Desertification as a Global environmental issue

Compared to other environmental issues, such as Global Warming/Climatic Change, and the Ozone Hole, Desertification has been neglected by both scientists and funding agencies. The reasons are the complexity of the problem and the poverty and marginality of the arid lands. The author suggests a policy-oriented definition and draws attention to the differences between drought, desiccation and dry-land degradation.