Number: 1979-02
WHEREAS, the processes and problems of desertification occur on every continent, including North America, and directly affect the social and economic welfare of millions of people, as exemplified by difficulties existing in sub-Sahara Africa since 1969; and
WHEREAS, concern about natural resource degradation of arid and semi-arid lands is a continuing concern of the United Nations Environment Programme and other international bodies; and
WHEREAS, desertification is the loss of productivity and a shift toward desert-like conditions resulting from human misuses of the land through overgrazing, improper woodcutting, cultivation of marginal lands, poor farming practices, water misuse, uncontrolled off-road vehicle use, and other practices; and
WHEREAS, it is imperative that resource utilization schemes consider fully the ecological relationships of all pertinent biological and physical factors appropriate to the situation.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 22-25, 1979, in Toronto, Ontario, hereby recommends that agencies of the U.S. Government in cooperation with other nations eliminate overgrazing and develop and implement vigorous and aggressive programs of sound land use consistent with the potentials and limitations of resource characteristics with the objective of stopping and, where possible reversing the process of desertification.