Desertification, land and soil degeneration, and drought are some of the most pressing issues of our time. The observance of World Desertification and Drought Day each June 17 is intended to raise awareness of these issues and spur action. The day particularly resonates with us here at Mud Valley Institute and at our home of Quinta Vale da Lama because we are located in the heart of one of the global regions experiencing rapid desertification.

Desertification is defined by the United Nations as  “not the natural expansion of existing deserts, but the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas. It is a gradual process of soil productivity loss and the thinning out of the vegetative cover because of human activities and climatic variations such as prolonged droughts and floods.”

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was adopted on 17 June, 1994, and so this year is the 30th anniversary of this multilateral, environmental agreement. All 193 UN countries have signed the agreement. Further, over 130 countries have pledged to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030.
The challenge of desertification and land degradation is a big one, requiring action from everyone.

A view into the problem:

  • The United Nations estimates that up to 40% of all land area worldwide is already considered degraded. In Europe, that number is 60%.
  • The global population exposed to extreme-to-exceptional drought is projected to increase from 3% to 8% by 2100.
  • In 2022, Europe experienced its hottest summer and second warmest year on record, and consequently the largest overall drought impacted area – over 630,000km2, as opposed to the 167,000km2 annual average between 2000 and 2022.

Data source: United Nations

👉 We recommend reading the UNCCD publication “Global Drought Snapshot 2023”, for more details and statistics about these problems.

What about us here in the western Algarve?

The propensity of Portugal to experience occurrences of extreme weather and climate conditions, such as heatwaves and droughts, makes us even more susceptible to the negative impacts of climate change and human activity.

Here in the Algarve, it is not news to local farmers, land stewards, and residents that the climatological and hydrological situation here has changed for the worse in recent years. We now receive less rainfall than before, our reservoirs are persistently very low, temperatures are higher, and our naturally arid land is growing ever drier. These environmental challenges have been exacerbated by human actions, such as planting water-intensive crops like avocado trees, and inaction, such as neglecting to repair water distribution infrastructure and limited water conservation planning by the government.

The time to start acting is well past us, so now we must play catch-up.

The Bravura dam is the closest reservoir to Mud Valley Institute and it is consistently below 25% of capacity. As of early June 2024, it is at 21.9%. For most of 2023 it was at less than 15% of capacity, and spent a few months at 9%.

The most recent reservior levels for all of Portugal, including our own Bravura, can be found here.

What is Mud Valley Institute doing about it?

We are engaging in a number of activities to improve the situation here in our ecosystem and the broader bioregion. We:

  • Continue to test and implement regenerative agriculture techniques to build back healthier soil at Quinta Vale da Lama.
  • Teach and train farmers and land stewards the value and techniques of regenerative agriculture so they will also implement this approach, growing the scale of our efforts.
  • Share what we learn in our scientific experiments with land stewards in other parts of our bioregion to expand knowledge of what works, drive innovation, and increase impact.
  • Partner with academic institutions and other regeneration nonprofits to form a community of organizations working to drive results.
  • Give grants to other organizations who are focused on regeneration and soil improvement.
  • Educate both locals and tourists about the problem and its solutions so they are inspired to support efforts at combating drought and soil degradation.

We will continue to work tirelessly to increase awareness of the challenges of desertification and drought, and drive action to mitigate and reverse their impacts.

Visit Our Work to learn more about all that we do.

June 17 is Desertification and Drought Day, and gives us the opportunity to reflect on both the challenges we face here in the Algarve, as well as what we can do to address them.
How can you help? Get involved! Learn more about soil health…take a course on regeneration…volunteer with a regeneration-focused nonprofit…talk to your friends about what is going on. There are many ways to start making a difference!

👉 Learn more about Desertification and Drought Day.

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