments founded three sister “Rio Conventions” at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- These are: 1. the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, also known as UN Climate Change), 2. the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, also known as UN Biodiversity), and 3. the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
