Relevance:
Recently, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched report on Urban forestry and urban greening in drylands.
News Summary:
- Report was produced in framework of FAO’s Green Urban Oases Programme.
- Key highlights –
- Some 35% of the world’s largest cities (including New Delhi, Cairo etc.) are built in world’s drylands facing a high risk of social, environmental and economic crisis as they grow.
- Scarce rainfall and water supplies compound negative impacts of rapid urbanization on drylands, leading to overexploitation of limited resources, increased land degradation etc.
- Urban forestry and greening strategies have yet to be fully incorporated in many dryland cities.
Green Urban Oases Programme:
- Launched in 2021.
- Aim – To improve resilience of dryland cities into ‘green urban oases’ by tackling climate, health, food and economic challenges.
- It contributes to FAO’s Green Cities initiative.
- Launched in 2020 to improve livelihoods and well-being of urban and peri-urban populations in at least 100 cities around the world in next 3 years.
Drylands:
- They are regions in which aridity index is not more than 0.65.
- Aridity Index: Ratio of annual precipitation and mean annual potential evapotranspiration.
- Drylands make up 41% of the Earth’s land surface, housing about 2 billion people, of whom 90% live in developing countries, mainly in Africa and Asia.
Reference: FAO
The “Miyawaki method” is well known for the: (2022)
a). Promotion of commercial farming in arid and semi-arid areas
b). Harvesting wind energy on coastal areas and on sea surfaces
c). Development of gardens genetically modified flora using
d). Creation of mini forests in urban areas
