Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. 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 devastating effects of environmental degradation a. In this guide, we look at what land degradation is including the sub land and soil issues it encompasses, along with the causes, the effects impacts, and the potential. Land degradation has multiple and complex impacts on the global environment through a range of direct and indirect processes affecting a wide array of ecosystem functions and services gef 2006. Environmental degradation, to a large scale, is the result of market failure, namely the nonexistent or poorly functioning markets for environmental goods and services. The principal aim of this study was to explore the impacts of desertification, degradation and drought on both the natural resources. Land degradation is often linked to sustainability in terms of keeping its productivity. The importance of land degradation in calabar south is enhanced because of its impact on food security and quality of the environments. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation. To comprehensively and quantitatively analyze the land degradation process, this paper employed the normalized difference vegetation index ndvi as a proxy to assess land degradation.
Wikipedia when the environment becomes less valuable or damaged, environmental degradation is said to occur. Land degradation can be defined in several ways depending upon the subject that needs to be emphasized. Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. Economics of land degradation in china springerlink. Identification of the cause of land degradation is important in return influence the sustainability of the life and helps to take appropriate measurement to halt it. Causes, impacts and rehabilitation techniques find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate.
It predicts that land degradation will displace up to 700 million people worldwide by midcentury. Based on findings of previous studies, the next section tries to identify and examine the drivers of land degradation in ethiopia and its impacts on rural livelihoods and food security. Land degradation is the common environmental problem in ethiopia. As sustainability and productivity are not easy to define, degradation of land can better be described in terms of non. Desertification, land degradation and sustainability wiley.
The gef definition of land degradation ld sets the thematic boundaries of this. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods. Desertification affects the livelihoods of millions of people, as. The health of soil is a primary concern to farmers and the global community whose livelihoods depend on well managed agriculture that starts with the dirt beneath our feet. Land degradation therefore has potentially impacts on lakes and reservoirs that are designed to alleviate flooding provide irrigation and generate hydropower. In summary, land degradation includes soil erosion, salinization, soil acidification or akalinisation and desertification. Macaulay natural resources institute, university of greenwich, medway campus, united kingdom. Annually land degradation costs an estimated usd 40 billion world wide eld initiative, 20, and degraded land is costly to reclaim lada. Usually land degrad ation is described in terms of the loss in natural resources soil, water, fauna and flora or in the biophysical process by which it functions. Andersonb, robert costanzac, ida kubiszewskic a department of geography and the environment, university of denver, united states b school of natural and built environments, university of south australia, australia c crawford school of public policy, the australian national.
Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a combination of humaninduced processes acting upon the land. Cause and effects of land degradation environmental. Sustainable land use can help to reduce the impacts of agriculture and livestock, preventing soil degradation and erosion and the loss of valuable land to desertification. The impacts of land degradation and desertification include a reduction in crop and pasture. Land degradation and desertification have been graded as a major environmental and social dispute in most. Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11. Pdf an assessment of economic impacts of land degradation. Analysis of climate and land use changes impacts on land. Reduced area losses to land degradation arable land in asia, africa, and latin.
In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend 4 in land condition, caused by direct or indirect humaninduced processes. To explore the possible impacts of land degradation on food security, we compared the baseline results with two alternative scenarios. The result is a loss of land productivity with impacts on livelihoods and the. Land degradation impacts extend beyond 18 the land surface itself, affecting marine and freshwater systems, as well as people and ecosystems far 19 away from the local sites of degradation very high confidence. The impact of land degradation on food productivity library wur. Land is a vital resource to humankind, like air and water. Impacts of climaterelated land degradation on poverty and livelihoods. Research by the economics of land degradation initiative in. Land degradation is the blanket term usually used to describe a number of land and soil degradation issues such as soil contamination, soil erosion, desertification, and more. In this unique situation, environmental degradation is a specific instance of utilization or generation externalities reflected by uniqueness amongst private and social. Soil degradation needs to be recognised, alongside climate change, as one of the most pressing problems facing humanity. The health impacts of desertification and drought pdf, 1. Effects of land use change on land degradation reflected by soil properties along mara river, kenya and tanzania.
Land degradation means a significant reduction of the productive capacity of land. Pollution of water resources from the contamination of. Land degradation is a humaninduced or natural process which negatively affects the land to function effectively within an ecosystem. Pdf on nov 28, 2017, temesgen gashaw and others published land degradation in ethiopia. Land degradation is a change to land that makes it less useful for human beings. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. Desertification, a phenomenon referring to land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid regions as a result of climatic variations and human activities, is considered as one of the most severe environmental and socioeconomic problems of recent times. Economic and social impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought. Key findings, policy implications and recommendations of white paper 1 pak sum low coordinating author and editor of white paper i unccd 2nd scientific conference 912 april 20, bonn, germany. Potential impacts of climate change on land degradation. A general definition of land degradation is presented by wasson 1987 as. The principal environmental impacts of land degradation include a. Land degradation and rehabilitation in ethiopia society at large is also suffering from uncertain information about the rates of land use change and land degradation. This can lead to unsustainable agricultural practices, further land degradation, exacerbated urban sprawl, and sociopolitical problems.
Solutions need to be developed and introduced which address both issues simultaneously. Land degradation is a concept in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by one or more combinations of human induced processes acting upon the land. Land degradation causes reduction or loss of land performance across the planet, either from the ecological or economic standpoints, playing a key role in the united nations agenda for environment since the adoption of sustainable development goals in 2015. Land degradation is the temporary or permanent lowering of the productive capacity of land unep, 1992b.
Desertification, a phenomenon referring to land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid regions as a result of climatic variations and human activities, is considered as one of the most severe environmental and socioeconomic problems o f recent times. In addition, land degradation directly affected the type. This global phenomenon is caused by nature but also triggered by unsustainable land management, and embeds a cascade of environmental. Impacts of mining and smelting activities on environment and landscape degradationslovenian case studies. 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 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. The role of historic human impacts on modern environmental. As land is degraded and in some places deserts expand, food production is reduced, water sources dry up and populations are pressured to move to more hospitable areas. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. It is a complex process involving various causal factors, among which climate changes, land usecover changes and human dominated land management play a dominant role barbier 1997. Pdf effects of land use change on land degradation reflected. 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.
The impact of land degradation on food productivity. It is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity and continuing food insecurity and rural poverty. Economic and social impacts of desertification, land. Potential impacts of climate change on land degradation and desertification. Land degradation food and agriculture organization of the united. Land degradation is a complex process which involves both the natural ecosystem and the socioeconomic system, among which climate and land use changes are the two predominant driving factors. A new international report makes for bleak reading on the state of the worlds soils. Water can be lost through evapotranspiration, evaporation, infiltration, runoff, pollution, or overuse. Economics of land degradation and improvement in ethiopia. Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water, and soil, the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. The potential impacts of desertification on health include. Conversion of agricultural land to nonagricultural usages in.
However, the economic implications of land degradation are particularl y severe in subsaharan africa because. The impacts and implications of humanrelated and climatic factors b. It thus covers the various forms of soil degradation, adverse human impacts on water resources, deforestation, and lowering of the productive capacity of rangelands. Land degradation can be viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable eswaran, 2001. Quantifying the impact of land degradation on crop. Land degrading processes such as deforestation or soil erosion also contribute to climate change ipbes 2018, with 25%. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. This perception has been replaced by a feeling of scarcity, especially in arid lands undergoing severe processes of degradation. This study takes the degradation of soil resources as its focus. The map of the study area is presented on the next page.