Causes and Consequences of Land Degradation in India
Land degradation refers to any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be harmful or undesirable. Both natural causes like floods and forest fires, as well as human activities can lead to land degradation. It is estimated that up to 40% of the world’s agricultural land is seriously degraded currently.
Causes of land degradation
The main causes leading to land degradation globally include:
- Climate change – rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, drought, wildfires, storms
- Deforestation and land clearance for agriculture, urbanization
- Poor farming practices that deplete soil nutrients
- Overgrazing by livestock
- Inappropriate irrigation methods
- Urban expansion and infrastructure development
- Soil pollution from industrial effluents, vehicle exhaust, and waste dumping
In India, the most prominent factors are water erosion resulting from heavy rains and floods, followed by soil acidity as shown in the graphic below:
Consequences of land degradation
Major consequences of land degradation include:
- Decline in productive capacity of land temporarily or permanently
- Loss of land usefulness for human activities
- Biodiversity loss as habitats are destroyed
- Increased vulnerability of people and ecosystems to environmental disasters
- Accelerated soil erosion by water and winds
- Soil acidification making it unsuitable for crops
- Soil alkalinization due to sodium accumulation through irrigation
- Water logging of soil, requiring drainage interventions
- Destruction of soil structure and depletion of nutrients
- Formation of saline soils unfit for cultivation
The outcome is loss of fertile topsoil, lower yields, farming becoming non-viable, and ultimately abandonment of land and migration. About 135 million people may be displaced by desertification and land degradation by 2045, rendering land uninhabitable.
Restoring degraded lands
Methods to restore degraded lands focus on:
- Afforestation to stabilize soils
- Contour plowing to reduce water runoff
- Using cover crops and manure to enrich soil
- Controlling grazing densities
- Introducing water retention processes
- Maintaining native vegetation
With global concerted efforts, restoration of degraded lands can help secure livelihoods of people relying on them.
