Land Degradation and Wasteland Management

S.B.Lal and Antony Joseph Raj (2013) Land Degradation and Wasteland Management. In: “Forestry: Principles and Applications” (eds.) Antony Joseph Raj and S.B.Lal, Scientific Publishers, India, 578-598 pages 33 LAND DEGRADATION AND WASTELAND MANAGEMENT INTRODUCTION Land degradation threatens the livelihoods of Earth’s many inhabitants, the so called environmental refugees, including many of the world’s poorest and most marginalized populations. Degradation caused by overcultivation, overgrazing, deforestation and inefficient irrigation affects most of the world’s drylands. Desertification occurs in drylands, which span a third of the Earth’s land surface in over 110 countries. All continents are under threat including 37 per cent of arid areas in Africa, 33 per cent in Asia, 14 per cent in Australia and some areas in America and the southern fringes in Europe. According to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), over 250 million people are directly affected by land degradation. In addition, some one billion people around world are at risk. Each year 12 million hectares are lost to deserts. That is enough land to grow 20 million metric tons of grain. The land degradation issue for world food security and the quality of the environment assumes a major significance when one considers that only about 11 per cent of the global land surface can be considered as prime or Class-1 land, and this must feed the 6.5 billion people today and the 8.2 billion expected by the year 2020. Hence land degradation will remain high on the international agenda in the 21st century. Desertification is often the result of human activity and can therefore be prevented or controlled by human effort. Because of its magnitude, desertification is a global issue, and such can only be addressed through a global partnership. Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” WHAT IS LAND? It is an area of the Earth’s surface including all reasonably stable or predictably cyclic attributes vertically above and below it. Land includes not only the soil resource but also the water, vegetation, landscape and microclimatic components of an ecosystem. LAND RESOURCES Land, a non-renewable resource, is central to all primary production system. Land is considered as the most important basic natural resource. It is a dynamic and complex combination of geology, topography, hydrology, soil, flora and fauna and influences every sphere of human activity. Different sectors including agriculture, industries, infrastructure and power projects put forth competing demand for land. Subsistence farming practices, accelerated soil and water erosion, erratic rainfall, increasing population and high density of livestock population have all contributed to unsustainable land use that has led to degradation of this valuable resource. Land is classified into two categories viz. arable and non-arable. Non-arable land comprises of area under forests, permanent pasture land, current fallow, cultivable wasteland and land put to non-agricultural use. Arable land includes area sown with crops (net sown area), area sown more than once and gross sown area. DEFINITIONS DEGRADED LAND: According to International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), it is defined as the land which due to natural processes or human activity is no longer able to sustain properly an economic function and/or the original natural ecological function; or, the loss of the productive capacity of the land to sustain life. LAND DEGRADATION: The definition of land degradation, under Article 1 of the UNCCD, is the reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-arid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rain fed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from land use or from a process or combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns, such as: (i) Soil erosion caused by wind and/or water (ii) Deterioration of the physical, chemical, and biological or economic properties of soil and (iii) Long-term loss of natural vegetation The Global Environment Facility (GEF) defines land degradation as any form of deterioration of the natural potential of land that affects ecosystem integrity either in Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management terms of reducing its sustainable ecological productivity or in terms of its native biological richness and maintenance of resilience. DROUGHT: The UNCCD definition of drought is the naturally occurring phenomenon that exists when precipitation has been significantly below normal recorded levels, causing serious hydrological imbalances that adversely affect land resource production systems. DESERTIFICATION: The UNCCD definition of desertification is the land degradation in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. LAND-USE POLICY: An expression or perception of the direction to be taken on major issues related to land use and the proposed allocation of the national land resources over a fixed period of time. It has a production and conservation components (FAO/UNEP). SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT: It combines technologies, policies and activities that are aimed at integrating socio-economic principles with environmental concerns so as to simultaneously maintain or enhance production, reduce the level of production risk, protect the potential of natural resources and prevent (buffer against) soil and water degradation, be economically viable and be socially acceptable. ARIDITY INDEX: Aridity, the characteristic nature of an arid climate, is measured using an aridity index (AI). AI is a numerical indicator of the degree of dryness of the climate at a given location. A number of aridity indices have been proposed to identify, locate or delimit regions that suffer from a deficit of available water, a condition that can severely affect the effective use of the land for such activities as agriculture or stock-farming. In 1948, C.W.Thornthwaite proposed and defined AI as, AI T = 100  d n (d = water deficiency which is calculated as the sum of monthly differences between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration for those months where normal precipitation is less than the normal evapotranspiration; n = sum of monthly values of potential evapotranspiration for the deficient months) In the preparations leading to the UN Conference on Desertification (UNCOD), the UNEP issued a dryness map based on a different aridity index, proposed originally by M.I. Budyko in 1958 and defined as follows: Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” AI B = 100  R LP (where R is the mean annual net radiation (also known as the net radiation balance); P is the mean annual precipitation; L is the latent heat of vaporization for water) More recently, the UNEP has adopted yet another index of aridity, defined as: AI U = P PET (where PET is the potential evapotranspiration; P is the average annual precipitation) Table 33.1: Classification of Land based on Aridity Index Classification Hyper-arid Arid Semi-arid Dry sub-humid Aridity Index AI < 0.05 0.05 < AI < 0.20 0.20 < AI < 0.50 0.50 < AI < 0.65 Global Land Area 7.5% 12.1% 17.7% 9.9% LAND DEGRADATION Land degradation is recognized as the main outcome of desertification. Land degradation refers to a temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land or its potential for environmental management. Net Productivity change reflects both natural and human induced processes of degradation and improvement. Some types of land degradation are, for all practical purposes, irreversible. Examples are severe gullying and advanced salinization. In these cases, the long-term biological and environment potential of the land has been compromised. Displacement of soil material (erosion) is also irreversible, although its long-term effects on productive capacity depend on the depth and quality of soil remaining. Most types of land degradation, however, can be prevented or reversed viz. adding nutrients to nutrient-depleted soil, rebuilding topsoil through soil amendments, reestablishing vegetation (reforestation), buffering soil acidity. The practicality of rehabilitating degraded landscapes depends on the costs relative to the value of output or environmental benefits expected. Where farmers wish to intensify agricultural production on a sustainable basis, it may be necessary to undertake such land-enhancing or landprotecting measures even in non-degraded landscapes. Degradation is a process of change over time. From policy perspective, it is critical to distinguish those lands that are currently undergoing degradation, in order to assess the need for action to stabilize or reverse the process. Other lands may have reached a Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management degraded state relative to their natural condition many decades or centuries ago, but are currently in a stable or improving condition. For practical purposes, the land degradation problem refers to the former areas. GLOBAL SCENARIO OF LAND DEGRADATION The international community has long recognized that desertification and land degradation are major economic, social and environmental problems of concern to many countries in all regions of the world. In 1991, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded that the problem of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas had intensified. As a result, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) supported a new integrated approach to the problem emphasizing action to promote sustainable development at the community level. As a result, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was launched in 1996 to tackle desertification and drought. Land degradation imposes an important constraint in achieving sustainable development. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 reaffirmed land degradation as one of the major global environment and sustainable development challenges of the 21st century. It called for action to address causes of desertification and land degradation in order to restore land and to address poverty resulting from land degradation. Addressing land degradation also contributes significantly to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing by half the proportion of people in poverty by 2015 and ensuring environmental sustainability. By taking into account and realizing the importance of preventing desertification through land rehabilitation measures and sustainable land management practices and noting that these concerns were critical, the UNCCD expanded its programme to encompass activities to combat land degradation by making land degradation a Global Environment Facility (GEF) Focal Area. The second assembly of the GEF in October 2002, designated land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation, as a new focal area for the purposes of supporting the implementation of UNCCD. RIO CONVENTIONS The three Rio conventions, which include UNCCD, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are all relevant to the prevention and control of land degradation. The CBD recognizes the importance of addressing land degradation for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Furthermore, the relationship between climate change and land degradation is also recognized. Climate change contributes to desertification and deforestation through changes in temperatures which in turn adversely affects the respiration rate of vegetation. Human created deforestation releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” the loss of sequestered carbon in biomass and soils, further contributing to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The work programme of the UNFCCC, therefore, emphasizes the role of conservation and sustainable management of forests and woodland in carbon sequestration and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The UNFCCC also recognizes the need to develop strategies to adapt the impacts of climate change. Many of these adaptation strategies are linked to combating land degradation and drought. Joint work programmes for the three Rio conventions are now starting to achieve multiple global benefits, such as poverty alleviation, sustainable ecosystems and minimising greenhouse gas emissions. Since all of the Rio conventions are closely linked to each other, consolidating the policy and planning work required to carry out the responsibilities of the conventions allows for maximum efficiency and synergy in planning. UNCCD The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa (UNCCD), was adopted on 17 June 1994. The CCD aims to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought, particularly in Africa. The convention recognizes that the people of the drylands themselves hold the keys to combating desertification, and that the eradication of poverty is a precondition for success. The CCD entered into force in 26 December 1996; today 179 countries acknowledge it as a legally binding framework to tackle land degradation and promote sustainable development in fragile ecosystems. The global mechanism was established under CCD to promote actions leading to the mobilization and channelling of substantial financial resources, including for the transfer of technology, on a grant basis, and /or on concessional or other terms, to affected developing country parties. TYPES OF LAND DEGRADATION The land degradation is classified according to specific phenomenon prevalent in the land with respect to physical, chemical and biological condition. (i) Physical: compaction, crusting, sealing, loss of structure, accelerated erosion (ii) Chemical: salinization, toxicities, nutrient depletion and imbalances, acidification (iii) Biological: reduction in biodiversity, loss of ecological component Various types of soil and land degradation have been explained by many authors including FAO/UNDP/UNEP. As only to be expected, authors differ in their approach to describing and classifying land degradation. It is generally recognized that land degradation has five main components. (i) soil degradation, (ii) vegetation degradation, (iii) water degradation, (iv) climate deterioration (v) loss due to urban/industrial Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management development. Each of these major components could be subdivided into more specific types of degradation. FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS Fragile ecosystems are important ecosystems, with unique features and resources. Fragile ecosystems include deserts, semi-arid lands, mountains, wetlands, small islands and certain coastal areas. Most of these ecosystems are regional in scope, as they transcend national boundaries. For Small Island States, these fragile ecosystems may encompass the entire nation. Comprehensive plan of action should be taken globally, nationally and locally by international communities of the UN Systems, Governments and major groups in every area in which human’s impact on their environment. It also addresses managing of fragile ecosystems: combating desertification, land degradation and drought. CAUSES OF LAND DEGRADATION The causes of land degradation has been grouped into three categories viz. natural degradation hazards, direct causes of land degradation, underlying causes of land degradation (i) Natural degradation hazards: cyclones, drought, volcanic activities etc. (ii) Direct causes of land degradation: deforestation, overcutting of vegetation, shifting cultivation, overgrazing, non-adoption of soil conservation practices, extension of cultivation in the lands of lower potential and /or high natural hazards, improper crop rotation, unbalanced fertilizer and pesticide use (iii) Underlying causes of land degradation: population increase, attitude, economic pressure, land tenure, land shortage, poverty MAJOR CAUSES OF LAND DEGRADATION LACK OF LAND USE PLANNING: Road and dam construction projects have a number of significant environmental impacts. It results in destruction of vegetation, hence increasing vulnerable lands to soil erosion and degradation. The establishment of land use and management planning will reduce the land degradation SEA LEVEL RISE: Sea level rise is a significant threat to many countries. In recent times, land has become subject to inundation and saltwater intrusion during tide events. Sea level rise degrades coastal areas including nearby vegetation. Inland vegetation is also affected as the sea water percolates up through the ground and forms large pools of saltwater on the land. Sea level rise not only affects vegetation, but also affects ground water. The biotic component of the watershed depends on ground water. Intrusion of salt water into ground water is a problem that has been identified in many countries. Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” DROUGHT: Drought causes damage to water supply, food security systems and the degradation of terrestrial ecosystems. UNSUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES: The infertile nature of soils has led to an increase in the use of agricultural chemicals. Fertilizers and pesticides have been used in excess to enhance agricultural productivity. While higher crop yields have been gained from regular and intensive use of these chemicals, they have also caused problems. Overuse of chemicals causes land to become unsuitable for agriculture through changes in the physical and bio-chemical composition of the soil. Consequently farmers abandon their land. UNCONTROLLED WASTE DISPOSAL: Overpopulation and overcrowding contribute to the problem of solid and liquid waste disposal. When population exceeds the natural carrying capacity of the area, it puts severe pressure on the limited available resources. Uncontrolled waste disposal systems result in land degradation. ASSSESSMENT OF LAND DEGRADATION GLASOD The land degradation concept aims at covering a range of climatic and man induced processes that lead to a decline of the soil potential to sustain plant productivity. The first attempt to produce a global assessment occurred two decades before (1990), resulting in a ‘Global Assessment of Soil Degradation’ (GLASOD) by the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC), currently World Soil Information. GLASOD was a qualitative assessment, largely based on expert judgement that distinguished the main processes and drivers leading to soil degradation, such as water and wind erosionsedimentation, soil and water salinization, loss of soil organic carbon and soil nutrients, loss of soil structure etc. GLASOD data were used in the preparation of World Atlas of Desertification, published by UNEP in collaboration with some national and international institutions. ASSOD The Assessment of the Status of Human-induced Soil Degradation in South and South East Asia (ASSOD), which is also made by ISRIC, is a follow-up activity of GLASOD for regional studies. The same methodology, slightly refined, was used on a more detailed scale (1:5M) for South and South East Asia. The study provides data for 17 countries and includes data on several degradation types including water and wind erosion and their subtypes (e.g. loss of topsoil and terrain deformation) and the dominant subtypes of chemical deterioration (including salinization). Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management LADA GLASOD approach was recently upgraded by a new worldwide project ‘Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands’ (LADA) in 2002 sponsored by UNEP, GEF and FAO. While retaining the original GLASOD categories of soil degradation, LADA takes a step forward by (i) attempting at delivering quantitative results, (ii) formally including socio-economic drivers and (iii) enlarging its scope to carbon balances and biodiversity as components of the functional land system and its degradation process. LADA aims at developing and testing an effective methodology to assess causes, status and impact of land degradation in drylands. MA A third global initiative with implications in land degradation assessment is the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). It evaluates the condition of desertification in drylands, by asking pointed questions and providing answers based exclusively on the reports generated by the MA. It provides a consistent picture of the links between land degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss. It also supplies guidelines for improving assessment and monitoring approaches taking into account the role of human actions and climate variability. The three afore-mentioned projects reveal an historical trend of increasing complexity in land degradation assessment approaches. They go from soil to land, from considering effects to explicitly include drivers (climate variability and human activity) and to be more concerned with global interactions of desertification, climate change and biodiversity. GLADA Another global project in land degradation assessment is the GEF-UNEP-FAO program Land Degradation in Drylands, the Global Assessment of Land Degradation and Improvement (GLADA). GLADA will identify the state and trends of land degradation, areas suffering severe degradation or at severe risk and places where degradation has been arrested or reversed. Biomass is an integrated measure of productivity and its deviance from the norm may indicate land degradation or improvement. Biomass can be assessed by remote sensing of the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI). Norms may be established by stratifying the land area according to climate, soils and terrain and land use/vegetation. The deviance may then be calculated regionally and then combined globally to allow universal comparisons. DeSurvey The DeSurvey is the last newcomer of the efforts in this line. Its objective is to develop and implement a cost-efficient procedure for assessing and monitoring of land Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” degradation status and trend over large areas in an appropriate format to provide a link to the ‘land suitability’ attribute that is used classically by economists to allocate land use changes in space. EFFECTS OF LAND DEGRADATION The most important on-farm effects of land degradation are declining potential yields. The threat of degradation may also be reflected in the need to use a higher level of inputs in order to maintain yields. Serious degradation sometimes lead to temporary or permanent abandonment of land. In other cases, degradation induces the farmers to convert land to lower-value uses. FAO/UNDP/UNEP has grouped the effects of land degradation as effects upon production and consequences for the people. EFFECTS ON LAND DEGRADATION UPON PRODUCTION • Reduced vegetation cover to the soil and biodiversity loss • Top soil loss • Watershed destruction with subsequent water shortages • Reduced return of organic matter and less biological activity in the soil • Increased pollution from increased use of agrochemicals • Land is abandoned (where degradation is severe) • Crop yields are reduced • Inputs and costs of prodution are increased (where farmers attempt to combat reduced yields by increased inputs) • Responses to inputs are decreased • Flexibility of land management is decreased • Risk is increased • Labour, technical and financial resources are diverted to reclamation CONSEQUENCES OF LAND DEGRADATION FOR THE PEOPLE • Landlessness is increased • Food supplies are reduced or less reliable • Labour requirements are increased • Incomes are decreased • Migration of young people in search for employement opportunities WASTELANDS WASTELAND DEFINITION Wastelands are the degraded and unutilized lands except current fallows due to different constraints. Poor land practices have led to malnutrition and decline in production capacity of the soil. It is estimated that in wastelands the biomass production is less than Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management 20 per cent of its overall potential. It includes areas affected by water logging, sheet and gully erosion, ravine, riverine lands, shifting cultivation, salinity and alkalinity, wind erosion, shifting sand dunes, extreme moisture deficiency, coastal sand dunes etc. These degraded lands are ecologically unstable with almost complete loss of top soil and are unsuitable for cultivation due to decline in their quality and productivity. The term wasteland designates various types of unutilized land. It also indicates small pieces of land, usually on less fertile tract, which fail to yield a return to the farmers. It is also defined as the land which is lying uninhabited, uncultivated, land left after some use or land which is no longer serving any purpose. The most widely accepted definition of wasteland is the degraded lands which can be brought under vegetative cover with reasonable efforts and which are currently underutilized and the land which is deteriorating for lack of appropriate water and soil management or on account of natural causes. In general, wastelands may be put under two categories: cultivable wasteland and uncultivable wasteland. CULTIVABLE WASTELAND: The land which is capable or has potential for the development of vegetative cover and not being used due to different constraints of varying degrees such as erosion, water-logging, salt effects etc. UNCULTIVABLE WASTELAND: The land which cannot be developed for vegetative cover e.g. rocky areas, deserts and snow-covered glacial areas. WASTELAND ASSESSMENT As early as mid sixties scientists working on wasteland management realized the need to categorize the wasteland in accordance with their intrinsic characteristics and causative factors. Among various characteristics, data on soil texture, soil depth, pH values, slope, erosion status and other inhibiting factors like salts, water-logging, flooding, rockiness, stoniness etc. are essential. Complete inventory of reasons, responsible for lands lying waste, were assessed by collecting information from various sources. They serve as points for assessment of any wasteland. • Poor fertility of the soil due to rocky, gravely, sandy, saline, alkali, waterlogging, shallowness and eroded nature of the soil • Steep and undulated slopes • Shifting cultivation • Frequent droughts • Lack of irrigation facilities • Frequent submergence and flooding hazards • Lack of resources • Poor economic conditions Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” • • • • Lack of labour during peak periods Uneconomical return under cultivation, Certain domestic and legal difficulties Absentee landlords holdings WASTELAND MAPPING TECHNIQUES Through mapping, the findings of these questions are recorded in a pictorial form under a specified scale. These maps will serve anyone who wants to study about a particular area of wasteland or to utilize it for some purpose or other. The following important mapping systems are available in India: conventional, aerial photo-interpretation and remote sensing. The first system can be stated as a real time system where as the latter two are the tools to improve the time and cost efficiency. CONVENTIONAL SYSTEM: It is based primarily on ground transect using suitable base maps for plotting boundaries. For detailed investigations, the surveyor transverses from field to field with a base map to collect the soil and land-use data after closely spaced field observations to identify and map wasteland. This approach is very effective but very time consuming. One field surveyor can collect information from only 16,000 ha per annum. For mapping the wastelands on regional basis, the reconnaissance type of survey could be adopted with Survey of India topographical maps at 1:50,000 scale as base material. Detailed data on texture, depth, profile, morphology, physical and chemical characteristics are gathered. The ownership details and other socio-economic factors have, however, to be collected by actual visits to the village and local enquiries. AERIAL PHOTO-INTERPRETATION (API): Black and white panchromatic aerial photographs of 1:25,000 scale and smaller are very suitable for wastelands mapping. False colour APs may improve the level of mapping as far as wastelands are concerned since the cropped lands, orchards and forested areas can be segregated more efficiently with their varied colour manifestation. The derived map could be at a semi-detailed level. However, the data on socio-economic factors, ownership details and other relevant information have to be collected by field visits personal enquiries and verification of village records only. REMOTE SENSING: The satellite era ushers new scopes in land use mapping. The periodicity and larger perspective view have their own advantages in mapping wastelands and monitoring the changes using satellite data in a big way involving several organizations. Mapping with satellite data is quicker and cost-effective as compared to any other methods. Ability to effectively monitor the changes is the special advantage in Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management this system because of the periodicity of the data. It is expected to gain the accuracy of 74.1 to 95.3 per cent. Ownership details cannot be included in the remote sensing data unless resorted to other methods such as grid survey, revenue records etc. LAND DEGRADATION IN INDIA India has a total geographical area of 328.2 million hectare with a cultivated area of 141 million hectare. The country is situated between 8004’ to 37006’ N latitudes and 68007’ to 97025’ E longitudes. Over the years, the country’s landmass has suffered from different types of land degradations. Land degradation is caused by biotic and abiotic pressures. An ever increasing population places enormous demands on the land resources. This is particularly true in India, which has only 2.4 per cent of the world’s geographical area but supports over 16 per cent of the world’s population. It has 0.5 per cent of the world’s grazing area but has over 18 per cent of world’s cattle population. These pressures have led to drastic changes in the proportion of land utilized for agricultural activities, urbanization and industrial development. Table 33.2: Wasteland Category/ Classes in India 2008-2009 (DoLR and NRSC 2011) S No Wasteland Class Area (Sq. Km) Percentage to TGA 1 Gullied and/ or ravinous land- medium 6,145.96 0.19 2 Gullied and/ or ravinous land- deep/very deep 1,266.06 0.04 3 Land with dense scrub 86,979.91 2.75 4 Land with open scrub 93,033.00 2.94 5 Waterlogged and marshy land- permanent 1,757.07 0.06 6 Waterlogged and marshy land- seasonal 6,946.31 0.22 7 Land affected moderate 5,414.53 0.17 8 Land affected by salinity/ alkalinity- strong 1,391.09 0.04 9 Shifting cultivation area- current jhum 4,814.68 0.15 10 Shifting cultivation area- abandoned jhum 4,210.46 0.13 11 Under utilised/degraded dominated 83,699.71 2.64 by salinity/ alkalinity- forest- scrub Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” 12 Agricultural land inside notified forest land 15,680.26 0.50 13 Degraded pastures/ grazing land 6,832.17 0.22 14 Degraded land under plantation crops 278.53 0.01 15 Sands- riverine 2,111.96 0.07 16 Sands- coastal sand 654.47 0.02 17 Sands- desert sand 3,934.80 0.12 18 Sands- semi-stabilized to stabilized (>40m) dune 9,279.75 0.29 19 Sandssemi-stabilized to moderately high (15-40m) dune 14,273.03 0.45 20 Mining wastelands 593.65 0.02 21 Industrial wastelands 58.00 0.00 22 Barren rocky area 59,482.29 1.88 23 Snow covered and/or glacial area 58,183.44 1.84 4,67,021.16 14.75 Total stabilized Intensive agricultural practices that rely heavily on water, chemical fertilisers and pesticides have caused waterlogging and salinity in many parts of the country. The expansion of the irrigation system without adequate steps for treatment of the catchment areas has exacerbated this. The quest for increased agricultural productivity has led to intensive cultivation of marginal lands causing their degradation. These pressures on land are compounded by the fact that over 69 per cent of our geological area falls within dry zone as per the Thornwaite classification. Land degradation has a direct bearing on the productivity of soil, its vulnerability to rainfall variations, scarcity of drinking water, fodder and fuel wood. Given the inter-linkages of crop production, livestock economy and environment, land degradation has a major impact on the livelihoods of the people, especially in rural areas. Some of the most degraded lands in the country are the common property resources and these resouces include community pastures, community forests, wastelands and common dumping and threshing grounds. In spite of concerted efforts to check deforestation and the various afforestation schemes taken up during successive Plan periods, large tracks of forest continue to be classified as degraded. Of the total forest area, 31 million hectare suffers from some form of degradation and 14.06 million hectare suffers from extreme Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management degradation and are part of 63.85 million hectare of wastelands reported by the NRSA. Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India has reported that total area under land degradation in India is 105.48 million ha (32.07 per cent) and total area under desertication is 81.45 million ha (24.78 per cent) (Space Application Centre 2007) In addition to the wastelands identified by the NRSA, other areas such as deserts, drought-prone, flood-prone and tribal areas have been subjected to severe forms of degradation. The capacity of these lands is limited due to environmental factors. Pressures of human and livestock population have further compromised them. National Commission on Agriculture made the first step for assessment of area affected by the land degradation and reported 148 million ha land area are affected in India. Other organizations have also taken up the assessment of land degradation in India viz. Ministry of Agriculture, ICAR’s National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP), National Wasteland Board, National Remote Sensing Agency-Hyderabad (NRSA), Space Application Centre of ISRO. NBSS & LUP followed process based degradation mapping methodology in agriculture and non-agriculture areas, derived from 1:250,000 soil map prepared from the satellite data supported with soil profile studies. The NRSA followed remote sensing techniques, identifying land use and physical condition of the surface features for mapping non-agriculture areas (non-arable) on 1:50,000 scale using satellite image with adequate field checks. Table 33.3: Land Degradation Assessment by Different Organizations (Source: Gautam and Narayan 1988; Space Application Centre 2007; DoLR and NRSC 2011) Agency Estimated Extent (M ha) Criteria for Delineation National Commission on Agriculture (NCA 1976) 148.09 Based on secondary data Ministry of Agriculture (1978-Soil &Water Conservation Division) 175.00 Based on NCA’s estimates. No systematic survey undertaken Society for the Promotion of Wasteland Development (SPWD) – (Bhumbla and Khare 1984) 129.58 Based on secondary data NRSA (1985) 53.28 Mapping on 1:1 million scale based upon remote sensing techniques Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” Ministry of Agriculture (MOA 1985) 173.64 Land degradation statistics for the states Ministry of Agriculture (MOA 1994) 107.43 Elimination of duplication of area. Area reclaimed counted NBSS and LUP (1994) 187.70 Mapping based upon Global Assessment of Soil Degradation (GLASOD) guidelines NBSS and LUP (2004) revised 146.82 1:1 million scale soil map Dept of Environment (Vohra 1980) National Wasteland Development Board (1985) NRSA (2000) 95.00 - 123.00 - 63.85 Remote sensing techniques 105.48 Remote sensing techniques DoLR and NRSC (2010) 47.23 Remote sensing techniques DoLR and NRSC (2011) 46.70 Remote sensing techniques Space Application Centre (2007) PROCESSES OF LAND DEGRADATION IN INDIA (Space Application Centre 2007) VEGETAL DEGRADATION: It is observed as deforestation, forest blanks, shifting cultivation area and also degradation in grazing area / grassland as well as in scrubland. At places, agriculture is observed within forest land, this has been classified under vegetal degradation within forest area. Vegetal degradation processes are found in both cold and hot regions. WATER EROSION: It is observed in both hot and cold areas, in various land covers and with varying severity levels. The sheet erosion, rill erosion and shallow gullies mostly within agricultural lands are categorized as low category of severity. While deep & wide gullies and ravines are categorized as high category. WIND EROSION: It pertains to the Aeolian activities. It denotes the spread of sand by virtue of lift and drift effect of wind, even upto lofty altitudes of Himalayas. Various categories of sand cover and their severity are classified based on the depth and spread of sand sheet, sand dunes and barchans. Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management SALINIZATION AND ALKALINIZATION: It is fundamentally the chemical property of soils. It occurs mostly in cultivated lands, especially in the irrigated areas. At places salinity is clearly observed on satellite images, while the alkalinization is not seen and mostly inferred based on ground truth data and published maps. WATERLOGGING: The undrained land areas tend to accumulate standing water for longer duration of time on the surface, this condition is called waterlogging. The severity of waterlogging is determined based on the period for which the water remains stagnant. MASS MOVEMENT OR MASS WASTING: It is predominantly observed in mountainous areas, especially in cold dryland regions and it is defined as the process of desertification which leads to the down slope movement of rock, regolith and debris through the action of gravity viz. landslides, scree slopes FROST HEAVING: It is defined as the process of intense frost and freezing of water operating in glacial and periglacial environment and evolves peculiar forms of rock, regolith and soil, for example, a typical irregular pattern ground are seen. FROST SHATTERING: It is defined as the freeze and thaw action operating mostly in periglacial environment. When water, passing through the crevices and pores within the rock freezes, it expands by almost ten times. This puts enormous pressure on the surrounding rocks which shatters them. MAN MADE: All those land degradation processes which is included directly or indirectly by human intervention and are not natural, are categorized as man made desertification processes. It includes mining/quarrying, brick kiln, industrial effluents, city waste, excess use of fertilizers and pesticides. It occurs across various land use/ land cover classes. EXAMPLES OF LAND DEGRADATION IN INDIA • Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete leaving deep scars and traces of over-burdening. • In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, deforestation due to mining have caused severe land degradation. • In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, overgrazing is one of the main reasons for land degradation. • In the states of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, over irrigation is responsible for land degradation due to water logging leading to increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil. • The mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and soapstone for ceramic industry generate huge quantity of dust in the atmosphere. It retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil after it settles down on the land Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” • In recent years, industrial effluents as waste have become a major source of land and water pollution in many parts of the country. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF WASTELAND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA (Source: DoLR) CAZRI The first step towards a systematic effort to tackle the problem of drought and desertification was the establishment of Research Centre at Jodhpur in 1952 to carry out research on certain core needs of desert areas such as sand-dune stabilization, shelter-belt plantation, afforestation, etc. In 1959, the entire responsibility of research on arid areas was entrusted to the Centre which was then designated as Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI). RWP Rural works programme (RWP) was launched in 1970-71 with the object of creating assets designed to reduce the severity of drought in affected areas. In all, 54 districts in the country together with parts of another 18 districts contiguous to them were identified as drought-prone. The programme covered 12 per cent of country’s population and nearly one-fifth of the area in the country. CRIDA For the purpose of dryland farming technology, All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, later renamed as the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), was set up. It focuses on soil management, water harvesting, improved agronomic practices, drought-resistant crops etc. DPAP The Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) is one of the areas development programmes launched by the Government in 1973-74 to tackle the special problems faced by those fragile areas. The programme was implemented on Watershed basis and covered 13 States viz. AP, Bihar, Gujarat, HP, J&K, Karnataka, MP, Maharashtra, Orissa, TN, Rajasthan, UP and WB. DDP On the recommendations of the National Commission on Agriculture in its Interim Report (1974) and the Final Report (1976), the Desert Development Programme (DDP) was started in the year 1977-78. The programme was started both in the hot desert areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, and the cold desert areas of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. From 1995-96, the coverage has been extended to few more districts in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. It focuses on land development, water resource development and afforestation/pasture development. Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management NWDB National Wasteland Development Board (NWDB) was established in 1985 under the Ministry of Environment and Forests mainly to tackle the problem of degradation of lands, restoration of ecology and to meet the growing demands of fuel wood and fodder at the national level. During the Seventh Five Year Plan, the strategy adopted by the National Wasteland Development Board emphasized more on tree planting activities rather than community participation for wasteland development. IWDP Integrated Wasteland Development Programme (IWDP) scheme has been under implementation since 1989-90. From 1st April, 1995, the scheme is being implemented on watershed basis under the common guidelines for Watershed Development. The Scheme also helps in generation of employment in rural areas besides enhancing people’s participation in the wastelands development programmes at all stages. The major activities taken up under the scheme are soil and moisture conservation, planting and sowing of multi-purpose trees, shrubs, grasses, legumes, pasture land development, encouraging natural regeneration, promotion of agro-forestry and horticulture, wood substitution and fuel-wood conservation measures, dissemination of technology, training and extension, encouraging people’s participation etc. 247 IWDP projects in 25 states in a total outlay of Rs. 778.12 crore to treat total project area of 15.98 lakh hectare are at various stages of implementation. DoLR Govt. of India had created the Department of Wasteland Development during July, 1992 under the Ministry of Rural Development and the National Wasteland Development Board was placed under it. It has been subsequently reorganized and renamed as Department of Land Resources (DoLR), with a broader mandate. DoLR has been responsible for mainly development of wastelands in non forest areas in totality by involving local people at every stage of development. It aims at creating a scenario where the Government acts as a facilitator and the people at the grass root level become the real executioner of the programme. TDET Technology support is extremely vital for the success of a land based programme, especially in the development of wastelands. Realising this, a central sector scheme namely Technology Development, Extension and Training Scheme (TDET) was launched during 1993-94 to develop suitable technologies for the reclamation of wastelands for sustained production of food, fuel-wood, fodder etc. The Scheme is being implemented through ICAR, State Agricultural Universities, DRDAs and Government institutions having adequate institutional framework and organizational back-up. Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” IPS Investment Promotional Scheme (IPS) was launched in 1994-95 in order to stimulate involvement of corporate sectors and financial institutions etc. for the flow of funds for development of non-forest wastelands. The projects promoted by Nationalized Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Land Development Banks and Cooperative Banks are eligible for promotional subsidy of Department of Land Resources under the Scheme. The scheme, which has now been restructured and the guidelines revised, has a major thrust for development of degraded lands belonging to small and marginal farmers including SCs/STs. IWMP Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) is a modified programme of erstwhile Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), Desert Development Programme (DDP) and Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP) of the Department of Land Resources. This consolidation is for optimum use of resources, sustainable outcomes and integrated planning. The scheme was launched during 2009-10. The programme is being implemented as per Common Guidelines for Watershed Development Projects 2008. The main objectives of the IWMP are to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water. The outcomes are prevention of soil erosion, regeneration of natural vegetation, rain water harvesting and recharging of the ground water table. This enables multi-cropping and the introduction of diverse agro-based activities, which help to provide sustainable livelihoods to the people residing in the watershed area. SLEM Sustainable Land and Ecosystem Management (SLEM) Programme is a joint initiative of the Government of India and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) under the latter’s Country partnership Programme (CPP). The objective of the SLEM programme is to promote sustainable land management and use of biodiversity as well as maintain the capacity of ecosystems to deliver goods and services while taking into account climate change. NATIONAL ACTION PROGRAMME TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION India became a signatory to the UNCCD on 14 October 1994 and it came into effect on 17 March 1997. One of the obligations of all developing country parties to the convention, including India, is to prepare the National Action Programme to Combat Desertification and to mitigate the effects of drought. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, as the National Focal Point for the implementation of the Convention, has prepared the National Action Programme to Combat Desertification (NAPCD) through the setting up of a High-level Inter-Sectoral National Steering Committee (NSC) in July 1999. The NSC constituted four Working Groups (WG) on various relevant to desertification viz. Desertification Monitoring and Assessment, Sustainable Land Use Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management Practices for Combating Desertification, Local Area Development Programme, Policy and Institutional Issues. Similarly Desertification Cell has been established under Ministry of Environment and Forests comprising multi-disciplinary team including agriculture, forestry, environment science, geo-hydrology, rural development and social sciences. It would service on all matters like preparation of NAP, monitoring its implementation, organizing reviews, feasibility studies and evaluation and impact studies. FEATURES OF NAPCD • Water is a diacritical element for building people’s confidence and satisfaction level, reclamation of degraded lands for sustainable biomass production ultimately leading to a better quality of life and enabling conditions through empowerment of the local communities. • Bottom up approach and project planning, evaluation and monitoring by Panchayat Raj Institutions (Grass root level elected local self Governments in which women have at least 30 per cent representation) on all aspects of land development including rehabilitation of degraded areas • Convergence of resources and services. All resources available under different schemes will be channelled through Panchayats through single window service to the communities. • Gaps in all the on-going schemes of different departments will be identified and resources will be provided to fill them up for generating good impact at the ground level. • The first five-year period will be experimental and include pilot projects and activities. • Concurrent and continuous monitoring will be done and mid-course correction will be effected as the experiences are gained • The problem faced by farmers will be reported to R&D institutions for finding solutions. Thus both lab-to-land and land-to-lab flow of information will be ensured WASTELAND MANAGEMENT Wasteland management includes measures for land conservation, land rehabilitation and land improvement. (i) Land Conservation: It is the measures taken to maintain the functions of the land. The land is allowed for productive use, but within limits. Land is maintained to stay within system tolerance and to allow system to reach an equilibrium. If it is necessary, land is removed from use, or even positive measures are taken to rehabilitate. (ii) Land Rehabilitation: It is the restoration of the previous land functions of the degraded land (iii) Land Improvement: It is an increase in the environmental function or productive potential of land. Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” WHAT IS ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION? Ecological restoration can be defined as the process of assisting the recovery and management of ecological integrity, including a critical range of variability in biodiversity, ecological processes and structures, regional and historical context and sustainable cultural practices. Restoration can be passive, in which the degrading agent(s) is identified and removed or active, in which management techniques such as planting, weeding, burning and thinning are undertaken with a particular image of desired structure, composition, or pattern in mind. The need for restoration assumes some level of impairment in an ecosystem because of low ecological integrity. Although natural disturbances can cause impaired conditions, often human activities are responsible and thus a change in the management can theoretically bring about improved conditions. There are number of land restoration options that, if applied wisely, could boost agricultural production and slow down land and environmental degradation. MULTI-FACETED ACTIONS TO COMBAT LAND DEGRADATION The integrated approach is necessary to combat land degradation. The following approaches are considered necessary for the land improvement. • Integrated management of natural resources • Soil conservation and restoration • Improving agricultural production and stock-farming systems • Agricultural water management • Sustainable forest management • Agroforestry • Watershed management • Environmental monitoring, drought early warning and forecasting/response system • Promotion of sustainable land management techniques geared to climate change adaptation • Biodiversity preservation • Adding value to agricultural, forest, farmed products • Diversifying activities so as to relieve pressure on resources • Increasing land and labour productivity with available technology • Developing technology to overcome agricultural production constraints Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management Table 33.4: Types of Land Degradation and Improvement (Sara J. Scherr and Satya Yadav 1996) Component Physical management Degradation Improvement soil Crusting, compaction, sealing, Soil conservation barriers (live, wind erosion, water erosion, inert), terracing, revegetation of denuded lands, tree devegetation, overtillage protection, soil decompaction, breaking up of pans, covercrops, windbreaks, soil deposition, improved tillage methods Soil water Impeded drainage, waterlogging, Irrigation, water harvesting, reduced waterholding capacity, field drainage, draining of management reduced infiltration, salinization waterlogged areas, filter strips Soil nutrient and Alkalinization, acidification, organic matter nutrient leaching, removal of organic matter, burning of management vegetative residues, nutrient depletion Fertilization, composting, green manuring, animal manuring, Flushing of saline and alkaline soils, liming of acid soils Soil biology Overapplication of agrichemicals, Introduction of organisms, nitrogen management industrial contamination microorganisms Vegetation Management Decline in vegetative cover, decline in biodiversity, decline in species composition, decline in availability of valuable species biotic fixing Increased vegetative cover, increased species diversity, increased species composition, Improved availability of valuable species TREES, SHRUBS AND GRASSES FOR WASTELAND DEVELOPMENT It is well recognized that a large area in the country is degraded due to soil erosion by water. Soil erosion is caused mainly by lack of vegetative cover, slope, nature of soil, rainfall and its intensity, cropping system and land management. It is also caused by deforestation, shifting cultivation, overgrazing and improper cropping of undulated lands. If the intensity and degree of soil erosion are high, it may lead to the formation of deep gullies and ravines. Appropriate measures are required to check runoff and soil loss which include planting vegetation (trees, grasses, shrubs), agroforestry, mulches, bunding, terracing, contour cultivation, graded trenching, crop rotation practice with different crops, no tillage strategy etc. Book “Forestry : Principles and Applications” Similarly drylands need to be reclaimed using drought tolerant species. Sand areas and sand dunes should be stabilized using appropriate tree and grass species. Area affected by wind erosion need to be protected by establishing wind breaks and shelter belt. Salt tolerant grasses and tree species are planted in lands affected by salinity and alkalinity. Species selection is the important criteria for the success of any wasteland development programme which is based on compatibility to local site conditions, survival and productivity. The genetic quality of native species plays a key role for local adaptability and to withstand adverse environmental conditions. It is also important for suitability to soils with different depth and water retention capacities. The plant establishment mainly depends on the development of deep and good root system. The inherent characteristics of a species, to propagate or regenerate itself vegetatively viz. root suckers, when damaged, are also important for survival. Tree Species: Acacia albida, Acacia tortilis, Acacia senegal, Acacia catechu, Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia ampliceps, Acacia bivenosa, Acacia nilotica, Prosopis cineraria, Prosopis juliflora, Parkinsonia articulata, Tamarix articulata, Ziziphus mauritiana, Zizypus nummularia, Calligonum polygonoides, Cassia siamea, Albizia lebbeck, Leucaena leucocephala, Gliricidium sepium, Sesbania sesban, Erythrina spp., Casuarina equisetifolia, Inga dulcis, Grewia tenax, Anogeisus rotundifolia, Euphorbia caducifolia, Tamarix aphylla, Cercidium floridum, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Hardwickia binata, Pongamia pinnata, Tecomella undulata, Azadirachta indica, Dendrocalamus strictus, Bambusa bambos, Agave sisalana, Agave americana, Calliandra spp., Gmelina arborea, Grevillea robusta, Dalbergia sissoo, Paulownia spp., Terminalia spp., Anthocephalus spp., Madhuca spp., Pterocarpus spp., Emblica officinalis, Aegle marmelos Grasses and Forage Crops: Vetiveria zizanioides, Cynadon dactylon, Dichanthium annulatum, Panicum repens, Panicum antidotale, Panicum maximum, Cenchrus setigerus, Cenchrus ciliaris, Lasiurus sindicus, Sehima nervosum, Bracharia brizantha, Bracharia mutica, Sporobolus marginatus, S. airoides, S. helvolus, Fagonia cretica, Eragrostis spp., Taverniera cuneifolia, Barleria acanthoides, Eremopogon foveolatus, Heteropogon contortus, Lepidagathis spp., Aristida spp., Oblong folia, Tribulus terrestris, Brachiaria ramosa, Cymbopogon jwarancusa Medicinal Plants: Aloe vera, Balanites aegyptiaca, Commiphora wightii, Euphorbia antisyphilitica, Haloxylon spp., Cassia angustifolia Chapter-33 Land Degradation and Wasteland Management WASTELAND DEVELOPMENT THROUGH AGROFORESTRY Agroforestry refers to land use systems in which trees or shrubs are grown in association with agricultural crops, pastures or livestock and in which there are both ecological and economic interactions between trees and other components. An agroforestry practice is a distinctive arrangement of components in space and time, characterized by environment, plant species and arrangement, management and social and economic functioning. Agroforestry ensures maximum productivity per unit of land on sustainable basis. It improves the soil fertility and productivity, reduces the soil run off and provides more income to land owners than monocropping system. Adoption of agroforestry practices such as agrisilviculture, silvopastoral and agrisilvipastoral systems with an appropriate combination of trees, grasses and agricultural crops develop the wastelands very fast. It ensures moisture improvement, soil improvement and biomass improvement in the wastelands. REFERENCES For References, you may refer the original book or check my Researchgate or Academia Profile https://shiats.academia.edu/AntonyJosephRaj https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antony-Joseph-Raj