Desertification is a complex phenomenon, decisively caused by humans, which can be accelerated by natural influences such as rainfall variability and droughts. The vulnerability of certain soil types to the processes of deflation, fluvial erosion, soil skeletonisation, salinisation and alkalinisation can also have a reinforcing influence.

Both the resident population and outsiders can be responsible for human interventions in the nature-human system, be it political decision-makers of the government, domestic and foreign investors or, as in historical times, colonial administrations, and rulers. The permanent overexploitation of limited resources can, for example in the Sahel area, be a consequence of the interplay of population pressure, inappropriate agriculture, and lack of rainfall. Studies on desertification also show that the current land use of arid and semi-arid areas differ severely from the adjusted land use of human societies in the centuries before.

Once started, the desertification process often develops its own self-reinforcing dynamics. The initial consequences are of an ecological-physical nature and manifest themselves in various forms of soil degradation and biological degradation. This can ultimately result in a range of serious social, economic, and political consequences, from devastating famines to political unrest.

There are measures to fight desertification, but they are not always easy to implement and not effective everywhere. For example, agricultural engineering methods are used to at least contain the progressive desertification through appropriate cultivation practices. A sustainable solution to the problem would have to include incentive measures for the affected people in developing countries to earn their livelihoods outside of agriculture and, at the same time, apply such methods of cultivation that are in the greatest possible harmony with climatic, pedological and human ecological conditions. Such long-term measures would also make more economic sense than intensive farming aimed at rapid profit maximisation. It is therefore advisable to study local systems and adapt them gently to current conditions.