Desert islands are unique and fragile environments that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Sand for Mirage has been collected from various islands under threat from desertification, including Malta, various Greek Islands, and Madagascar.

Humans are driving the transformation of drylands into desert on an unprecedented scale around the world, with serious consequences. As global temperatures rise and the human population expands, more of the planet is vulnerable to desertification, the permanent degradation of land that was once arable. These drylands account for more than 40 percent of the world's terrestrial surface area. While land degradation has occurred throughout history, the pace has accelerated.

The once lush and green island of Madagascar is turning into a red desert. The fourth-largest island on the planet and one of its most diverse ecosystems, Madagascar has thousands of endemic species of plants. With precious few trees left to slow the wind in this once fertile land, red sand is blowing everywhere. Four years of drought, linked by the United Nations to climate change, along with deforestation caused by burning or cutting down trees to make charcoal and farming, have transformed the area into a dust bowl.