COMBATING LAND DEGRADATION IN INDIA: CHALLENGES, STRATEGIES, AND PROGRESS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY

This article has been written by Jefferson Paul R, third year at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore.

INTRODUCTION

Land is the primary need for cultivation and agriculture. So, Land degradation and desertification becomes a pressing environmental issues that threaten the very foundation of India’s economy and citizens well-being. This article will elaborate on the challenges that are to be faced by the country and the strategies and initiatives implemented by the Indian government tied up with international organizations to combat land degradation and promote land restoration in India. It also highlights the progress made towards achieving complete elimination of Land Degradation by 2030 and the challenges that remains and yet to be achieved in the upcoming years, by examining the causes and consequences of land degradation, as well as the successes and failures of land restoration efforts. This article intent to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex issue of land degradation in India and the essentiality of creating awareness amongst the people to tackle this crucial situation prevailing in the around the globe.

LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION

The term “Land degradation” was defined in brief by the FAO in 1999 which said “it is the reduction in the capability of the land to produce benefits from a particular land use under a specified form of land management”.[1] So the condition refers to the decline in the quality of land, resulting in a loss of its productive capacity. The causes of land degradation and desertification are complex and interconnected. Land degradation mostly occurs in drylands and Dry lands cover about 46.2 of the total landmass[2]. Land degradation is cause due to many factors such as the climate change or extreme weather conditions especially drought ,“a period of abnormally dry weather long enough to cause a serious hydrological imbalance”.[3] and sudden rise in temperature. The WHO says that even human activities that results in the pollution and degradation of soil after the land utility can also a major reason for the land degradation. This is often accelerated by the overpopulation which subsequently gives rise to the urbanisation. The mass urbanisation in huge population countries like in south Asia contributes most to the land degradation index among the world forum. The social and economic impacts of desertification are equally significant. This, in turn, can lead to increased poverty, migration, and social unrest. Human health is also affected, as desertification increases the risk of waterborne diseases, heat stress, and respiratory problems.

CONDITIONS REVOLVING INDIA

“Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian Economy”
– Mahatma Gandhi

India, a country with a rich agriculture and diverse ecosystems, is facing a grave environmental challenge – land degradation. The alarming rate of land degradation in India has severe consequences on the environment, economy, and human well-being, Since the Indian economy is sustained by the agriculture for which the quality of land is paramount.[4] According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) reports, we see over 29% of India’s land is already degraded , which is approximately 96.4 million hectares.[5] The UNCCD says that already 30% of the land in India are degraded and its further growing to increase to 50%.[6] The main causes of land degradation in India are deforestation, soil erosion, salinization, and mining activities.[7] The consequences of land degradation are far-reaching, including loss of biodiversity, reduced agricultural productivity, and increased poverty. This degradation of the land in a country which holds in to agriculture as its sustainer of economy is very critical in global fora.

GOVERNMENTAL SCHEMES FOR LAND RESTORATION

The Indian government has launched several schemes to combat land degradation and promote land restoration in the Indian sub-continent. In the year 2002 the Union government launched the National Afforestation Programme (NAP) which aimed to afforest 20 million hectares of degraded land by 2020. The scheme has already resulted in the afforestation of over 13 million hectares of land.[8] Furthermore the government launched the Green India Mission (GIM)] in the year 2010, GIM aimed to increase India’s forest cover from 21% to 33% by 2020. The scheme focuses on afforestation, reforestation, and sustainable forest management.[9] Though the mission with its highest efforts couldn’t achieve its goal in the target year, it paved way for several states such as the Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Karnataka and Sikkim to achieve their five year target under the mission.[10] During the last decade “Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana” was launched by the Union government with aims to improve irrigation facilities and promote water conservation in agriculture. The scheme has helped to reduce soil salinization and increase agricultural productivity.[11] The Indian government has also strengthened its legal framework and policy initiatives to combat land degradation and promote land restoration. The National Forest Policy, 1988, and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, provide the legal framework for forest conservation and management. The National Environment Policy, 2006, and the National Action Programme to Combat Desertification, 2006, provide the policy framework for addressing land degradation and desertification. 

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS FOR LAND RESTORATION

India signed the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on 14th October 1994.[12] Since then India through its Ministry for Environment, forest and climate change has collaborated with international organizations to combat land degradation and promote land restoration. Article 51 of the Indian Constitution say that the nation shall respect all the International treaties signed by the country[13]. As an act of abiding by the DPSP, many notable initiatives have been undertaken after India became a signatory to the UNCCD and it has committed to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030.[14] Further, India has received funding from Global Environment Facility – GEF for several land restoration projects, including the National River Conservation Plan and the India Eco-Development Project.[15] World Bank’s India Land Restoration Project was launched in 2018,  the project aims to restore 1.5 million hectares of degraded land in India by 2023. the project aims to restore 1.5 million hectares of degraded land in India by 2023.[16]

INDIA’S PROGRESS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY

Though the country is lacking behind when compared to the western standards, the nation has made a significant progress in the past two decades in raising the awareness on land degradations and in efforts to promote the restoration through afforestation and reforestation processes. This is evident through various committee reports which emphasised on the effectiveness of the governmental plans on the process of leading India towards an aim. Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests in the year 2019, reported that India’s forest cover has increased by 1% between 2015 and 2017,[17] Recently in 2019, National Remote Sensing Centre The report found that India’s land degradation rate has decreased by 1.5% between 2011 and 2018,[18] due to the implementation of various land restoration schemes. India State of Forest Report (ISFR) report in 2019 found that India’s forest cover has increased by 3,976 square kilometres between 2017 and 2019,[19] thanks to the efforts of the government and international organizations.

LAND RESTORATION TECHNIQUES & STRATEGIES PERTAINENT TO INDIA

Land restoration in India is a critical component of addressing desertification, land degradation and revive the indigenous farming and agriculture. Several approaches are suggested and can be employed, including afforestation/reforestation, agroforestry, and permaculture. Soil conservation and rehabilitation techniques, such as terracing, contour farming, and mulching, can also help to restore degraded lands. Impact of Desertification on the Environment and Human Societies droughts are not restricted to drylands, but occur both in drylands and humid areas.[20] Thus Water harvesting and conservation methods can be deployed, including rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation, can improve water availability and reduce the risk of drought. This prevents the aridity level from falling below the required levels. Also to sustain the water presence in the environment, Ecological restoration techniques are paramount, such as habitat restoration and species reintroduction, can also be employed to restore degraded ecosystems.

DROUGHT RESILIENCE AND MANAGEMENT

Drought is a natural phenomenon that affects millions of people worldwide but the nature recovers itself from droughts caused naturally by subsequent rainfall. But the drought caused by human activities are irreparable by nature itself at times which leads to irreversible drought and unsustainability for humans in such areas .[21] Mostly places with perineal rivers are affected by droughts at times of no rain due to climate change. These places include north Karnataka and some parts in the Deccan plateau and in the states of Bihar, arahant etc.[22], Drought management strategies by the State governments are critical to reducing the impacts of drought on human societies and the environment. The government can initiate Early warning systems, so that the people on the agricultural field can prepare for the future and sustain till the drought are over. Further, water rationing, and providing drought-tolerant crops are all effective strategies for managing drought. The government may improve the accuracy of providing timely information regarding the weather patterns, so that the farmers and policymakers can make informed decisions about planting, harvesting, and water management. For example, the Australian drought management system uses advanced climate modelling to predict drought events, enabling farmers to prepare and respond accordingly. The same can be implemented in the Indian states that are prone to drought.

SUCCESS STORY

The resilience process may take a long path but shall achieve its goal in a few years or decades to save our future generations which is a social responsibility on our heads. The same was in the minds of Mr & Mrs Salgado. The elderly couple saw a dessert with only 0.5% of its land covered by trees. Both has an idea of planting trees all over the place and recovery it from the land degradation. They worked through their rest of the lifetime to plant 4 million saplings on that land and brought back the dead forest alive. The process seemed impossible to the couple in the beginning but the consistency and progress lead to the success story now. When asked about it Mr Salgado says “The land was as sick as I was – everything was destroyed,” He saw the dead forest as of his own. By 2019 the place became a large forest sheltering various animals and achieved its self-sustainability.

CONCLUSION

The United Nations Convention and the Indian Government to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), provide a critical foundation for addressing land degradation and desertification. International agreements and frameworks made by the government plays a crucial role, But the important of all is the participation of all humans in the world to create a greener environment. Nothing beats Hard work, nothing beats progressiveness and nothing ever beats when all people come together to work for a good cause. National and local policies and laws, rules and regulations though promote the work for land restoration but the real effect could be seen when there is awareness between the people to contribute for the environment. So, the programmes should focus on creating awareness on the land restoration and resilience process. Educate children and youth to provide for a sustainable environment is crucial. However, more targets and goals needs to be achieved in order to become Land Degradation Neutral by 2030. With continued efforts and collaborations from all the stakeholders, India can become a beacon of hope in the fight against land degradation.

[1] Food and Agricultural Organisation Report official website:

 https://www.fao.org/land-water/land/sustainable-land-management/en/

[2] Koutroulis, A.G., 2019: Dryland changes under different levels of global warming. Sci. Total Environ., 655, 482–511, doi:10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.11.215.

[3] Sheffield, J., E.F. Wood, and M.L. Roderick, 2012: Little change in global drought over the past 60 years. Nature, 491, 435–438, doi:10.1038/ nature11575.

[4] Srivastava, Pratap, et al. “An urgent need for sustainable thinking in agriculture–An Indian scenario.” Ecological indicators 67 (2016): 611-622.

[5] Periasamy, Shoba, and Ramakrishnan S. Shanmugam. “Agricultural Land Degradation in India.” Impact of Agriculture on Soil Degradation I: Perspectives from Africa, Asia, America and Oceania. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. 219-257.
https://www.isro.gov.in/LandResources.html

[6] https://www.unccd.int/news-stories/stories/india-mobilizes-its-social-security-scheme-fund-land-restoration

[7] Aulakh, Milkha S., and Gurjant S. Sidhu. “Soil degradation in India: Causes, major threats, and management options.” MARCO symposium. 2015.

[8] National Afforestation Programme Revised Operational Guidelines – 2009 https://mpforest.gov.in/img/files/GIM_NAP_Revised_Guidelines_Eng.pdf

[9] Forest & Wildlife Divisions; Green India Mission (GIM) report https://moef.gov.in/moef/division/forest-divisions-2/green-india-mission-gim/about-the-mission/index.html

[10] Economic Times News Report on GIM https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/green-india-mission-plan-falls-30-per-cent-short-of-target/articleshow/85733713.cms?from=mdr

[11]Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana official website : Aims https://pmksy.gov.in/AboutPMKSY.aspx#:~:text=The%20major%20objective%20of%20PMKSY,(More%20crop%20per%20drop)%2C

[12] Ministry for Environment, forest and climate change  official website on India’s engagement with UNCCD https://moef.gov.in/moef/division/forest-divisions-2/desertification/indias-engagement-with-unccd/index.html#:~:text=The%20Convention’s%20195%20parties%20work,it%20on%2017th%20December%201996.

[13] The Constitution of India, 1950, Art. 51

[14] Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change official website https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1530019#:~:text=Emphasising%20the%20importance%20of%20land,Neutrality%20(LDN)%20by%202030.

[15] GEF official website on allocation of funds https://www.thegef.org/projects-operations/country-profiles/india

[16] TECHNICAL REPORT ON Greening and Restoration of Wastelands with Agroforestry  https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2024-02/Grow%20Report%2020.02.2024.pdf

[17] EXPERT COMMITTEE REPORT Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change New Delhi 2018 Strategy for Increasing Green Cover Outside Recorded Forest Areas https://ntps.nic.in/writereaddata/EXPERT-COMMITTEE-REPORT-ON-TOF-18112018.pdf

[18] INDIAN LAND DEGRADATION DATA SET GRIDDED FRACTIONAL AREA OF LAND DEGRADATION COMPATIBLE TO MESOSCALE MODELS OVER INDIAN REGION https://nices.nrsc.gov.in/docs/land_degradation.pdf

[19] INDIA STATE OF FOREST REPORT 2019 https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/ISFR2019%20Vol-I.pdf

[20] Wilhite, D.A., M.V.K. Sivakumar, and R. Pulwarty, 2014: Managing drought risk in a changing climate: The role of national drought policy. Weather Clim. Extrem., 3, 4–13, doi:10.1016/J.WACE.2014.01.002.

[21] Haile, Gebremedhin Gebremeskel, et al. “Drought: Progress in broadening its understanding.” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water 7.2 (2020): e1407.

[22] Country Report prepared for the Regional Workshop for Asia-Pacific as part of the UN-Water Initiative https://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/India_Country-Report-_Hanoi.pdf