Desertification – BLM – Part 2

The USGS defines desertification as, “The alteration of arable land to dry, barren land due to prolonged drought or the deleterious effects of human intervention including overgrazing, overpopulation, or destructive agricultural practices.”  The most comical aspect of this definition is that the lack of use has caused more desertification.  As noted in the Savory video, land not being used contributes to its destruction and it is the reintroduction of land use that brought its life back.  As with forests, UN interference with responsibly managing forests has resulted in destruction.  Why has desertification grown as an issue while the BLM has progressively restricted land use?  Shouldn’t this have lessened the problem?

Ironically, desertification is a United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO) fabricated word.  Looking at a dictionary from the 1960’s it is nowhere to be found.  The closest is the word desert defined as an uncultivated, barren region, largely treeless and sandy.  One should be alarmed the UN has infested dictionaries with propaganda.

With UN interference forest destruction by fire is well under way, leaving destroyed land behind.  What to do?  Light bulb on, contact the UN for expertise on how to restore it!  The Great Basin Restorative Initiative (GBRI) was born from the DOI representative to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).  One selected site for restoration was the Owyhee Upland area, an area integrated with the sage-grouse conservation program.  And for all the BLM‘s alleged protection, the 2015 Soda fire decimated almost 400 square miles of land.  Once again, the reduction of grazing to protect some bird from the endangered species list led to land destruction with certain “desertification” unless the BLM jumps in and “restores” it.  Thanks BLM, glad to know you are self generating job protection.

Chapter 12 in Agenda 21 is devoted to the subject of desertification and “fragile ecosystems”.  “Combating desertification” should be a goal of national governments, identifying the BLM and USGS as just two participating federal agencies who took on the task.

Established in 1994, the UNCCD became the force behind desertification, Congress signing the Desertification Treaty in 2000.  According to UNCCD, over 30 percent of the land in the United States is affected by desertification.  By the time the UN is finished destroying land in the U.S., there may be no land left, except for them.  A few UNCCD thematic “priorities” include “…poverty reduction… agriculture, water access, rangeland production and renewable energy.”  Keep the renewable energy in mind.  The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is one offending agency implementing UNCCD, squandering U.S. dollars to other countries.   The DOI also gives special mention to the UNCCD.  One UNCCD objective is “…to become a global authority on scientific and technical knowledge in the fields of anti-desertification work (pg 8).  The Global Policy Centre on Resilient Ecosystems and Desertification is a one stop shopping center for the DOI on policy recommendations.  That is exactly what the federal government is doing, giving the UN full authority, on everything.

In Part 3 Ecosystems will be discussed.