Indian Cheetah, Pink-Headed Duck, and Great Indian Bustard become Extinct

Researchers warned at the 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 14) that at least three to four species of animals, such as the Indian Cheetah, Pink-Headed Duck, and the Great Indian Bustard, have become extinct due to desertification in India.

Impact of Desertification on Biodiversity

• Loss of Biodiversity: Desertification is caused by reduction of biodiversity and causes further reduction of biodiversity. Reduction of biodiversity reduces carbon sinks hence increasing climate change. Thus, it is the loss of biodiversity that initiates the vicious circle of desertification-global warming-further loss of biodiversity.
• Affects Entire Food Chain: Desertification not only impacts animals but the entire biodiversity, which includes microscopic animals to human beings. The entire food chain is affected due to this desertification.
• Reduces Carbon Sinks: Reduction of soil plant cover in drylands due to the desertification process causes further reduction of sinks, i.e., global warming, which in turn exacerbates desertification.
• Exacerbates Warming Phenomenon: Warming increases evapotranspiration hence aridity, thus bringing more drylands under the risk of desertification. Loss of surface moisture due to desertification releases solar energy, otherwise expended on evaporation, to warming of the lower atmosphere. This increases warming and reduces rainfall.