Much of Western Asia's land is becoming degraded.  A variety of factors, some human and some natural, are responsible for this problem.

Droughts are a common and unpredictable occurrence in the region.  These are often especially harmful due to the types of land usage in the area.

Farmers are responsible for overgrazing, excessive cultivation, using poor lands, eliminating trees and other barriers to erosion, and misusing water resources in agricultural operations.

In addition to droughts, frequent winds greatly exacerbate the erosion problem.  Also, sands in the area are spreading onto otherwise usable land and ruining it.

Over three-fourths of the land in Western Asia is desert.  Unfortunately for human inhabitants of countries in Western Asia, the desert areas are growing and fertile areas are being degraded by erosion.

Countries such as Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen are experiencing especially severe land loss problems.  In these countries and others, most usable farmland is located near the coast.

The development of coastal areas and the increasing use of coastal lands by non-agricultural industries have meant a decrease in available farmland.  To combat this problem, some countries are trying to make degraded land usable for agriculture in reclamation programs.

In nations such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, overgrazing is a major source of land degradation.

Many countries in Western Asia are being forced to expand onto marginal lands to produce food.  Using this land can be very dangerous, because it can ruin the land through erosion and desertification.