Land Degradation and Desertification in India

IN NEWS:

• As per the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) data dashboard released recently, from 2015–2019, 30.51 million hectares of India’s total reported land was degraded. This means that 9.45 percent of the country's landmass was degraded as of 2019. This was 4.42 percent in 2015.

MORE ON NEWS:

• According to UNCCD, India’s total degraded land is equivalent to the size of 43 million football pitches.
• The UNCCD data also reflected that 251.71 million Indians, constituting 18.39 percent of the country’s population, were exposed to land degradation during 2015–2019.
• From 2015 to 2019, the world lost at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land each year, according to the data. 

LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION:

• UNCCD defines desertification as “land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities”.
• Land degradation is defined as “the persistent reduction of the production capacity of a land, which may be manifest through any combination of several interrelated processes, such as soil erosion, deterioration of soil nutrients, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, or declining vegetative health”.

CAUSES OF LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION:

IMPACTS OF LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION:

• Economic loss:
  • The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) conservative estimate shows land degradation costs USD 48.8 billion to the country’s exchequer annually.
• Threaten food security:
  • Land degradation threatens agricultural productivity and can lead to food insecurity. This will have repercussive impacts on poverty alleviation as well as affects the overall productivity of the economy.
• Impacts Microclimate:
  • Degradation can lead to destruction of vegetation, which will affect the region’s climate and also contributes to climate change.
• Reduce Carbon storage:
  • Loss of green cover, soil infertility and increased soil erosion reduces the soil’s potential to store carbon. This in turn contributes to global warming and aggravates climate change.  
• Affects water retention:
  • Land degradation can reduce the infiltration of water, which results in lower groundwater table and
• Aggravates disasters:
  • Excessive soil erosion due to land degradation can destabilise slopes leading to landslides. Siltation of rivers due to erosion reduces the carrying capacity of rivers, thereby leading to severe floods and intense droughts.
• Socio-Political Impacts:
  • Land degradation has serious knock-on effects for humans, such as malnutrition, disease, forced migration, cultural damage, and even war.
  • Eg: Protracted drought and loss of fertile land may have been contributing factors in the wars in Sudan and Syria.
  • Eg: Recent farmer agitations and resultant resignation of elected members of allies from ruling coalitions.

EFFORTS TO PREVENT LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION:

NATIONAL:

• Commitment to UNCCD and SDGs:
  • For eg. India has adopted the goal of achieving Land degradation Neutrality by 2030 as adopted under Sustainable Development Goals.
• National Action Programme to Combat Desertification.
• Delhi Declaration: India hosted the COP 14 to UNCCD and adopted new targets:
• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana.
• Desert Development Programme.
• National Afforestation Programme.
• Soil health card scheme.
• National Mission on Green India.

INTERNATIONAL:

• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD):It is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
• The Bonn Challenge: To bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.
• Goal 15 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), 2030.
• Land Degradation Neutrality fund.
• The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed every year on 17th June.

WAY FORWARD:

• Watershed development: Integrated watershed management, which involves soil and water conservation coupled with suitable crop management, is another excellent strategy for mitigating soil erosion and land degradation.
• Promote sustainable agriculture: India needs to encourage crop rotation, crop diversification, micro-irrigation, organic farming etc. if it is to tackle desertification.
• “Green Walls” And “Green Dams”: Natural windbreaks should be constructed to reduce the rate of desertification, through afforestation, and ecosystem restoration programmes
• Integrated Nutrient Management and Organic Manuring: Integrated nutrient management, i.e., the application of NPK mineral fertilizers along with organic manure, increases crop productivity, and decreases soil loss.
• Recognizing the key role of Land managers, including indigenous people and local communities in the design, implementation and evaluation of sustainable land management practices.
• Sustainable Urban planning: Focus on urban greenery, replanting with native species, green infrastructure development, remediation of contaminated soils, wastewater treatment and river channel restoration.
• Eliminate incentives that promote degradation like subsidies that reward overproduction, and devising positive incentives to reward the adoption of sustainable land management practices.
• Reclamation of affected Soils and Drainage, through measures such as using lime and gypsum, zero tillage, use of leguminous crops and organic fertilizers. Mined land can be better reclaimed by proper back filling of topsoil and revegetating them with the help of geo-textiles.
• Pollution Control: Domestic and municipal wastes, sludges, pesticides, industrial wastes, etc. need to be used with utmost caution to avoid the possibility of pollution of soil.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Discuss why countries' Green Revolution regions are more prone to land degradation. Explain how sustainable agricultural practices can overcome this issue, highlighting various government initiatives.