CEN CUS et Land degradation vContext 1-Consequences 2- Different Types 3-Causes 4-Sensitive and Resilince 5-Public Awarness and EducationIntroduction Land degradation is a process in which the value of a biophysical or biochemical environment is Flaite Boe Me Cn E natural or human-induced processes acting upon the land.[1] [2] It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.[3] Natural hazards are excluded asa cause; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires. Serious land degradation in Nauru after the depletion of the phosphate cover through mining Expert projections suggest that land degradation will be an important theme of the 21st century, impacting agricultural productivity, biodiversity loss,SUC es cr RBC mule Ci) of the phosphate cover through mining Expert projections suggest that land degradation will be an important theme of the 21st century, impacting Pre tele Tete MN ALE ed Coe CeCe eel MU Ba lice Releled security.[4] It is estimated that up to 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.[5] PC horse c ae nmeneeke etry Put Rent Rompe Nc saalit ie Ose EC! Cee le RAR Cl Petes es tt Cuenr teeth eC Carn ee ul) mee eee Ue fields is estimated to be currently 11 to 20 times (no- tillage) to more than 100 times (conventional tillage) higher than the soil formation rate (medium confidence)."[6] The United Nations estimate that about 30% of land Cert re ence CR ut eset en tty aC) reside in these degrading areas, giving a high rate of J ccltecme eee ae emg s) sy because people exploit the land without protecting it. [8][9] The United Nations Sustainable DevelopmeDifferent Types In addition to the usual types of land degradation that have been known for centuries (water, wind and mechanical erosion, physical, chemical and biological degradation), four other types have emerged in the last 50 years:[12] ¢ pollution, often chemical, due to agricultural, industrial, mining or commercial activities; e loss of arable land due to urban construction, road building, land conversion, agricultural expansion, etc.; artificial radioactivity,mining or commercial activities; ¢ loss of arable land due to urban construction, road building, land conversion, agricultural expansion, etc.; artificial radioactivity, sometimes accidental; ¢ land-use constraints associated with armed conflicts. Overall, more than 36 types of land degradation can be assessed. All are induced or aggravated by human activities, e.g. soil erosion, soil contamination, soil acidification, sheet erosion, silting, aridification, salinization, urbanization, etc.rs 6A is Causes er degradation is a global problem largely related to the agricultural sector, general deforestation and climate change. Causes include: Land clearance, such as clearcutting and deforestation ¢ Agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices such as exposure of naked soil after crop harvesting. ° Poor livestock farming practices such as overgrazing ¢ Inappropriate irrigation[14] and overdrafting e Urban sprawl and commercial developmentVehicle off-roading Quarrying of stone, sand and mineral/ore deposits Increase in field size due to economies of scale, reducing shelter for wildlife, as hedgerows and copses disappear [cla needed]. Monoculture which destabilizes the local ecosystem Dumping of poorly- biodegradable trash, such as plastic waste. Introduction of invasive species Climate change Loss of soil carbon [cla ha eda}Overcutting of vegetation occurs when people cut forests, woodlands and shrublands—to obtain timber, fuelwood and other products—at a pace exceeding the rate of natural regrowth. This is frequent in semi-arid environments, where fuelwood shortages are often severeOvergrazing is the grazing of natural pastures at stocking intensities above the livestock carrying capacity; the resulting decrease in the vegetation cover is a leading cause of wind and water cela aCe Ruiter ll mice) Nia eee) La population pressure, during 1980- 1990, has led to decreases in the Eg Ce Eee eMol mie (MOLE land per person in six out of eight oa ee Rm EU Pees elm gL ice Ua)Population pressure also operates through other mechanisms. Improper agricultural practices, for instance, occur only under constraints such as the saturation of good lands under population pressure which leads settlers to cultivate too shallow or too steep soils, plough fallow land before it has recovered its fertility, or attempt to obtain multiple crops by irrigating unsuitable soilsHigh population density is not always related to land degradation. theta Malem ol e-Cetd (elt oy ma aT) human population that can cause a landscape to become degraded. Populations can be a benefit to the land and make it more productive than it is in its natural state. Land degradation is an important factor of internal displacement in many African and Asian countries. [15]Severe land degradation affects a significant portion of the Earth's arable lands, decreasing the wealth and economic development of nations. As the land resource base becomes less productive, food security is Compromised and competition for dwindling resources increases, the seeds of petite le tel ela ia)Climate change and land degradation According to the Special Report on Climate Change and Land of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate (eee ee CRU t-8 Celie the causes of land degradation. The Eg) olela mie UCR dated aL Med rt -4 CTT er Ele mele CE ay ec lat CE NAM) NM merer- ec - Lt oe river deltas, drylands and in permafrost areas (high confidence). Over the period 1961-2013, the annual area of drylands in drought has increased, on average by slightly more than 1% per year, with ETE Cater lat lel La ae ae) Ro about 500 (380-620) million people lived within areas which experienced desertification between the year 1980s and 2000s. The highest numbers of people affected are in South and EastSouth and East Asia, the circum Sahara region including North Africa, and the Middle East including the Arabian Peninsula (low confidence). Other dryland regions have also experienced desertification. People living in already degraded or desertified ECE eM later ilar N macy e LALA affected by climate change (high confidence)."[16] Additionally, it is claimed that 74% of the poor are directly affected by land degradation globally.[10] VIG Tm aah: Poe ard |eSensitivity and resilience lare measures of the vulnerability o a landscape to degradation. These two factors combine to explain the degree of vulnerability.[11] Sensitivity is the degree to which a land system undergoes change due to natural forces, human intervention or a combination of both. Resilience is the ability of a landscape to absorb change, without significantly altering the relationship between the relative importance and numbers of individuals and species compose the community. It alsoreturn to its original state after being changed in some way. The resilience of a landscape can be increased or decreased through human interaction based upon different methods of land-use management. Land that is degraded becomes less resilient than undegraded land, which can lead to even further degradation through shocks to the landscape. [22]Public awareness and education Increasing public awareness about the importance of land conservation, sustainable land far ilet=<-tu tal eee Ral} consequences of land degradation AiG) miele era AU oe change and mobilizing support for action. Education, outreach campaigns, and knowledge-sharing platforms can empower individuals, communities, and stakeholders to adopt more sustainable practices and become stewards of the land.[23]