The loss of fertile land to desertification has brought an end to many majestic civilizations throughout the human history. The benchmark clearly has a major effect on the estimates produced. Furthermore, the main outcome of land degradation is a substantial reduction in the productivity of the land as shown in figure 2. This global phenomenon is caused by nature but also triggered by unsustainable land management, and embeds a cascade of environmental. Distribution of the causes of deforestation and forest degradation in different regions of the planet. Indeed some 31 countries do not even make the list because they have already removed most of their forests and even if that remain are seriously fragmented and degraded. The impacts of land degradation and desertification include a reduction in crop. The effects of soil erosion go beyond the loss of fertile land. Land degradation food and agriculture organization of the united. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Land degradation intruduction 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. Cause and effects of land degradation environmental sciences. However, many damages from environmental causes are to goods, such as.
Aligned national action plan to combat land degradation. Land degradation indicators and management options in the. It is caused both by natural processes and human activities such as unsustainable lumberjack holding the chainsaw. 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 term land degradation involves both soil and vegetation degradation.
In the third section, a conceptual framework of the environmental degradationpoverty nexus is provided. Extent and rate of land degradation global assessment of land degradation is not an easy task, and a wide range of methods are used, including expert judgement, remote sensing and modeling. For reasons outlined above, poor farmers are led to clear forest, cultivate steep slopes without conservation, overgraze rangelands, make unbalanced fertilizer applications, and the other causes noted above. The main outcome of land degradation is a substantial reduction in the productivity of land. Aug 09, 2018 land pollution is a major problem around the world and is caused by a variety of factors. 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. Causes, effects and control strategies sumit chakravarty 1, s. Deforestation accounts for the major land degradation problem as it results in severe soil erosion, flood, and loss of fertile soil.
Land degradation stock photos download 724 royalty free. Research has shown that up to 60% of agricultural land in calabar south is seriously degraded. The aligned nap contributes to the undp country programme outcome. Causes and features of watershed degradation related to. It is shown that if sediment load is to be reduced then efficient tools must be used to identify and treat the areas where sediment. Apr 15, 2015 land degradation is the most important environmental problem currently challenging sustainable development in many parts of the world. The present rate of land degradation is estimated at 5 to 7 million hectares per year, suggesting that 0. Unesco eolss sample chapters water resources management vol. For example, the destruction of the native tropical forest in the indus valley opened up a pathway for the desert to claim more and more land, leading to the doom of the harrapan civilization.
Economics of land degradation in china springerlink. Domestic development causes development often summarized as increasing income per capita may itself affect rates of deforestation. Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. The study was undertaken to examine the effect of land degradation on agricultural activities in ethiope east local government area of delta state. Land degradation is a global problem largely related to agricultural use.
Background information land degradation in australia. In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend 4 in land condition, caused by direct or indirect humaninduced processes. Understanding the effects of resource degradation on socioeconomic outcomes in developing countries iii executive summary the links between the environment and the economy have risen on policy and academic agendas. Thus, arthur and jeanette conacher defined land degradation as alterations to all aspects of the biophysical environment by human actions to the. White paper i university of nairobi personal websites. 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. The pollution of land has calamitous consequences especially concerning the survival of animals and humans and the quality of soil and water. Desertification occurs when the tree and plant cover that binds the soil is removed. 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. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. To characterize land use in a systematic way allows evaluating the various aspects of land use change and degradation, particularly when information is related to ecosystem characteristics and socioeconomic attributes. The changes in area of forest by region and subregion are shown in table 1. In turn, unsustainable land use is driving land degradation.
The problem is most acute where the environment is intrinsically vulnerable and where the population is losing control of its own resources. Causes, effects and motivation for action desertification is defined in both chinese and international legal literature as land degradation in arid, semiarid and subhumid areas. Conversion of agricultural land in nonagricultural uses is one of the main reasons to follow. Apr 29, 2019 the loss of fertile land to desertification has brought an end to many majestic civilizations throughout the human history. Causes, effects and control strategies 5 deforestation are maintained. History, nature, causes, consequences, and solutions conacher, arthur encyclopedia of life support systems eolss peoples attitudes, perceptions and knowledge, actions or inactions by government agencies, and inappropriate government policies. Land degradation causes reduction or loss of land performance across the planet, either from the ecological or economic standpoints, playing a key role in the united nations agenda for environment since the adoption of sustainable development goals in 2015. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. The causes, types and effects of land degradation are addressed in the next paragraphs.
Improved functional capacity of key natural resources and disaster risk management institutions, and is aligned to the uns sustainable. This all leads to forest degradation, and without management also can lead to deforestation because degraded forest often is more vulnerable to clearing and disturbances, such as fire. Distribution of the forest cover of the countries of the congo basin. A case study on keyain village of munshigonj district. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation. The world is losing 10 ha of arable land each minute5 ha to soil erosion, 3 ha from salinity, and 2 ha by. White paper i economic and social impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought united nations convention to combat desertification 912 april 20 bonn, germany. The changes of land quality are the result of many highly interlinked factors including natural, socioeconomic and also policy and related agricultural practices. Pdf land degradation control and its global environmental. Causes, impacts and mitigation conference paper pdf available february 2015 with 64,732 reads how we measure reads. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of. Land degradation is equally cause and effect of poverty klaus topfer, executive director.
Land clearance, such as clearcutting and deforestation. Agrobiodiversityagrobiodiversity%20thematicsoilbiodiv. Causes and features of watershed degradation related to mhp. There is loss of not only water and plant nutrients but ultimately soil itself is lost, which, in turn, affects crop productivity. Desertification unccd as land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid areas through natural processes as well as human activities. Soil erosion is a natural process that removes soil from the land. The result is a loss of land productivity with impacts on livelihoods and the.
Distribution of the forest cover by forest type for the countries of the congo basin. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. The natural factors are largely associated with climate variability especially droughts, while some human activities in the drylands is the major cause, especially in africa. Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11. Some of main causes of soil pollution include deforestation and consequent erosion, agriculture, industry, mining, landfills and illegal dumping of waste as well as urbanization and construction 8. Environmental changes are based on factors like urbanization, population and economic growth, increase in energy consumption and agricultural intensification. Pdf land degradation and agriculture in the sahel of africa. Rather, it is the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems by human activities and climactic variations. Land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid areas as a basic result of adverse human conduct. Abu sayeed during the last few years the agriculture sector is facing danger in many ways. Nov 12, 2015 land degradation is a serious potential threat to food production and rural livelihoods. Land degradation is caused by soil water erosion 46 %, wind erosion 36 %, loss of nutrients 9 %, physical deterioration 4 %, and salinization 3 %.
Land is a vital resource to humankind, like air and water. Deforestation and forest degradation in the congo basin. Understanding the effects of resource degradation on socio. Soil degradation refers to negative changes in the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil, whereas vegetation degradation is the reduction in the number of species and the vegetational composition. Land pollution is a major problem around the world and is caused by a variety of factors. Land use change and inappropriate land management practices major causes of soil degradation, soc reduction and ghg emissions.
It occurs when trees and bushes are stripped away for firewood and timber, or to clear land for cultivation. The major causes of land degradation include, land clearance poor farming practices, overgrazing, inappropriate. Because there is more than three times as much organic carbon in the soil as there is carbon in the atmosphere lal 2004, small changes in soc levels can have a large impact on atmospheric carbon dioxide. These impacts include compaction, loss of soil structure, nutrient degradation, and soil salinity. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to, in particular, the governments of germany. The soil finds its way into beds of streams and rivers, thus reducing their capacity to contain water which causes floods. 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. Agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices. Land degradation is the most important environmental problem currently challenging sustainable development in many parts of the world. Is increasingly becoming a serious problem in bhutan. Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. Pollution of water resources from the contamination of. Livestock including overgrazing inappropriate irrigation.
Deforestation is a major cause of land degradation and destabilization of natural. It is shown that if sediment load is to be reduced then efficient tools must be used to identify and treat the areas where sediment production is greatest. We will consider the effects of land degradation one by one, surface runoff and floods. Human causes of land degradation relate to land clearance, such as clearcutting and deforestation.
Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods. Environmental protection agencies indicate that the effects can even be more devastating if wastes in landfills are not separated into reusable, recyclable, or organic waste. Lets have a look at these activities in detail to see. Mar 25, 2018 the cover image, by juejie yang et al. A multistage random sampling technique was used to select six communities mostly affected by land degradation and a total of sixty respondents farmers was use for the study. Population pressure including urban sprawl and commercial development. The land degradation processes include soil erosion, nutrient depletion, salinization, desertification and soil acidification or alkalinisation. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. Cause and effects of land degradation environmental. Aligned national action plan to combat land degradation, guyana. This paper scopes out the linkages between resource degradation and socioeconomic outcomes, focusing on land and water degradation. Chapter 6 land department of environmental affairs. Watershed degradation is the loss of value over time, including the productive potential of land and water, accompanied by marked changes in the hydrological behaviour of a river system resulting in inferior quality, quantity and timing of waterflow the protection, improvement and rehabilitation of mountain andor upland watersheds are of critical importance in the achievement of.
However their negative effects can be amplified through human action such as pastoral and agricultural land use for example within the watershed. History, nature, causes, consequences, and solutions conacher, arthur encyclopedia of life support systems eolss above. Land degradation or improvement is an outcome of many proximate and underlying causes. Multiple linear regressions was deployed for this work in order to know the relationship between the anthropogenic factors of land degradation on crop productivity of rural households. It is important to note that most causes of degradation are closely interdependent and thus mostly more than one cause lead to the prevailing erosion features. The term desertification has in the meantime been broadened to almost all forms of land degradation and is even used to include resource degradation in humid areas. Soil erosion means the removal of top fertile layer of the soil. Identification of the cause of land degradation is important in return influence the sustainability of the life and helps to take appropriate measurement to halt it.
Degradation is currently affecting 25% of earths land and 40% of earths agricultural land. Land degradation results from the combined effects of processes such as loss of biological diversity and vegetative cover, soil loss nutrient imbalance, decline in soil organic matter and decrease of infiltration and water retention capacity. In addition to erosion, soil quality is affected by other aspects of agriculture. Mitigate the causes and negative effects of land degradation on the.
It occurs when trees and bushes are stripped away for firewood. Land degradation is a serious potential threat to food production and rural livelihoods. Land degradation and agriculture in the sahel of africa. The environmental consequences of land degradation are vast, including amplified soil losses, water quality deterioration, biodiversity decline and degradation of ecosystem services and corresponding values, especially if actual land uses disrespect capability natural use, in which cases land is in a. Land shortage and poverty, taken together, lead to nonsustainable land management practices, meaning the direct causes of degradation.
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