land before it has recovered its fertility, or attempt to obtain multiple crops by irrigating unsuitable soils. High population density is not always related to land degradation. Rather, it is the practices of the human population that can cause a landscape to become degraded. Populations can be a benefit to the land and make it more productive than it is in its natural state. Land degradation is an important factor of internal displacement in many African and Asian countries. Severe land degradation affects a significant portion of the Earth's arable lands, decreasing the wealth and economic development of nations. As the land resource base becomes less productive, food security is compromised and competition for dwindling resources increases, the seeds of famine and potential conflict are sown. Climate change and land degradation According to the Special Report on Climate Change and Land of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate change is one of the causes of land degradation. The report state that: "Climate change exacerbates land degradation, particularly in lowlying coastal areas, river deltas, drylands and in permafrost areas (high confidence). Over the period 1961–2013, the annual area of drylands in drought has increased, on average by slightly more than 1% per year, with large inter-annual variability. In 2015, about 500 (380–620) million people lived within areas which experienced desertification between the year 1980s and 2000s. The highest numbers of people affected are in South and East Asia, the circum Sahara region including North Africa, and the Middle East including the Arabian Peninsula (low confidence). Other dryland regions have also experienced desertification. People living in already degraded or desertified areas are increasingly negatively affected by climate change (high confidence)." Additionally, it is claimed that 74% of the poor are directly affected by land degradation globally. Significant land degradation from seawater inundation, particularly in river deltas and on low-lying islands, is a potential hazard that was identified in a 2007 IPCC report. As a result of sea-level rise from climate change, salinity levels can reach levels where agriculture becomes impossible in very low-lying areas. One way to consider climate change and land degradation is through the discipline of Land Change Science, which, among other things, tracks the long-term consequences of land degradation on the climate of a given area. By understanding the links between land degradation and climate change, scientists can better inform the creation of policies to reduce harm. In