Forest degradation is a process in which the biological wealth of a forest area is permanently diminished by some factor or by a combination of factors. In turn, unsustainable land use is driving land degradation. Land degradation neutrality free pdf download established in 1994, the unccd is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development issues to the land agenda. Forest degradation is land degradation that occurs in forest land. Desertification, land degradation and drought sustainable. From food production to quality air and water, nutrient cycling and soil formation, we depend on our land for the very basics of existence. Of the total, 25% of land area is highly degraded, 8% moderately or slightly degraded, 36% stable and 10% improving faostate of the worlds land and water resources for food and agriculture. It does not attempt to cover the full range of social issues associated with all types of environmental degradation. The gef definition of land degradation ld sets the thematic.
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. This years world day to combat desertification advocates for the importance of inclusive cooperation to restore and rehabilitate degraded land and contribute towards achieving the overall sustainable development goals, which include a target to achieve a land degradation. This does not involve a reduction of the forest area, but rather a quality decrease in its condition. Pollution of water resources from the contamination of. Forests are also helpful in binding up of soil particles with the help of roots of vegetation. India is facing a severe problem of land degradation ie. Definitions for land degradation land degradation here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word land degradation. Besides this, a nature itself is also responsible for land degradation.
The economics of land degradation in africa eld initiative. On land degradation environmental degradation erosion. By the provision of worked examples and field notes for specific techniques this manual will be invaluable for professionals in natural resources and as a training manual for. Information and translations of land degradation in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Collectively, these contributions explicitly seek to understand not only the mechanisms responsible for the problem of land degradation but their social and economic implications, the means of overcoming the problems, and the policy instruments whereby remedial measures may be implemented. Forests play an important role in maintaining fertility of soil by shedding their leaves which contain many nutrients. 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 emphasis on land, rather than soil, broadens the focus to include natural resources, such as climate, water, landforms and vegetation. Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. Globally, about 24% of the global land area has been affected by degradation and over 1.
A major shortcoming of the available statistics on land degradation is the lack of causeeffect relationship between severity of degradation and productivity. 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. 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. Healthy landscapes are fundamental to the health of life on earth. This can lead to unsustainable agricultural practices, further land degradation, exacerbated urban sprawl, and sociopolitical problems. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. The drivers of land degradation are numerous, complex and interrelated nkonya et al. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.
Land degradation food and agriculture organization of the united. The three degradation terms, environmental degradation, land degradation, and soil degradation, are defined as any change or disturbance to the environment, land, or soil perceived to be. Land degradation has occurred on about 30 % of global land area between 1982 and 2006 chap. An exact assessment of the extent of land degradation remains elusive both because of the difficulties involved in measuring it and because of the different definitions used over time. The decision to strive to achieve a land degradation neutral world in the context of sustainable. The areal extent of global degraded areas varies depending on the definitions eswaran et al. Environmental degradation caused by unsuitable land use is a worldwide problem that has raised the question of sustainability. There are several issues related to land degradation that intersect with other concerns. The forest is still there, but with fewer trees, or less species of trees, plants or animals, or some of them affected by plagues. Land degradation is often linked to sustainability in terms of keeping its productivity. Deforestation is the conversion of forest to nonforest land and can result in land degradation. It also highlights state and impacts of degradation, along with policy and program responses.
Responses to halt land degradation and to restore degraded land. Land degradation or improvement is an outcome of many proximate and underlying causes. The term land degradation involves both soil and vegetation degradation. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. Using a comprehensive analysis to determine the extent, degree, and drivers of soil degradation, oldeman et al. Oct 01, 2016 land degradation involves change in the properties of land and soil texture, color, grain size and its functions water holding capacity, infiltration, supporting plant life. The result is a loss of land productivity with impacts on livelihoods and the. 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. Land degradation and desertification, largely due to deforestation and unsustainable land use, are amongst the most pressing problems facing the world today.
In its definition of desertification, this geographic. As can be seen from the definition of land given in chapter 1, these resources are numerous and complex. Download pdf landdegradation free online new books in. 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. Download pdf urban growth and land degradation in developing cities book full free. Click download or read online button to landdegradation book pdf for free now. The concept of land degradation as mentioned above, land degradation means much more than the degradation of the landsoil. Criteria for designating different classes of land degradation e. Definition of land land is commonly used to refer to a section of the earth.
A soil is a threedimensional natural body in the same sense that a hill, valley, or mountain has three dimensions. The causes of land degradation in this category will require immediate. Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. Most of these changes occur without clear and logical planning, paying no attention to their environmental impacts. In 2015, land degradation neutrality is likely to become a global target through the united nations convention to combat desertification and. Download landdegradation ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11. Flood, drought and salinity due to climate change are very common in bangladesh thus the result is land degradation. Read free full ebook download land degradation and desertification assessment mitigation and remediation full ebook.
This is a broad definition, notably including deforestation, but only. This will create much drier soil, which in turn is more vulnerable to erosion and runoff. Global drivers of land degradation and improvement. The paper suggests some rules of thumb for identifying the priority areas for government and donor intervention, including the need for targeted research on the productivity. Environment, volume 82, issues, december 2000, pages 355370, issn 01678809, 10. Pdf land degradation can be described as an environmental phenomenon affecting. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation.
Land degradation can also lead to climate change and affect human health. Because of the complex nature of land degradation processes it is essentially a geographical subject matt er. Reflecting the combined expertise of the authors, the enhanced second edition of land degradation considers the impact of biophysical and social systems on land conditions and identifies principles that further the pursuit of sustainable land use. In the tranemission of han and animal pathogens, aerial transpor of the organism as a free. Land degradation and desertification a global crisis. On land degradation free download as powerpoint presentation. Fundamental concepts scoop on soil educational cd may 2006 nrcs helping people help the land figure 1. A general definition of land degradation is presented by wasson 1987 as.
Degradation definition and meaning collins english. 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. Land degradation stock photos download 724 royalty free. Land degradation is the temporary or permanent lowering of the productive capacity of land unep, 1992b. Agrobiodiversityagrobiodiversity%20thematicsoilbiodiv. To fight this menace, india will convert degraded land of nearly 50 lakh 5 million hectares to fertile land in the next 10 years between 2021 and 2030. Economics of land degradation in china springerlink. All of these factors will combine to create a very stable but very unproductive desert environment. Overview and stocktaking of land degradation in general and in africa. In this paper, land degradation will be discussed from the perspective of physical geography. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. Download 724 land degradation stock photos for free or amazingly low rates.
Any change that decreases productivity of the land land clearing poor land management practices 2 3. Land resources include all those features and processes of the land, which can, in some way, be used to fulfill certain human needs. The changes of land quality are the result of many highly interlinked factors including natural, socioeconomic and also policy and related agricultural practices. Land degradation is a change to land that makes it less useful for human beings. Land degradation causes land and soil process to stop completely or function in a stunted way. The land degradation section of this report deals with causes of land degradation, both in terms of deterioration of soil quality and loss of land.
There is a strong emphasis on the importance of these technologies in contributing towards environmental protection policies and for the wellbeing of rural land users. Pdf urban growth and land degradation in developing. Subsaharan africa ssa accounts for the largest share 22% of the total global cost of land degradation. Unplanned changes of land use and land cover have become a major problem in many parts of the word. As sustainability and productivity are not easy to define, degradation of land can better be described in terms of non. 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 causes loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients, less vegetation cover, changes in the characteristic of soil, pollution of water resources and changes in climatic.
The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. 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. Land degradation is, usually, the result of complex interrelationships between biophysical and socioeconomic issues which affect many people and their land, specially in the tropics and developing countries. Barbier, edward b the economic linkages between rural poverty and land degradation. An introduction towards one of the massive soil issues. The annual global cost of land degradation due to land use and cover change lucc and lower cropland and rangeland productivity is estimated to be about 300 billion usd. The global problem of land degradation and desertification. However, if acted upon quickly, there is a possibility for land reclamation and reversal of desertification. Urban growth and land degradation in developing cities available for download and read. 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. The unccd definition, which is mostly used by now, states that desertification is land degradation in arid, semiarid and subhumid tropics caused by a. Desertification includes land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry sub humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.
Land degradation stock photos download 724 royalty free photos. Land is a vital resource to humankind, like air and water. The ipbes assessment report on land degradation and restoration. Only about 11% of the land mass is humid and by definition is excluded from desertification processes. World day to combat desertification 2016 united nations. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of. Land degradation is a humaninduced or natural process which negatively affects the land to function effectively within an ecosystem. Land degradation the 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. Economics of land degradation and improvement a global. Established in 1994, the unccd is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development issues to the land agenda. 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.
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