Land use statistics of maharashtra shows that of total land, around 57 percent is under the net sown area, around 17 percent is forest land, and the remaining is almost equally distributed between. Online publication or dissemination does not imply endorsement by the united. Rural development in general is used to denote the actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in nonurban neighborhoods, countryside, and remote villages. Land degradation is defined as the longterm loss of ecosystem function and. Forest degradation occurs when the ecosystem functions of the forest are degraded but where the area remains forested rather cleared anon. Why land degradation in india has increased and how to deal. A pure anthropogenic definition of land degradation is the loss of a. Degradation definition of degradation by merriamwebster. Glasod suggests that the globally land degradation affects about 15% of the worlds dry land surface and 22% of its agricultural land base and 70% of the worlds dry land areas. A soil is a threedimensional natural body in the same sense that a hill, valley, or mountain has three dimensions.
Land degradation is a global challenge that affects everybody through food insecurity and higher food prices, through climate change and environmental hazards, and through the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Building on the millennium development goals, they are known as the sustainable development goals, or sdgs. Urban sprawl is defined as the physical pattern of. Degradation of the natural environment is a worldwide problem, and some examples are quite ancient. In turn, unsustainable land use is driving land degradation. Manual definition is of relating to or involving the hands how to use manual in a sentence. Experts suggest rotating pastured land used by the meat and dairy industries so less is being used at once. Rural areas are large and isolated areas of an open country with low population density. Forest degradation is land degradation that occurs in forest land.
Taking land out of production would allow soil carbon to rebuild and become stable. Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. Land is a vital resource to humankind, like air and water. Urbanization,landuselanddegradationandvf657882020 adobe acrobat reader dc. But how did these goals come about, what are they, and how can civil society get involved in. Land degradationthe deterioration or loss of the productive capacity of the soils for present and futureis a global challenge that affects everyone through food insecurity, higher food prices, climate change, environmental hazards, and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The universal definition is the processes of land degradation that varies with the time and space, explained milap sharma, a professor at the centre for the study of regional development at. It encompasses physical soil erosion, chemical salinity and alkalinity, pollution and biological. This link between degradation which is often caused by land use practices and its effect on land use is central to nearly all published definitions of land degradation. The irony is that ethiopia is a country with high biodiversity and. There is little agreement, even about definition of land degradation beyond the bald descrip.
Land degradation, the second edition of which was published by isric and unep in wageningen in 1991 by oldeman and colleagues provides a benchmark. It may refer to the destruction or deterioration of the health of terrestrial ecosystems, thus affecting the associated biodiversity, natural ecological processes and ecosystem resilience. Brief for gsdr 2015 the concept of sustainable development. Pdf land degradation can be described as an environmental phenomenon affecting dry lands. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. Environment is a complex of many variables, which surrounds man as well. Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands involving loss of biological productivity caused by natural processes or induced by human activities. However, if acted upon quickly, there is a possibility for land reclamation and reversal of desertification. Different land degradation problems occur depending on the type of land use. Land degradation development is an international journal which seeks to promote rational study of the recognition, monitoring, control and rehabilitation of degradation in terrestrial environments. Land degradation is defined as the temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land, and the diminution of the productive potential, including its major land uses e. Soil degradation is a serious global environmental problem and may be exacerbated by climate change. Definitionenvironment the word environment is derived from the french word environ which means surrounding.
The annual loss of land is expected to go up to 10 million hectares by 2000 a. However, there is no single internationallyapproved definition of degraded land. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. Although there is a link between land degradation and conflict, we should be careful not to blame the. On land degradation environmental degradation erosion. Water erosion aspects of land degradation neutrality to. The portable document format pdf redundantly pdf format is a file. The combination of the two gives an idea of the overall level of land degradation, allowing for some preliminary analysis of the main causes and also to define a. The definition of land degradation in the united nations convention to combat desertification unccd gives explicit recognition to climatic variations as.
As noted earlier, natural resources falling under our definition typically share a number of key features, including exhaustibility, uneven distribution across countries, negative externalities consequences in other areas, dominance within national economies and price volatility. Over 10 million scientific documents at your fingertips. It thus covers the various forms of soil degradation, adverse human impacts on water resources, deforestation, and lowering of the productive capacity of rangelands. Erosion is a natural process but is often intensified by human land use practices. The health impacts of desertification and drought pdf, 1. The decline in the fertility of land reduces crop production and additional income sources. Without a longterm solution to this issue, the world risks increasing food shortages, rising poverty, and increased migration. Susceptibilities are scored from zero to three and then rated to give an erosion potential of nil, low, moderate or high. We sharpen awareness of the value of land and related ecosystem services. Pollution of water resources from the contamination of. Any change that decreases productivity of the land land clearing poor land management practices 2 3.
An introduction towards one of the massive soil issues. Degradation definition is the act or process of degrading. The global problem of land degradation and desertification. What are causes and effects of environmental degradation. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as through climate change particularly the current global warming and through the overexploitation of soil through human activity. It is the spread of arid areas caused by a variety of factors, such as through climate change particularly the current global warming and through the overexploitation of soil. Land degradation has multiple and complex impacts on the global environment through a range of direct and indirect processes affecting a wide array of ecosystem functions and services gef 2006. The decline in quantity and quality of soil it includes erosion by wind and water biological degradation loss of humus physical degradation loss of structure, permeability, compaction chemical degradation reduced fertility, salinisation, changing ph, toxicity if degradation is so severe that land becomes unusable it is termed desertification. Land degradation is a change to land that makes it. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation. Sustainable development goals in 2015, the world agreed a new set of global goals to eradicate extreme poverty and achieve sustainable development. In this paper, land degradation will be discussed from the perspective of physical geography. Pdf land degradation control and its global environmental.
Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11. Instead, drawing particularly on unrisd work, it focuses largely on the social impacts of and responses to environmental degradation in rural areas of the third world. Our surrounding includes biotic factors like human beings, plants, animals, microbes, etc and abiotic factors such as light, air, water, soil, etc. History, nature, causes, consequences, and solutions conacher, arthur encyclopedia of life support systems eolss above. Land degradation, soil erosion and soil conservation pmf ias.
A general definition of land degradation is presented by wasson 1987 as. On land degradation free download as powerpoint presentation. Thus, arthur and jeanette conacher defined land degradation as alterations to all aspects of the biophysical. To better understand deforestation, degradation and fragmentation, it is important to revisit. Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly more arid. Read this article to learn about the meaning, factors responsible, prevention and control measures of land degradation. Glossaryterms closely related to assessment of land degradation. Land degradation is categorized into three types i. Deforestation is the conversion of forest to nonforest land and can result in land degradation. This will create much drier soil, which in turn is more vulnerable to erosion and runoff. The main agents of erosion are water, wind and gravity.
Desertification, land degradation and drought sustainable. Work on documents anywhere using the acrobat reader mobile app its packed with all the tools you need to convert edit and sign pdfs you. Brought to you by john allan yayen reynold christian zuniga maria angelika villegas karen see ps. In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend. The capacity of soil to function, within land use and ecosystem boundaries, to sustain biological plant and animal productivity, maintain. Leaving more land alone, despite the challenges of a growing population, would really help. Land degradation soil degradation is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes. Land degradation is the temporary or permanent lowering of the productive capacity of land unep, 1992b. Land degradation is damage to land that makes it less economically useful and less biologically diverse. The change in the characteristic and quality of soil which adversely affect its fertility is called as degradation. Land definition is the solid part of the surface of the earth.
Desertification affects as much as onesixth of the worlds population, seventy percent of all drylands, and onequarter of the total land area of the world. Defining and assessing soil quality sssa special pub. Because of the complex nature of land degradation processes it is essentially a geographical subject matt er. The concept of land degradation as mentioned above, land degradation means much more than the degradation of the landsoil.
In india alone, about 188 million hectares or almost 57% of total land area is degraded sehgel and abrol, 1994. Desertification includes land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry sub humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Physical degradation refers to a deterioration in physical properties of soil whereas biological degradation refers to reduction in soil organic matter, decline in biomass carbon and decrease in activity and diversity of soil fauna. This leaflet explains the different types of erosion on the north coast. Land degradation can also trigger a vicious cycle of environmental degradation, impoverishment, migration and.
Degraded land is land that has lost some degree of its natural productivity due to humancaused processes. This term is used specifically to refer to damages caused by human activities rather than natural ones, and human activities can indirectly. Land degradation and ecosystem services uzh department of. Unesco eolss sample chapters water resources management vol.
Urbanization,landuselanddegradationandvf657882020 adobe. The main agricultural land use types in dryland areas are cropland, irrigated land, and rangeland. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. The views and opinions expressed are the authors and do not represent those of the secretariat of the united nations. Ethiopia is among the poorest of countries and poverty and land and resource degradation appear to feed off each other. Land degradation and desertification, largely due to deforestation and unsustainable land use, are amongst the most pressing problems facing the world today. It encompasses physical soil erosion, chemical salinity and alkalinity, pollution and biological deterioration pollution and. A land degradation process very relevant in the mediterranean area is the soil erosion by water cerdan et al. Poor land management practices include grazing of stock that has hard hooves, growing of crops that require large amounts of fertilisers and pesticides especially superphosphate and nitrogen. All of these factors will combine to create a very stable but very unproductive desert environment.
Land degradation is a concept in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by one or more combinations of human induced processes acting upon the land. The result is a loss of land productivity with impacts on livelihoods and the. The principal environmental impacts of land degradation include a rapid loss of habitat and biodiversity, modifications of. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. May 01, 2019 land degradation soil degradation is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes. The experts disagree on how to define land degradation and associated processes such as desertification, but as an issue it is not difficult to understand land degradation occurs when the economic and biological productivity of land is lost, primarily through human activities. The word erosion is derived from the latin rodere meaning to gnaw, the same root that gives us the word rodent. Jun 01, 2016 major causes of land degradation greentumble soil degradation june 1, 2016 whether it is through building homes and settlements, the cultivation of crops, the harvesting of plants for food, medicine, fiber, or fuel, or by setting fires to the landscape for hunting purposes, humans have always influenced the landscape around them.
The process involved a large number of stakeholders and led to the definition of four primary indicators that were regarded as related to land degradation in namibia. Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. The emphasis on land, rather than soil, broadens the focus to include natural resources, such as climate, water, landforms and vegetation. Thirty per cent of the earth s land area or abou t 3.
Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of humaninduced processes acting upon the land. Urbanization,landuselanddegradationandvf657882020 adobe acrobat reader dc download adobe acrobat reader dc ebook pdf. Land degradation is a natural or humaninduced process figure 1 that. Deterioration in the quality of land, its topsoil, vegetation, andor water resources, caused usually by excessive or inappropriate exploitation. Fundamental concepts scoop on soil educational cd may 2006 nrcs helping people help the land figure 1. Land degradation food and agriculture organization of the united. Land degradation as the land use section earlier in this chapter shows, demands on the land for economic development and pressures from a burgeoning population are leading to unprecedented land use change. It does not attempt to cover the full range of social issues associated with all types of environmental degradation. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. Congress and international bodies are discussing various policies to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation redd.
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