Desertification in the state of Ceará: risks to the most vulnerable populations

Abstract

Climate change has produced more frequent disasters and extreme meteorological events around the world, including droughts linked to the desertification process in semi-arid environments such as those occurring in north-eastern Brazil. This article briefly discusses the environmental risk of desertification, associating climate change, human actions, and the environmental susceptibility of the State of Ceará to desertification and the socioeconomic risks that it signifies for the most vulnerable populations in Ceará State. The study is based on physical and geographical indicators on the progress and scope of desertification over a period of twenty-four years, as well as socioeconomic indicators such as agricultural GDP, annual food production and volume, average income, and main occupation of rural producers in the State of Ceará. The analysis shows that due to a combination of physical-climatic and anthropic factors, desertification is advancing from its centres through the territory of Ceará. It is also observed that despite the importance of food production, it has not grown at the same pace as the population, which constitutes a great risk to the quality of life of the most vulnerable populations.