Bhutan

National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation

It is estimated that worldwide 1.97 billion hectares of all usable land have been affected by various forms of human-induced land degradation. Deforestation, overgrazing, fuelwood consumption, agricultural mismanagement, industries, urbanization, and infrastructure development are the key causes. Poverty, population growth and natural factors such as extreme climate and unstable geology also contribute significantly. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, the international community called on the UN General Assembly to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a legally binding international instrument to combat desertification.