Abstract
Desertification and land degradation represent a major threat to agricultural sustainable development. It puts the livelihoods of billions of people around the world at risk in arid and semi-arid regions. This is especially the case for people living in rural areas where the majority of the poor live in rural areas. Human pressures and climate variations are the main causes of land degradation and desertification. It occurs because drylands ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation and inappropriate land use that resulted in underdevelopment of economies and in entranced poverty among the affected population. Libya is no different from other parts of arid and semi-arid zones in terms of the climatic conditions and human activities as the main reasons behind land degradation and desertification. However, many human factors are contributing to the deterioration of environmental conditions and the occurrence of desertification in Libya. This chapter discusses land degradation and desertification in Libya, emphasizing the main causes, impacts of the phenomena, and efforts to combat it.