
The mysteries and threats of the deserts revealed in the Courier
Since the early 1950's, the Courier has been supporting the fight against global desertification. "Men against the desert" was the first series of articles which reported on the first UNESCO project aiming to transform nature's wastelands in 1950. In the June 1951 issue, Maurice Goldsmith alluded to a new deal for the world's arid lands. "We made a wilderness when we knew little of nature's laws," he wrote. "We plundered this planet, robbing the good earth of its fertility, destroying the forests, decimating wildlife — creating wilderness. Now — because there are about 50, 000 new mouths to feed each day and because the pressure on good agricultural land is so great — we must restore the wilderness to fertility."
Michel Batisse carried on this long debate, assuring that "Deserts have not been created by humankind, as it is sometimes claimed, though people do contribute to desertification" in the January 1994 issue.
Read about the history of deserts around the world in the Courier issues over the years !
Issues
Desertification, June 2006
Deserts, January 1994
A halt to desert advance, July 1977
Sahel – land of no return?, April 1975
Thirsty lands: past and future, May 1962
Conquest of the desert, August- September 1955
Pushing back the desert frontiers, July 1952
Articles
A Halt to advancing desert, November 1994
Sahel women fight desert advance, March 1992
Islands of welcome in a sea of sand, February 1990
The Desert as a way of life, June 1987
The Menace of desert advance, January 1985
Erosion, drought and deserts, January 1985
Marginal lands, April 1981
Will deserts drink icebergs?, February 1978
Cities that blossomed in the desert, December 1977
Hunting the sun in the steppes of Central Asia, January 1974
Ancient irrigation and modern science, February 1972
The Camel, facts and fables, August-September 1969
Peru's coastal deserts; land of three great cultures, March 1966
Desert highway built for ships, December 1964
The Deadly salt of the earth, December 1962
Desert or deluge at the flick of a switch, September 1960
Question marks in the desert, February 1960
Laboratory for desert living, January 1960
Singing sands; a strange concert heard in the desert, June 1958
The Land of countless ruins, July 1954
The Sea, the desert and the jungle; focus of international research, April-May 1954
Three islands in a sea of sand, October 1952
A New deal for the world's arid lands, June 1951
Men against the desert; postscript to a mission, May 1950
Men against the desert, April 1950
Ploughshares have replaced rifles in the Sahara, March 1950
Goodbye to another illusion: the rainless desert, March 1950
Men against the desert: a new Sahara 'garrison'; the desert scientists, March 1950
Report on the desert: Ritchie Calder begins special UNESCO project, February 1950
Using science and technology to transform nature's wastelands, January 1950
Many other articles on deserts are available in other issues. Do a keyword search to find them.