With the world focused on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, it is easy to forget that there exist some other important challenges facing the world that required immediate attention.
Before COVID-19, these problems were being tackled in a systematic manner. At least, we believed so.
Amid the deadly pandemic, the world would still have to tackle issues concerning our very survival on earth.
That is why the world continues to remind its citizens that we still need to fight to protect the environment that we live in.
It is in this vein that Ghana joined the world to observe the World Day to Combat Drought and Desertification (WDCDD).
The day is observed every year in accordance with United Nations General Assembly to promote public awareness about the causes and effect of land degradation, desertification, and drought as well as highlight efforts to combat these challenges.
The theme for this year’s celebration, “Food. Feed. Fibre”, seeks to educate individuals on the links between consumption and land.
The celebration also focused on changing public attitude to the leading driver of desertification and land degradation which is as a result of relentless production and consumption patterns.
According to available statistics, the lives of close to half the population on the planet are affected by land degradation and as the global population continues to grow wealthier and more urban, so do demand on land to provide food, animal feed and fibre for clothing.
Experts say, however, that the health and productivity of existing arable land keep declining and worsened by climate change.
They say that to have enough productive land to meet the demands of 10 billion people by 2050, the lifestyles of all the people on earth need to change.
Available information has it that 35 per cent of Ghana’s land is under threat of desertification due to negative activities such as deforestation, unsustainable land use practices, wildfires, the use of agro-chemicals, and overgrazing.
These negative activities are having devastating consequences for the country and it is time drastic measures are taken to recover and restore degraded lands.
The Ghanaian Times is concerned that without a concerted effort to protect the land, we may in the near future not have enough food to eat and clothes to wear and that would be the signal of the end of the world.
The COVID-19 crisis is definitely going to make the world worse off and our only hope is to make a difference by protecting the environment.
