science

International Year of Deserts and Desertification

International Year of Deserts and Desertification is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand International Year of Deserts and Desertification rather than just read about it. In short: The year 2006 was declared the International Year of Deserts and Desertification by the United Nations General Assembly. The Year aims to raise $20 million from industry and governments and will spend half on co-funding research, and half on "outreach" activities.

Key takeaways

International Year of Deserts and Desertification belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect International Year of Deserts and Desertification to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of International Year of Deserts and Desertification from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The year 2006 was declared the International Year of Deserts and Desertification by the United Nations General Assembly. The Year aims to raise $20 million from industry and governments and will spend half on co-funding research, and half on "outreach" activities. It will be the biggest ever international effort to promote the Earth sciences. Apart from researchers, who are expected to benefit under the Year's Science Programme, the principal target groups for the Year's broader messages are:

Decision makers and politicians who need to be better informed about the how Earth scientific knowledge can be used for sustainable development The voting public, which needs to know how Earth scientific knowledge can contribute to a better society Geoscientists, who are very knowledgeable about various aspects of the Earth but who need help in using their knowledge for the benefit of the world’s population. The research themes of the year, set out in 10 science prospectuses were chosen for their societal relevance, multidisciplinarity and outreach potential. The Year has 12 Founding Partners, 23 Associate Partners and is backed politically by 97 countries, representing 87% of the world’s population. The Year was promoted politically at UNESCO and at the United Nations in New York by the People’s Republic of Tanzania. The Year is open to Expressions of Interest from researchers within each of its 10 themes. The Outreach programme of the year is also now open to expressions of interest, and will work in a similar way by receiving and responding to bids for support from individuals and organisations worldwide. The Year's Project Leader is former IUGS President Professor Eduardo F J de Mulder. The Year's Science Committee is chaired by Prof. Edward Derbyshire (Royal Holloway) and its Outreach Committee by Dr Ted Nield (Geological Society of London). The International Year of Planet Earth project was initiated jointly by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)[1] and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) [2]. The UN press release reads: "By a draft on the International Year of Planet Earth, 2008, which the Committee approved without a vote on 11 November, the Assembly would declare 2008 the International Year of Planet Earth. It would also designate the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to organize activities to be undertaken during the Year, in collaboration with UNEP [3] and other relevant United Nations bodies, the International Union of Geological Sciences and other Earth sciences societies and groups throughout the world. Also by that draft, the Assembly would encourage Member States, the United Nations system and other actors to use the Year to increase awareness of the importance of Earth sciences in achieving sustainable development and promoting local, national, regional and international action" The Year’s research themes are listed below. The Project is backed by the following Founding Partners: International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG)[4]; the International Geographical Union (IGU) [5]; the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) [6]; the International Lithosphere Programme (ILP) [7]; the National Geological Survey of the Netherlands (NITG-TNO) [8] Archived 2007-02-19 at the Wayback Machine; The Geological Society of London (GSL)[9]; the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) [10]; A consortium of the International Association of Engineering Geologists and the Environment (IAEG) [11], the International Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM) [12] and the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) [13]; the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) [14]; the American Geological Institute (AGI); the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) [15]; the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) [16]. The Year enjoys the support of 23 Associate Partners, including all major international geoscientific and other relevant organisations: ICSU International Council for Science; IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO; IPA International Permafrost Association [17]; IAGOD International Association on the Genesis of Ore Deposits; SEG Society of Economic Geologists; SGA Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits; IAH International Association of Hydrogeologists; IGCP International Geoscience Programme; EFG European Federation of Geologists; AARSE African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment; SCA Science Council of Asia; ProGEO European Association for the Conservation of the Geological Heritage; SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology; CCOP Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia; GSAf Geological Society of Africa; UNU United Nations University; AGID Association of Geoscientists for International Development; UN/ISDR United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction; NESF North-eastern Science Foundation (USA); AASG Association of American State Geologists; ISPRS International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing; GSA Geological Society of America; NACSN North American Committee for Stratigraphic Nomenclature.

Objectives The Year's Objective is to spread awareness about the desert areas of the world and especially the problem of desertification.

Themes The Year's research themes are deserts and especially the problem of desertification.

See also 2007:International Year of Planet Earth World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

References

External links International Year of Deserts and Desertification "UN launches International Year of Deserts and Desertification"

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with International Year of Deserts and Desertification

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what International Year of Deserts and Desertification claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to International Year of Deserts and Desertification before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about International Year of Deserts and Desertification ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of International Year of Deserts and Desertification

In research: International Year of Deserts and Desertification appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses International Year of Deserts and Desertification in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: International Year of Deserts and Desertification is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2006 in international relations, Desertification, United Nations observances, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for International Year of Deserts and Desertification outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study International Year of Deserts and Desertification in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what International Year of Deserts and Desertification means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain International Year of Deserts and Desertification out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is International Year of Deserts and Desertification in simple terms?

Why does International Year of Deserts and Desertification matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study International Year of Deserts and Desertification?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on International Year of Deserts and Desertification.