Deserts Being Destroyed

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the report by the United Nations Environment Programme. "True deserts are not the final stage of a process of desertification," says the report, Global Deserts Outlook, published today.

"They are unique, highly adapted natural ecosystems, both providing life-supporting services on the planet and supporting human populations in much the same ways as in other ecosystems," the report says.

Andrew Warren, a professor of geography at University College London and one of the report's lead authors, said that over the course of his 45-year career he has witnessed the growing threat to deserts.

"What alarms me now is that they are threatened as never before, by climate change, by over-exploitation of groundwater, salinisation and the extinction of wildlife," Professor Warren said. Desert animals at risk include the gazelle, the oryx, the addax, the Arabian tahr, the Barbary sheep and the Asian houbara bustard.

"We risk losing not only astounding landscapes and ancient ...

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