Committee
T.J. 2000.
Achieving
aper in the
gement for
3 Nov
IAPRS & SIS, Vol.34, Part 7, “Resource and Environmental Monitoring”, Hyderabad, India, 2002
ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF LAND DEGRADATION IN INDIA
- STATUS AND ISSUES
.L. Venkataratnam* and S. N. Das**
* Agriculture & Soils Group, National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad-37, A.P. India
**All India Soil and Land Use Survey, New Delhi-110 012, India
Commission VII, WG VII/3.6 / Soil Resources
KEY WORDS: Land degradation, Desertification, National Mission, Remote Sensing, Assessment, Management, Monitoring
ABSTRACT :
Land degradation is a dynamic process occurring due to natural and biotic forces operating on the earth. Development of degraded
lands in India is one of the options available to increase food production for growing population and to restore the fragile ecosystem.
The information on the extent and spatial distribution of various kinds of degraded lands is thus essential for strategic planning of
development of degraded lands. In India various statistics have been reported on degraded lands by different government and non-
government agencies which not only vary widely but also their nomenclature differs considerably. It, thus, necessitates inventorying
of degraded lands in the country to generate realistic database on degraded lands using remote sensing techniques. Space-borne
remote sensing provides a unique opportunity to map the natural resources by virtue of multispectral and multitemporal sensing
capabilities, providing wide synoptic coverage, repetitiveness and computer compatibility. Survey of literature reveals that remotely
sensed data from space borne sensors like Landsat-MSS / TM, SPOT-MLA / PLA, IRS-LISS-I / II / III etc., are being employed in
the study of various aspects of land degradation like types, their nature, degree and extent of problem, impact assessment of
reclamation programes and monitoring of changes in degraded lands over a period of time. Keeping in view their importance of land
degradation in India, a National Mission is envisaged to map soils and land degradation using latest remotely sensed data. The paper
discusses the problems of land degradation, national mission, key issues of mapping and applicaion of remotely sensed data in land
degradation studies with relevant case studies.
1. INTRODUCTION 2. IMPACT OF LAND DEGRADATION
Land degradation has numerous ,environmental, economic,
Land is the most valuable non-renewable natural resource so social and ecological consequences, such as decline in land
long as it is used according to its potential and continued productivity leading to reduced agricultural or forestry
unplanned and unscientific exploitation results in land production, siltation of rivers, canals and drainage systems
degradation.. It is the primary resource for production of resulting in greater maintenance costs and shorter operational
food, fibre, , fuel and many other essential goods required to life of projects, decline in income of agricultural populations
meet human and animal needs. However, it is facing serious leading to worsening of a poverty situation, increased rural-
threats of deterioration due to unrelenting human pressure and urban migration, increased frequency of natural disasters such
utilisation incompatible with its capacity. as floods and landslides and loss of biodiversity.
The information on land degradation is needed for a variety of
purposes like planning reclamation programs, rational land 2.1 Environmental Implication of Land Degradation
use planning , to bringing additional areas into cultivation and
also to improve productivity levels in degraded lands. It has Every ecosystem on Earth is affected by some form of land
both environmental and economic consequences. The land degradation. When land is disturbed or degraded, the ecology
degradation problem has reached alarming propositions due to is damaged. There can be rather serious effects in terms of
various factors like over exploitation and mismanagement of soil erosion, loss of soil fertility and thus reduced plant
natural resources and basic socio-economic factors like land growth or crop productivity, clogging up of rivers and
shortage, inappropriate land use, severe economic pressures drainage systems, extensive floods and water shortages.
on farmers, poverty, and population growth. Globally 4706 Million hectares (M ha) of land is affected by
land degradation (Dregne, 1986) . A recent pioneering study
The magnitude of land degradation and desertification and sponsored by three United Nations agencies (FAO, UNDP
their consequences have been discussed in the international and UNEP) in South Asia estimated that altogether 140
arena since 1977 in order to combat the land degradation million hectares, or 43% of the region's total agricultural
globally in general and in the tropics in particular (UNCOD, land, suffered from one form of degradation or more. Of this,
1977; UNEP, 1978, 1992; UNCOD, 1992, Barrow, 1991). 31 million hectares were strongly degraded and 63 million
. The land degradation is an age old problem which is hectares moderately degraded. The worst country affected was
continuing in the present generation which also continues in Iran, with 94% of agricultural land degraded, followed by
future also. Bangladesh (75%), Pakistan (61%), Sri Lanka (44%),
Afghanistan (33%), Nepal (26%), India (25%) and Bhutan
(10%).
Desertification is land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas, resulting from various factors including
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