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Context:

According to a new report of United Nations, Land degradation is undermining Earth’s capacity to sustain humanity, and failure to reverse it will pose challenges for generations to come.

Details:

A million sq km of land is getting degraded each year, with an estimated 15 million sq km already impacted — more than the entire continent of Antarctica — by land degradation, the report titled Stepping back from the precipice: Transforming land management to stay within planetary boundaries.

How land degradation is threatening Earth’s capacity to sustain humanity?

Land degradation adversely affects humans and ecosystems around the planet. For instance, it raises the risk of malnutrition by reducing the quality and quantity of food production. It contributes to the spread of water- and food-borne diseases that result from poor hygiene and scarcity of clean water. It can cause respiratory diseases due to soil erosion.

Marine and freshwater systems also suffer due to land degradation. For example, eroded soil carrying fertilisers and pesticides washes into water bodies, harming both the fauna living there and local communities which depend on them.

Land degradation contributes to climate change as well. The world’s soil is the largest terrestrial carbon sink. When land is degraded, soil carbon can be released into the atmosphere, along with nitrous oxide. This can further exacerbate global warming.

Land degradation has reduced the capacity of land ecosystems such as trees and soil to absorb human-caused carbon dioxide by 20% in the last decade. Previously, these ecosystems could absorb nearly one-third of this kind of pollution.

About the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD):

It is a legally binding framework to address desertification and the effects of drought — in collaboration with Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. It was published before the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of UNCCD began in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

What is land degradation? Why is it a matter of concern?

According to UNCCD, land degradation is “the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from a combination of pressures, including land use and management practices”.

What is causing land degradation?

Unsustainable agricultural practices such as the heavy use of chemical inputs, pesticides, and water diversion are the foremost drivers of land degradation. That is because such practices lead to deforestation, soil erosion, and pollution.

Unsustainable irrigation practices deplete freshwater resources, while excessive use of nitrogen- and phosphorus-based fertilisers destabilise ecosystems.

Climate change — land degradation not only contributes to climate change but is also spurred by it. A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change, noted that global warming has worsened land degradation by increasing frequency, intensity and/ or amount of heavy precipitation, and increased heat stress.

Then there is rapid urbanization, which has intensified land degradation by contributing to habitat destruction, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Which areas are the worst affected?

The report has identified several land degradation hotspots in dry regions such as South Asia, northern China, the High Plains and California in the United States, and the Mediterranean. A third of humanity now lives in drylands, which include three-quarters of Africa.

Land degradation hits low-income countries disproportionately. That is because its impacts are concentrated in tropical and arid regions, and poorer countries have lesser resilience to withstand land degradation and its fallouts.

Transformative action

Transformative action to combat land degradation is needed to ensure a return to the safe operating space for the land-based planetary boundaries. Just as the planetary boundaries are interconnected, so must be the actions to prevent or slow their transgression.

Principles of fairness and justice are key when designing and implementing transformative actions to stop land degradation, ensuring that benefits and burdens are equitably distributed.

Agriculture reform, soil protection, water resource management, digital solutions, sustainable or “green” supply chains, and equitable land governance along with the protection and restoration of forests, grasslands, savannas, and peatlands are crucial for halting and reversing land and soil degradation.

Woodland regeneration, no-till farming, nutrient management, improved grazing, water conservation and harvesting, efficient irrigation, intercropping, organic fertilizer, and improved use of compost and biochar – can all enhance soil carbon and boost yields.

Savannas are severely threatened by human-induced land degradation, yet are essential for ecological and human wellbeing. A major store of biodiversity and carbon, they cover 20% of the Earth’s land surface but are increasingly lost to cropland expansion and misguided afforestation. 

The current rate of groundwater extraction exceeds replenishment in 47% of global aquifers, so more efficient irrigation is crucial to reducing agricultural freshwater use. 

Globally, the water sector must continue to shift from “grey” infrastructure (dams, reservoirs, channels, treatment plants) to “green” (reforestation, floodplain restoration, forest conservation, or recharging aquifers).

More efficient delivery of chemical fertilizer is likewise essential: Currently, only 46% of nitrogen and 66% of phosphorus applied as fertilizer is taken up by crops. The rest runs off into freshwater bodies and coastal areas with dire environmental consequences.

Conclusion:

Increasing public awareness about the importance of land conservation, sustainable land management, and the consequences of land degradation is vital for fostering behavioral 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.

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Land degradation

Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India

UNCCD COP16: Land Restoration, Resilience, and Future 

Source:

INDIAN EXPRESS