What are the causes of desertification?

What are the causes of desertification?(Note - We are solely looking at the causes and not the effects or solutions of desertification)So break the question down: Define desertification - degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. Then, state how causes can be caused by both human and natural factors - ensuring there are linkages between the causes as it enhances the essay's overall structure. Pin - point the examples to a region: Sahel region, Ethiopia Human activities: Poverty => lack of contraception => increased population growth => increasing urbanization => more food needed => increased farming practices => overgrazing. (etc)Finishing on overgrazing is a nice spring board to state the environmental factors: overgrazing leads to deforestation => also enhanced by climate change. However, can be caused by drought, such as the 2010&2012 Sahel droughtConclusion - If the question is a 9 marker ensure you have stated whether the natural or human factors are the main contributors to desertification

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Answered by Grace K. Geography tutor

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