The deserts of north Africa are threatening to leap the Mediterranean¹ and creep through Spain, according to government figures made public as part of a national campaign to halt desertification.

　　A third of the country is at risk of being turned into desert as climate change and tourism add to the effects of farming.

　　More than 90% of land bordering the Mediterranean from Almeria in the south to Tarragona in the north is considered to be at high risk. But that figure climbs to almost 100% in Alicante and Murcia.

　　Spain's environment ministry² has announced a £50m programme to combat³ desertification.

　　Over-grazing and irrigation methods that wash away topsoil were to blame for some of the damage, experts said. Building developments and climate change were doing the rest.

　　Spain builds an estimated 180,000 holiday homes along its coast every year. "We have grown too quickly without protecting areas of nature," Javier Pedraza of Complutense University, Madrid, said this week.

　　　根据西班牙政府近日公布的一组数据，位于北非的大沙漠有可能跃过地中海进而在西班牙境内蔓延，这些数据的披露也是该国反荒漠化行动的一个组成部分。

　　据英国《卫报》6月18日报道，由于气候变化、旅游业发展以及对土地的开垦，该国三分之一的国土已处于荒漠化的威胁之下。从南方的阿尔美里亚到北方的塔拉戈纳之间的地中海沿岸地区，有90%的土地被认为处于高度危险状态下。而在阿利坎特和穆尔西亚地区，这一比例已经攀升到了100%。

　　西班牙有报纸6月17日评论说：“如果任由事态发展下去，我们以后就不需要专门跑到北非去欣赏沙漠所特有的静寂氛围了，只要到加那利群岛、巴伦西亚或穆尔西亚走一趟就可以了。”

　　报道说，西班牙环境部已经宣布将启动一项耗资5000万英镑的计划以遏制荒漠化的发展趋势。专家们认为，过度放牧以及将表土层完全冲刷殆尽的灌溉方式都要对土壤沙化付责任。当然，建筑地的扩张与气候变迁也难辞其咎。西班牙每年都要沿其海岸线建造约180，000幢各种度假房屋。来自马德里孔普卢腾斯(Complutense)大学的哈维尔-佩德拉萨表示：“这些地区发展得太快，以至于忽略了对其自然环境的保护。”(文/张咏)

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