TASHKENT, September 18. /Dunyo IA/.  More than 80 million hectares of land in Central Asia have already degraded, accounting for about one-quarter of the region’s territory, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing with a report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

According to the authors’ estimates, around 24 million people, or nearly 30 percent of the region’s population, live on degraded land. The annual economic damage caused by this process is estimated at $2–6 billion.

Situation is further exacerbated by climate change: Central Asia is warming approximately twice as fast as the global average, while the region’s glacier area has declined by around 30 percent over the past 50 years.

One of the most serious manifestations of land degradation remains sand and dust storms. In Kazakhstan, around 78 percent of the territory is classified as being at increased risk of desertification, while up to 75 million tonnes of salt and fine dust are released into the atmosphere annually from the dried seabed of the Aral Sea.

At the same time, countries across the region are already implementing land restoration projects. In Uzbekistan, saxaul has been planted across two million hectares of the dried Aral Sea seabed, while drip irrigation is used on one million hectares.

Report notes that land restoration can simultaneously contribute to job creation, strengthening household livelihoods and reducing migration pressures. According to estimates, every dollar invested in land restoration can generate a return of up to $5 over a 30-year period.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification emphasizes the need for joint action by Central Asian countries, as land degradation, water resources and dust storms affect several countries simultaneously.