Question

Answer the following question in about 150 words.

Suggest measures for the reduction of land degradation.

Answer 1

The pressure on agricultural land increases not only due to its limited availability but also due to the deterioration in its quality. Soil erosion, waterlogging, salinisation, and alkalinization of land lead to land degradation. Though not all degraded land is a wasteland, unchecked degradation may lead to its conversion into one. There are two processes that induce land degradation. These are natural and human-made. The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) has classified wastelands by using remote sensing techniques, and it is possible to categorise these wastelands according to the processes that have created them. Some degradation, which is caused by natural agents, cannot be stopped altogether, but the degraded land can be revived through reclamation processes.

Land degradation, such as gullied/ravaged land, desertic or coastal sands, barren rocky areas, steeply sloping land, and glacial areas, is primarily caused by natural agents. There are other types of degraded lands, such as waterlogged and marshy areas, land affected by salinity and alkalinity, and land with or without scrub, which have been caused largely by natural and human factors. There are some other types of wastelands, such as degraded shifting cultivation areas, degraded land under plantation crops, degraded forests, degraded pastures, and mining and industrial wastelands, which are caused by human actions.

Land degradation caused by human activities can be controlled by regulating and improving land-use practices. Shifting agriculture and open grazing degrade large areas of land; they should be strictly banned. Regulations on the use of fertilisers and other chemicals on agricultural land should be strengthened. Mining activities and deforestation lead to land degradation; the government needs to impose strict controls on these practices. The best way to curb land degradation and revive degraded land is by educating local communities and implementing community-based programmes to prevent further degradation and restore the land. Under various government schemes and with the aid of NGOs, the community is organised to use sustainable and organic agricultural practices.

Common property resources are revitalised, and their use is promoted. Planting patches of fodder grass to limit open grazing is a crucial step in curtailing land degradation. Social fencing of the land leads to a sense of responsibility among the people and, therefore, to the protection of the land. Therefore, community participation with public-government participation is the best method to contain land degradation. The best example from India for. The revival of degraded land in the Jhabua district of the westernmost agro-climatic zone of Madhya Pradesh.