Apr 29, 2019 the document further goes on examining the serious and complex web of problems that have arisen from worsening land degradation of the earths drylands, which are home to 2,000 million people, comprise of 44 percent of all the worlds cultivated land and should sustain 50 percent of the worlds livestock. Mar 02, 2020 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. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. In addition to erosion, soil quality is affected by other aspects of agriculture. Pdf land degradation effect on development in malawi herbert nyirenda academia. Causes and effects of environmental degradation conserve. Soil erosion and land degradation through various means further affect the physical viability of the soil profile and the environment in terms of solid, water, air ratio as well as chemical and biological balances.
Land degradation food and agriculture organization of the united. The major causes of land degradation include, land clearance poor farming practices, overgrazing, inappropriate irrigation, urban sprawl, and commercial development, land pollution including industrial waste and quarrying of stone, sand and minerals. What are causes and effects of environmental degradation. Thus, arthur and jeanette conacher defined land degradation as alterations to all aspects of the biophysical. The effect of deterrents on land degradation only applies in those areas. May 01, 2019 land degradation soil degradation is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes. Soil degradation is a serious global environmental problem and may be exacerbated by climate change. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. The worst situations can be found in africa, which is threatened because the land degradation processes affect about 46 percent of the whole continent and create a health risk to people living in the regions far beyond the affected areas. Land degradation soil degradation is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes. The devastating effects of environmental degradation a case study of the niger delta region of nigeria. Water can be lost through evapotranspiration, evaporation, infiltration, runoff, pollution, or overuse.
The impacts of land degradation and desertification include a reduction in crop and pasture. Land degradation can be viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable eswaran, 2001. Loss of biodiversity the most significant effect of forest degradation is loss of habitat leading to species loss. The emphasis on land, rather than soil, broadens the focus to include. 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. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation. History, nature, causes, consequences, and solutions conacher, arthur encyclopedia of life support systems eolss above. Land degradation affects humans in multiple ways, 16 interacting with social, political, cultural and economic aspects, including markets, technology, 17 inequality and demographic change very high confidence. Chapters 7 and 8 are concerned with the economic and social consequences of land degradation. The result is a loss of land productivity with impacts on livelihoods and the. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. Soil degradation needs to be recognised, alongside climate change, as one of the most pressing problems facing humanity. Soil quality decline is one of the main causes of land degradation and is considered to be responsible for 84% of the ever diminishing acreage.
Soil erosion is a natural process that removes soil from the land. Year after year, huge acres of land lost due to soil erosion, contamination and pollution. 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. It encompasses physical soil erosion, chemical salinity and alkalinity, pollution and biological. What is environmental degradation, causes and effects. Forest degradation occurs when the ecosystem functions of the forest are degraded but where the area remains forested rather cleared anon.
Effects of land use change on land degradation reflected by. Chapter 2 summa rizes perspectives on the global trends and effects of land degradation. So much could be written about the effects of climate change on the health of our lands, as climate change can lead to land degradation for many reasons, and it is very often climate change that exacerbates the progress of desertification in increasingly many places. The health impacts of desertification and drought pdf, 1. Other definitions differentiate between reversible and irreversible land degradation. The importance of land degradation in calabar south is enhanced because of its impact on food security and quality of the environments. Research by the economics of land degradation initiative in 2015 calculated that soil degradation is.
The damage to soil, loss of habitat, water shortages, and. Land degradation also has serious knockon effects for humans, such as malnutrition, disease, forced migration, cultural damage, and even war. The direct cause of land degradation is mismanagement of the land by man. This global phenomenon is caused by nature but also triggered by unsustainable land management, and. The most authoritative estimates of the extent of land degradation are contained in a report on south asia prepared by undp, unep and fao land degradation in south asia. Solutions need to be developed and introduced which address both issues simultaneously. The term land degradation involves both soil and vegetation degradation. 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. The land degradation processes include soil erosion, nutrient depletion, salinization, desertification and soil acidification or alkalinisation. Land degradation reduces land productivity and increases the workload of managing the 42 land, affecting women disproportionally in some regions. The productivity of grassland and forest resources, in addition to that of cropland, is embodied in this definition.
Land degradation encompasses the whole environment including individual factors such as soils, water resources surface and ground, forests woodlands, grasslands rangelands, croplands rainfed and irrigated and biodiversity animals, vegetative cover and soil 5. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of land use change on the physicochemical properties of soil bulk density, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus. Pollution of water resources from the contamination of. Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. The map of the study area is presented on the next page. Land degradation, soil erosion and soil conservation pmf ias.
Impact of environmental degradation on agricultural. It encompasses physical soil erosion, chemical salinity and alkalinity, pollution and biological deterioration pollution and. Let us check what environmental degradation is, its causes and effects. The devastating effects of environmental degradation a case. 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. These, in turn diminish the availability of nutrients and water to the plants and ultimately the productivity of the land. 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. Destruction of forests also effects the soil and water quality in the immediate area and can have an adverse effect on biodiversity over a range of connected ecosystems. Chapter 2 types of land degradation food and agriculture. 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.
The effects of forest degradation on ecosystems sciencing. The effects of soil erosion go beyond the loss of fertile land. In nigeria, the nigerdelta communities are mostly cited as examples of. Environmental degradation means reduction in the quality of the environment due to man made and natural factors. The devastating effects of environmental degradation a.
A methodology for the utilization of models such as the revised universal soil loss equation rusle or the water erosion. Land is a vital resource to humankind, like air and water. Effects of land use change on land degradation reflected. In turn, unsustainable land use is driving land degradation. Cause and effects of land degradation environmental. A more specific definition states that land degradation is. 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. Most studies of the effects of land degradation focus on selected measures of productivity, but land degradation may also affect food security, through its. Millions of people are known to have died of due to indirect effects of air pollution. These impacts include compaction, loss of soil structure, nutrient degradation, and soil salinity. Causes, impacts and rehabilitation techniques article pdf available november 2017 with 28,433 reads how we measure reads. 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.
It thus covers the various forms of soil degradation, adverse human impacts on water resources, deforestation, and lowering of the productive capacity of rangelands. Unesco eolss sample chapters water resources management vol. 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. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. Land degradation effects initiated by trail running events in an urban protected area of hong kong. Human health might be at the receiving end as a result of the environmental degradation. 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. It results into reduced growth of vegetation, reduced diversity of plant species, excessive growth of unwanted plant species, soil erosion, and degradation of land due to cattle movement. Land degradation can be defined in several ways depending upon the subject that needs to be emphasized.
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. In some areas, the natural environment has been exposed to hazardous waste. In this unique situation, environmental degradation is a specific instance of utilization or generation externalities reflected by uniqueness amongst private and social. In this study it is hypothesized that deforestation and intensive agricultural activities with longterm inappropriate management caused significant soil degradation in the investigation area. Thirty per cent of the earth s land area or abou t 3.
This report defines food security in terms of secure and sustainable access to sufficient food for active and healthy lives, whether access derives from production or exchange. A general definition of land degradation is presented by wasson 1987 as. Water erosion is the most common form of degradation in the area, affecting 25 percent of agricultural land. The resources get depleted and the quality of air, water and soil diminishes.
Areas exposed to toxic air pollutants can cause respiratory problems like pneumonia and asthma. The emphasis on land, rather than soil, broadens the focus to include natural resources, such as climate, water, landforms and vegetation. The principal aim of this study was to explore the impacts of desertification, degradation and drought on both the. Land degradation is the temporary or permanent lowering of the productive capacity of land unep, 1992b. 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 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. As habitats diminish, so also do the abundance, uniqueness and diversity of living things9,10. The main outcome of land degradation is a substantial reduction in the productivity of land. Flood, drought and salinity due to climate change are very common in bangladesh thus the result is land degradation. Impacts of climaterelated land degradation on poverty and livelihoods. Chapter 7 economic consequences of land degradation.
Etuonovbe the devastating effects of environmental degradation a case study of the niger delta region of nigeria fig working week 2009 surveyors key role in accelerated development eilat, israel, 38 may, 2009 214 the devastating effects of environmental degradation. Land degradation is a change to land that makes it less useful for human beings. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. The environmental consequences of land degradation are vast, including amplified soil losses, water quality deterioration, biodiversity decline and degradation of ecosystem services and corresponding values, especially if actual land uses disrespect capability natural use, in which cases land is in a. For example, according to berry 2003, the cause of land degradation involves two interlocking complex systems. The effects of longterm land use changes and cultivation on soil degradation. Land degradation 15 main activities contributing towards land degradation 15 the social and economic consequences of land degradation 17 literature analysis 17 water resources 19 main activities contributing to water resource degradation 19 the social and economic consequences of water pollution 21 literature analysis 22 air indoor and outdoor 24. Global climate changes may contribute to accelerate land degradation processes but, obviously, to a lesser degree than the effects of land use changes. Different studies have examined the effects of land use. Environmental degradation, to a large scale, is the result of market failure, namely the nonexistent or poorly functioning markets for environmental goods and services. Degradation is currently affecting 25% of earths land and 40% of earths agricultural land. Prominent environmental degradation found in most rural communities include deforestation, loss of biodiversity, loss of soil fertility, leaching of the soil, land degradation, land and water pollution, desertification, flood, drought, and erosions.
Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. Overgrazing refers to excessive eating of grasses and other green plants by cattle. Effects focus on atmosphere, human health and nature. Pdf effects of land use change on land degradation reflected. Besides this, a nature itself is also responsible for land degradation.
464 88 172 901 312 1511 949 610 446 729 685 1312 709 1359 449 568 901 254 737 499 1394 67 1537 433 890 423 1150 1614 149 1244 325 1610 1313 846 272 22 156 556 50 1473 824 558 962 713