Essay "Desertification in the Mixteca region, Oaxaca de Juárez."

Essay "Desertification in the Mixteca region, Oaxaca de Juárez."

Content
Introduction 3
Summary 4
Development 5
Conclusion 7
References 8

Introduction

In this essay it was exposed a problem that affects the Mixteca in Oaxaca de Juárez and is the Desertification, is that, due to diverse factors that harm the earth, this becomes of fertile to an uninhabitable desert. The causes that cause this problem were touched, the role that man has in this and what can be done to solve it, we tried to solve the thesis that is presented below, which talks about the solutions that we could give to the question. In this paper we will talk about Desertification and how it has affected the region of the Mixteca in Oaxaca de Juárez. It will begin by touching the meaning of Desertification followed by the causes that cause it, who they affect, why the land is so important to the individual, the benefits it gives us. Then the topic will be covered covering the World, then Mexico, to reach Oaxaca and specifically the Mixteca, how this affected the region and the possible solutions or are already carrying out. It was meant to imply that this problem, which increasingly affects not only our country but also the world, is of great importance and pregnancy for all the living beings that inhabit this planet, as well as the possible solutions that we can carry Out to avoid or at least decrease the damage. It is important that anyone with a little conscience or desire to change read this essay. Our planet could die and we are the only ones who can do something to bring about a significant change. The thesis to be solved in this work is the following: In the Mixteca, more than 50% of fertile land has been lost due to Desertification, which is caused by several factors that affect soil degradation, such as droughts, agrochemicals, Over-grazing, over-exploitation of resources, among others. To solve this problem, we must stop unconscious actions against our environment by putting in place reforestation projects, informing and instructing the local inhabitants, so that farmers stop using so many agrochemicals that damage the land. Can we still stop this situation or is nature condemned to death?

Development

First we must know what the word Desertification refers to; "Is the degradation of arid and semi-arid land resulting from various factors, such as climatic variations and human activities" (UNCCD). It follows that previously unproductive areas of land are now unusable and lifeless. This happens because arid areas are more fragile compared to other biomes, so they are more susceptible to these changes.
Factors that cause Desertification can be caused by man, such as overgrazing, agrochemicals, deforestation, poor use of mineral resources, or natural causes that could be "climate, solar radiation, wind and even The trees, because of their longevity their roots are very deep in the earth and this can cause damages "(FAO, sf). These places are overpopulated and exploit the resources of a region to survive, but also often is a desire to have more resources than are needed.
41% of the planet's territory is covered by arid zones, this "directly affects more than 250 million people and endangers the livelihoods of more than 1 billion people in more than 100 countries" as indicated by UNEP (Quoted by UNIC, sf). It seems that the Earth is passing us the bill of all the damage that we have caused in these last centuries.
 This problem mainly affects those who inhabit these regions to be reduced of the foods that grew and these places were supported, like the water and the possibility of grazing in those places, thus avoiding that the people can obtain the nutrients that Are necessary and fundamental for their development, resulting in not only the land, but also we also end up very affected in this situation.

The earth has undergone a great change in recent years. In Mexico, this is also happening because, according to official figures, "around 120 million hectares of land have been affected by desertification and deforesting approximately 50,000 hectares per year" (Orozco, 2015). The main causes are: unplanned deforestation, overgrazing, use of agrochemicals, urbanization, among others.

 Among the most affected states of Mexico is Oaxaca, especially the region of the Mixteca that now looks like a desert despite the fact that in the past it was covered with forests. Because "monocultures ended the fertility of the land and exposed it to erosion, this caused farmers to use more and more fertilizer" (David & Gerry, 2013) when the land could no longer be planted and moved their crops To newly cut areas causing desertification to expand more and more.

"Currently, almost 50% of the region shows signs of moderate and severe erosion" (Zertuche, Zepeda, M. H., & A., 2015). Several of these communities ignored the warnings and the Mixteca was severely affected. "One year, between 25 and 30 thousand hectares of forests are deforested in Oaxaca" (Torres, 2015). These are not only deforested areas, but also become desertified areas.

Today the Mixteca is making a great effort to bring about change, and more and more people are joining the cause. The peasants formed the CEDICAM that is responsible for reforesting and conserving the soil, sustainable agriculture and creating a social impact to promote change. "One of their biggest commitments has been to improve crops so they have applied different techniques, using fewer pesticides, selecting higher quality seeds and using more organic fertilizers" (David & Gerry, 2013). We can see that this community has made a great commitment to keep their home.

Conclusion

It began by explaining the meaning of Desertification; The various causes that cause it; How many people in the world harms; How it affects the individual and the communities, in their economy and even in the development of their body; Each time making the topic more specific, we talked about the World, then Mexico, then Oaxaca until reaching the region of the Mixteca, where the causes and solutions that are being given to the issue were exposed. The reasons for this problem were that Oaxaca was affected, and because of this, about 50% of the fertile lands had been lost, also due to the urbanization that has occurred in recent years in the area and as the Population has been increasing so, to be able to sustain life in the place have had to exploit resources. In the end we could see that the peasants of the region noticed the serious situation in which they were, organized and decided to a change formed the CEDICAM in the region of the Mixteca, which today is in charge of protecting and trying to recover some of the Lost hectares, also to instruct the people of the place, showing them alternatives to cultivate so as not to damage the ecosystem. This demonstrates that our thesis is not totally wrong and it comes close to reality, since the community really decided to offer a Solution to the problem that affected them. Even so, we should not lower our guard at any time so we must continue to fight to continue to rescue or protect areas that are not yet affected. The investigation of this thesis can be continued, keeping us informed of the topic and the new news that will be published in the future; The studies that could be carried out could be some such as personally visiting the Mixteca region, talking with those who now run the CEDICAM, keeping annual records of the loss of land areas and investigating further on the subject. The main thing we can do is contribute a small grain of sand and thus, all together be able to at least lengthen the life of our home planet Earth a little longer.

References 

citado por CINU. (s.f.). Desertificación. Obtenido de Centro de Información de las Naciones Unidas: http://www.cinu.mx/temas/medio-ambiente/desertificacion/

D. N., & G. M. (2013). Proyecto de Puntos de Inflexion Ecológica. Obtenido de México - Región de la Mixteca (Oaxaca) – Combatiendo la Desertificación con Reforestación Comunitaria y Agricultura Sustentable: http://www.ecoinflexiones.org/historias/detallados/mexico-oaxaca-reforestacion-comunitaria-mixteca.html

FAO. (s.f.). Dépositos de Documentos de la FAO. Obtenido de Definiciones y enfoque general de los problemas: http://www.fao.org/docrep/V0265S/v0265s01.htm

Orozco, O. O. (16 de Junio de 2015). Dirección General de Comunicación Social . Obtenido de AMENAZAN LA DESERTIFICACIÓN Y LA DEGRADACIÓN DE TIERRAS LA SEGURIDAD ALIMENTARIA EN MÉXICO: http://www.dgcs.unam.mx/boletin/bdboletin/2015_347.html

T. R., & G. F. (2016). La desertificación y la sequía en el mundo. Avances en investigación agropecuaria.

Torres, H. A. (19 de Abril de 2015). Crece deforestación en diversas regiones . Obtenido de El Imparcial: http://imparcialoaxaca.mx/general/3pA/crece-deforestaci%C3%B3n-en-diversas-regiones

UNCCD. (s.f.). CONVENCION DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS DE LUCHA CONTRA LA DESERTIFICACION EN.

Zertuche , J. V., Zepeda , M. A., M. B., & A. G. (Abril de 2015). Causas e Impactos Socio-Económico y Ambientales de la Erosión. Daena: International Journal of Good Conscience, págs. 76-87.