18.
‘32% Of Land Affected By Degradation In India’
And A Fourth Of India Turning Into Desert: ISRO Study
The United Nations Conference on Desertification, which popularized the word, defines it as “the reduction or destruction of the land’s potential, finally resulting in the appearance of desert conditions” (United Nations, 1977). Gorse and Steeds (1987) write about a process of decline in the biological productivity of land that results in “desert, or skeletal soil that is irrecuperable”.
The main on-farm effect of land degradation is a decline in yields or an increased need for inputs to maintain those yields: since “subsoils generally contain fewer nutrients than topsoils, more fertilizer is needed to maintain crop yields. This, in turn, increases production costs. Moreover, the addition of fertilizer alone cannot compensate for all the nutrients lost when topsoil erodes” (FAO, 1983). Where degradation is serious, the plots may be either abandoned temporarily or permanently, or converted to inferior value uses, e.g. cropland being converted to grazing land, or grazing land left to shrubs. So basically desertification is the degradation of formerly productive land.
The world’s great deserts were formed by natural processes interacting over long intervals of time. During most of these times, deserts have grown and shrunk independent of human activities. Paleodeserts, large sand seas now inactive because they are stabilized by vegetation, extend well beyond the present margins of core deserts, such as the Sahara. In some regions, deserts are separated sharply from surrounding, less arid areas by mountains
and other contrasting landforms that reflect basic structural differences in the regional geology. In other areas, desert fringes form a gradual transition from a dry to a more humid environment, making it more difficult to define the desert border.
Desertification is a complex process. It involves multiple causes, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. Desertification may intensify a general climatic trend toward greater aridity, or it may initiate a change in local climate. [Sources: Deserts: Geology and Resources by A.S. Walker, United States Geological Survey]
Desertification does not occur in linear, easily mappable patterns. Deserts advance erratically, forming patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly to barren soil, rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct relationship
to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well underway. Often little or no data are available to indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation. Scientists still question whether desertification, as a process of global change, is permanent or how and when it can be halted or reversed. [Ibid]
Desertification became well known in the 1930’s, when parts of the Great Plains in the United States turned into the “Dust Bowl” as a result of drought and poor practices in farming, although the term itself was not used until almost 1950. During the dust bowl period, millions of people were forced to abandon their farms and livelihoods. [Ibid]
The main on-farm effect of land degradation is a decline in yields or an increased need for inputs to maintain those yields: since “subsoils generally contain fewer nutrients than topsoils, more fertilizer is needed to maintain crop yields. This, in turn, increases production costs. Moreover, the addition of fertilizer alone cannot compensate for all the nutrients lost when topsoil erodes” (FAO, 1983). Where degradation is serious, the plots may be either abandoned temporarily or permanently, or converted to inferior value uses, e.g. cropland being converted to grazing land, or grazing land left to shrubs. So basically desertification is the degradation of formerly productive land.
The world’s great deserts were formed by natural processes interacting over long intervals of time. During most of these times, deserts have grown and shrunk independent of human activities. Paleodeserts, large sand seas now inactive because they are stabilized by vegetation, extend well beyond the present margins of core deserts, such as the Sahara. In some regions, deserts are separated sharply from surrounding, less arid areas by mountains
and other contrasting landforms that reflect basic structural differences in the regional geology. In other areas, desert fringes form a gradual transition from a dry to a more humid environment, making it more difficult to define the desert border.
Desertification is a complex process. It involves multiple causes, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. Desertification may intensify a general climatic trend toward greater aridity, or it may initiate a change in local climate. [Sources: Deserts: Geology and Resources by A.S. Walker, United States Geological Survey]
Desertification does not occur in linear, easily mappable patterns. Deserts advance erratically, forming patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly to barren soil, rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct relationship
to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well underway. Often little or no data are available to indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation. Scientists still question whether desertification, as a process of global change, is permanent or how and when it can be halted or reversed. [Ibid]
Desertification became well known in the 1930’s, when parts of the Great Plains in the United States turned into the “Dust Bowl” as a result of drought and poor practices in farming, although the term itself was not used until almost 1950. During the dust bowl period, millions of people were forced to abandon their farms and livelihoods. [Ibid]
Ministry of Environment & Forests Report On Land Degradation In India
June 21, 2011, Zee News, New Delhi
An estimated 32 per cent of India’s total land area is affected by land degradation, most of which is undergoing desertification, which has severe implications for livelihood and food security, according to an Environment Ministry report.
About 69 per cent of the country is dry land, arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid-- and “degradation has severe implications for livelihood and food security” for millions of people living in these heavily populated areas, said India’s 4th National Report to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), 2010.
The UNCCD is a convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programmes.
“81.45 million hectares, or 24.8 per cent of the country’s geographic area is undergoing desertification,” (degradation is 32% of the land) said the report, which provides a holistic overview capturing comprehensively India’s policies and programme related to desertification, land degradation and drought.
The report said water and soil erosion are major causes of land degradation and water erosion is most prominent in agricultural regions.
“The key anthropogenic factors resulting in degradation are unsustainable agricultural practices, diversion of land to development programmes, industrial effluents, mining and deforestation,” it said.
The report said unsustainable resource management practices drive desertification, and accentuate the poverty of people affected by desertification.
“Land rehabilitation has been a major priority since Independence, and several policies and government agencies address desertification and degradation,” it said
In his foreword note, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said poverty and environmental degradation are major problems in dry lands, where forests and trees contribute significantly to rural livelihoods.
“In order to eradicate poverty in the dry lands, it is important to protect the land from deforestation, fragmentation, degradation and drought,” he said.
The Minister said in order to tackle the issues of desertification, land degradation and droughts, 22 major programmes are being implemented in the country, including, the “Mission for Green India”, which will address dry land forests, in addition to other ecosystems.
About 69 per cent of the country is dry land, arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid-- and “degradation has severe implications for livelihood and food security” for millions of people living in these heavily populated areas, said India’s 4th National Report to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), 2010.
The UNCCD is a convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programmes.
“81.45 million hectares, or 24.8 per cent of the country’s geographic area is undergoing desertification,” (degradation is 32% of the land) said the report, which provides a holistic overview capturing comprehensively India’s policies and programme related to desertification, land degradation and drought.
The report said water and soil erosion are major causes of land degradation and water erosion is most prominent in agricultural regions.
“The key anthropogenic factors resulting in degradation are unsustainable agricultural practices, diversion of land to development programmes, industrial effluents, mining and deforestation,” it said.
The report said unsustainable resource management practices drive desertification, and accentuate the poverty of people affected by desertification.
“Land rehabilitation has been a major priority since Independence, and several policies and government agencies address desertification and degradation,” it said
In his foreword note, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said poverty and environmental degradation are major problems in dry lands, where forests and trees contribute significantly to rural livelihoods.
“In order to eradicate poverty in the dry lands, it is important to protect the land from deforestation, fragmentation, degradation and drought,” he said.
The Minister said in order to tackle the issues of desertification, land degradation and droughts, 22 major programmes are being implemented in the country, including, the “Mission for Green India”, which will address dry land forests, in addition to other ecosystems.
If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you could do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty.
- Sir Paul McCartney
A Fourth Of India Turning Into Desert: ISRO Study
Divya Gandhi, The Hindu, November 27, 2009
No less than a fourth of India’s geographical area, or 81 million hectares, is undergoing a process of desertification, reveals a first-of-its-kind ‘desertification status map’ of the country created by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in collaboration with several scientific institutions across the country.
A host of reasons are responsible for this phenomenon, including changes in rainfall pattern and over-exploitation of natural resources, says a research paper based on this data and published in the latest issue of Current Science.
The spatial inventory, which uses satellite imagery from an Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, Resourcesat, also reveals that a third of the country’s area (or 105.48 million hectares) is degraded.
At least eight processes were at work, of which water erosion is the most pronounced (affecting 10.21 per cent of the total geographical area), followed by reducing vegetation cover (9.63 per cent) and wind erosion (5.34 per cent). Together 32.07 per cent of the total geographic area is being transformed by land degradation.
State-wise, Rajasthan has the largest area (21.77 per cent of the total geographical area) undergoing land degradation, followed by Jammu and Kashmir (12.79 per cent), Maharashtra (12.66 per cent) and Gujarat (12.72 per cent).
“There is tremendous pressure on our land-based natural resources” say the authors of the paper, adding that this information could serve as baseline data to monitor and develop strategies to arrest desertification. “There has been a long-pending need for a scientific status mapping of desertification and land degradation of the entire country.”
ISRO’s Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad served as the nodal coordinating organisation for the study.
The spatial inventory, at national and regional levels, will be integrated to generate a desertification status map of the world as envisaged by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
The research paper adds that about 15.8 per cent of the country’s geographical area is arid, 37.6 per cent semi-arid and 16.5 per cent falls in the dry sub-humid region. Put together, about 228 million hectares, or 69 per cent of the country constitute ‘dry land.’
The study noted that India accounted for 2.4% of the global land mass, but supported about 16.7% of the world’s population and 18% of its cattle.
The Space Applications Centre study comes after research led by consulting firm McKinsey and Co. revealed this week that India’s water needs were set to double by 2030, which could dry up its river basins.
Demand for rice, wheat and sugar will push India’s huge agricultural sector to consume 1.5 trillion cubic metres (53 trillion cubic feet) of water by 2030, almost double that of China, the McKinsey study warned.
A host of reasons are responsible for this phenomenon, including changes in rainfall pattern and over-exploitation of natural resources, says a research paper based on this data and published in the latest issue of Current Science.
The spatial inventory, which uses satellite imagery from an Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, Resourcesat, also reveals that a third of the country’s area (or 105.48 million hectares) is degraded.
At least eight processes were at work, of which water erosion is the most pronounced (affecting 10.21 per cent of the total geographical area), followed by reducing vegetation cover (9.63 per cent) and wind erosion (5.34 per cent). Together 32.07 per cent of the total geographic area is being transformed by land degradation.
State-wise, Rajasthan has the largest area (21.77 per cent of the total geographical area) undergoing land degradation, followed by Jammu and Kashmir (12.79 per cent), Maharashtra (12.66 per cent) and Gujarat (12.72 per cent).
“There is tremendous pressure on our land-based natural resources” say the authors of the paper, adding that this information could serve as baseline data to monitor and develop strategies to arrest desertification. “There has been a long-pending need for a scientific status mapping of desertification and land degradation of the entire country.”
ISRO’s Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad served as the nodal coordinating organisation for the study.
The spatial inventory, at national and regional levels, will be integrated to generate a desertification status map of the world as envisaged by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
The research paper adds that about 15.8 per cent of the country’s geographical area is arid, 37.6 per cent semi-arid and 16.5 per cent falls in the dry sub-humid region. Put together, about 228 million hectares, or 69 per cent of the country constitute ‘dry land.’
The study noted that India accounted for 2.4% of the global land mass, but supported about 16.7% of the world’s population and 18% of its cattle.
The Space Applications Centre study comes after research led by consulting firm McKinsey and Co. revealed this week that India’s water needs were set to double by 2030, which could dry up its river basins.
Demand for rice, wheat and sugar will push India’s huge agricultural sector to consume 1.5 trillion cubic metres (53 trillion cubic feet) of water by 2030, almost double that of China, the McKinsey study warned.
Surveys By National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land use Planning, National Remote Sensing Agency And The Forest Survey of India
In India, it is estimated that out of 329 million hectares of geographical area, 175 million hectors is suffering from various kind of degradation. The report of National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land use Planning describes that 57 per cent of the total geographical area of the country is suffering from different kinds of degradation of which a dominant part (45 per cent) is under water erosion and the rest 12 per cent is from wind, chemical and physical deterioration.
The extent of land degradation from one state to another depends upon topographical features, geological formations, soil characteristics, rainfall and other climatic parameters, land use, measures of soil conservation management practices etc. Rajasthan (37 mha) tops the list followed by Madhya Pradesh (20 mha), Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat (more than 10 mha each).
According to the estimates of actual land-use and vegetation cover by the National Remote Sensing Agency and the Forest Survey of India based on satellite imagery, 80 mha out of 142 mha under cultivation is substantially degraded and about 40 mha out of 75 mha under the forest departments has a canopy cover of less than 40% (Gadgil 1993). Nearly 11 mha of pasturelands is also substantially degraded. Thus, a total of 131 mha, representing about 40% of the country’s landmass, has a productivity well below its potential. According to Wastelands Atlas of India 2000 (1:50,000 scale map), the total wastelands area covered in 584 districts is 63.85 million which accounts 20.17% of the total geographical area.
The extent of land degradation from one state to another depends upon topographical features, geological formations, soil characteristics, rainfall and other climatic parameters, land use, measures of soil conservation management practices etc. Rajasthan (37 mha) tops the list followed by Madhya Pradesh (20 mha), Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat (more than 10 mha each).
According to the estimates of actual land-use and vegetation cover by the National Remote Sensing Agency and the Forest Survey of India based on satellite imagery, 80 mha out of 142 mha under cultivation is substantially degraded and about 40 mha out of 75 mha under the forest departments has a canopy cover of less than 40% (Gadgil 1993). Nearly 11 mha of pasturelands is also substantially degraded. Thus, a total of 131 mha, representing about 40% of the country’s landmass, has a productivity well below its potential. According to Wastelands Atlas of India 2000 (1:50,000 scale map), the total wastelands area covered in 584 districts is 63.85 million which accounts 20.17% of the total geographical area.
The top soil is very fragile, like an eggshell. If it is disturbed plants have a hard time to regain growth. Sometimes they never come back.
