{
  "id": 1917793,
  "title": "How degradation and drought are threatening the land that feeds us",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/how-degradation-and-drought-are-threatening-the-land-that-feeds-us",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-19T10:55:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "RFI English",
    "slug": "rfi-english",
    "url": "https://www.rfi.fr/en/environment/20260819-degradation-and-drought-threatening-the-land-that-feeds-us-cop17-desrtification-jean-luc-chotte"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Desertification is not the spread of deserts. It is the slow degradation of fertile land – a process that now affects 40 percent of the Earth's land surface and leaves around 100 million hectares of healthy land unproductive every year. As governments gather in Mongolia this week for the UN's Cop17 desertification summit, scientists say restoring soil health is becoming critical for food…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}