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UPSC Issue at a Glance is a new initiative of UPSC Essentials to consolidate your prelims and mains exam preparation on an issue that has been in the news. Every Thursday, cover a new topic in Q&A format and don’t miss MCQs, Points to Ponder, and key takeaways. Also, don’t forget to check the answers of MCQs towards the end of the article. Let’s get started!
On June 5, 2024, World Environment Day was celebrated, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosting the event. The focus of World Environment Day 2024 is on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience. Land restoration plays a vital role in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) and is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, it is important to understand the issue of land degradation and restoration from a broader perspective.
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change- that do not require subject specialisation.
Mains Examination: GS-III: Conservation, environmental pollution, and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Other areas of relevance: UPSC Aspirants will find it useful in Essays, and Current affairs for their Personality tests.
What will you learn from this article? |
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Answer: Land has always been a central focus in the climate change debate because it both influences and is impacted by climate change. Forests, trees, and vegetation are crucial as carbon dioxide sinks. However, land degradation and desertification pose significant challenges for the environment.
According to the Convention on Combating Desertification-
Land degradation means reduction or loss in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns such as: soil erosion caused by wind and/or water; deterioration of the physical, chemical and biological or economic properties of the soil; long-term loss of natural vegetation.
Significance of Land Restoration
Land is an essential part of ecosystems. Ensuring healthy and productive land is vital for maintaining natural balance. Land restoration is crucial in this process.
According to the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD)-
Land restoration is the ecological process to restore a natural and safe landscape for humans, wildlife, and plant communities. This process paves the way to protect our ecosystems, create economic development, help prevent natural disasters such as floods, and increase soil productivity and food supplies. In short, land restoration is vital if we are to protect the environment, build resilience to drought, and help feed a growing global population.
1. Environmental Benefits: Land Restoration offers numerous benefits, such as preventing land degradation, improving soil fertility, and increasing water retention. It also helps conserve biodiversity by providing habitat for plants, animals, and microorganisms, supporting overall ecosystem health.
Healthy soils serve as carbon sinks, absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Almost 80% of the carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems is located in soils. Rehabilitating degraded lands can aid in carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support global initiatives for climate change mitigation.
Amitabh Sinha writes- “Agriculture and activities such as cattle rearing contribute to emissions and are a major source of methane which is a much stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Restoration of degraded land can, therefore, have major co-benefits for climate change objectives.”
2. Economic Benefits: According to UNCCD- The economic benefits of land restoration are huge. A UNEP study revealed that half of the world’s GDP is dependent on nature, and every dollar invested in restoration generates up to USD 30 in benefits.
| Rangelands |
| The UNCCD report defines rangelands as natural or semi-natural ecosystems that are grazed by livestock or wild animals. Rangelands contain vegetation such as grasses, shrubs, bushes, open forests, and agroforestry systems (land which contains trees and crops or pastures). The exact nature of rangelands’ vegetation is influenced by rainfall, temperature, and other climate phenomena. Currently, rangelands cover 80 million sq km of Earth’s terrestrial surface area (over half of Earth’s land), and are thus the largest land cover or land use type in the world, the UNCCD report said. They act as carbon sinks (which absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they release), storehouses of freshwater, and prevent desertification of land. According to the UNCCD report, rangelands in India cover around 1.21 million square kilometres, stretching from the Thar Desert to Himalayan meadows. |
Land restoration is also at the core of the UNCCD’s mission, as actions that protect and revitalise land resources such as soil, water and biodiversity are critical to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030 and constitute a proactive way to build resilience to drought.
Points to Ponder:
— What is Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)?
— What are the key highlights of the recent UNCCD report?
— Organisations to look for: United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), FAO, Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Post Read Question:
(1) With reference to the rangelands, consider the following statements:
1. They contain vegetation such as grasses, shrubs, bushes, open forests, and agroforestry systems.
2. They act as carbon sinks.
3. The nature of rangelands’ vegetation is influenced by rainfall and temperature.
How many of the statements given above are not correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
(Source: What are rangelands, why they matter?, Explained: How world is losing fertile land, Land management & restoration-United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification.
Answer: Amitabh Sinha writes- “A variety of factors, both natural and human-induced, are known to be affecting the productivity of land, and making them desert-like. Increasing populations and the resultant rise in demand for food and water, feed for cattle, and a wide variety of ecosystem services these offer, have prompted human beings to clear forests, use chemicals, cultivate multiple crops, and over-exploit groundwater. This has affected both the health and productivity of the land. Natural processes such as rising global temperatures increase the frequency and intensity of droughts, and changing weather patterns have put further pressure on the land.”
| Major Causes of Land Degradation and Desertification | |
| 1. Unsustainable Agricultural Practices |
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| 2. Conversion of Land for Various Uses |
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| 3. Deforestation & Loss of Vegetative Cover |
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| 4. Frequent Droughts and Land Degradation |
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| 5. Unsustainable Water Management |
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— What is soil erosion? How did it lead to desertification?
— What is flash drought?
— What are the different processes involved in land degradation?
Post Read Question:
(2) Consider the following:
1. Industrial and mining activities
2. Demographic pressure
3. Frequent Droughts
4. Deforestation
How many of the above are the causes of land degradation?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) Only three
(d) All four
(Source: Explained: How world is losing fertile land , National Action Programme to Combat Desertification, 2001)
Answer: Land provides critical ecosystem services and is inextricably tied to human well-being, influencing food security and livelihoods. But when land resources are overexploited and degraded, it has a detrimental impact on quality of life, leading to threat to food and water security, and migration.
According to UNEP:
As of today, almost a quarter of the world’s total land area has been degraded. This creates enormous problems not only for the billions of people who directly depend on agriculture, but it has far-reaching impacts affecting every single person on this planet today. These impacts include food shortages, volatility and increases in food prices caused by declines in the productivity of croplands; heightened impacts of climate change globally caused by the release of carbon and nitrous oxide from degrading land; and the threat of social instability from the forced migration that will result.
Some impacts of land degradation and desertification are:
1. Impact on Climate Change: Amitabh Sinha writes- “Forests, trees and vegetation cover are important sinks of carbon dioxide. Land degradation, therefore, reduces the amount of carbon dioxide that is absorbed, and consequently leads to a rise in emissions.”
2. Threat to Food & Water Security: Land degradation and desertification have effects on food and water security.
Amitabh Sinha writes- “Over the years, it has become increasingly clear that land degradation was impacting the global network of food and commodity supply chains and was getting impacted in return…Changes in food habits and international trade have altered cropping patterns in many areas. Large-scale migration to urban centres and industrial hubs has seen a heavy concentration of populations in small areas, putting unsustainable pressure on land and water resources.”
| Do you Know? |
| The latest UNCCD report found that nearly 50% of the world’s rangelands can be considered “degraded” and are facing a “silent demise”. |
3. Impact on Biodiversity: Land degradation caused by factors such as extensive agriculture, deforestation, and unmanaged urbanisation and sprawl, are reducing the biodiversity of many land ecosystems.
| Do you Know? |
| According to UNCCD- From 1998 to 2017, drought generated economic losses of about US$124 billion across the world, not to mention the cost in human suffering and lives. |
Points to Ponder:
— What are the socio-economic impacts of land degradation and desertification?
Post Read Question:
The process of desertification does not have climate boundaries. Justify with examples. (UPSC CSE 2020)
(Source: Explained: How world is losing fertile land, National Action Programme to Combat Desertification 2001, Land Degradation-UN Environment Programme )
Answer: The international community has recognised the importance of addressing the challenge of land degradation and desertification as urgent conditions for healthy ecosystems, food and water security, and meeting climate change and biodiversity goals. As a result, various global initiatives have been taken to combat land degradation and desertification. Several of these initiatives include:
1. UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): A major global agreement on issues related to land, the convention (UNCCD) was established in 1994 to protect and restore land and to address the phenomenon of desertification, the process through which fertile and productive land becomes degraded and unfit for useful activities like agriculture.
2. Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund: Set up in 2018, the LDN Fund is an impact investment fund that invests in profit-generating sustainable land management and land restoration projects globally.
| Do you Know? |
| Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land calls for the protection, restoration and sustainable management of land-based ecosystems. In doing so target 15.3 specifically aims to achieve a land degradation-neutral world by the year 2030. |
3. UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: It aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean.
4. International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA): It is a global alliance for a drought-resilient future. IDRA mobilises political, technical, and financial capital to enhance drought resilience in countries, cities, and communities.
Initiatives taken by India to combat land degradation and desertification
According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change-
India, with about 32% of its land under degradation and 25% undergoing desertification, has a huge task cut out to ensure sustainable land management as well as food, water and livelihood security by adopting both preventive and curative strategies for moving towards land degradation neutrality in a realistic time-frame.
India does not have a specific policy for combating desertification. However, many national policies reflect the concern for preventing and reversing land degradation and desertification. For example, the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980, Environment (Protection) Act 1986, National Forest Policy 1988, National Agricultural Policy 2000, and National Environmental Policy 2006, all have provisions to address the issue of land degradation.
The Government has undertaken a number of measures to combat land degradation and desertification in the country. These are as follows:
1. Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India
2. National Action Programme to Combat Desertification
3. Integrated Afforestation and Eco-development Project Scheme (IAEPS)
4. Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP)
5. Desert Development Programme (DDP)
6. Centre of Excellence at the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).
| Do you Know? |
| At the 2015 UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) in Paris, India joined the Bonn Challenge pledge to restore 13 million hectares (mha) of degraded and deforested land by 2020, with an additional 8 mha by 2030. This goal to restore 21 million hectares by 2030 was increased to 26 million hectares at the UNCCD’s COP14 in 2019. |
Points to Ponder:
— Why are grasslands overlooked in environmental conservation and ecosystem restoration policies?
— What is the Bonn Challenge?
— What is the Great Green Wall?
— What is Ecosystem Restoration?
(Thought Process: Can all kinds of ecosystems be restored? If yes, then how? Restoration initiatives can be launched by whom? Is it the government only or also the responsibility of development agencies, businesses, communities, and individuals?)
Post Read Question:
(3) What is/are the importance/importances of the ‘ United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’ ? (UPSC CSE 2016)
1. It aims to promote effective action through innovative national programmes and supportive international partnerships.
2. It has a special/particular focus on South Asia and North Africa regions, and its Secretariat facilitates the allocation of a major portion of financial resources to these regions.
3. It is committed to bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating the desertification.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(Source: National Action Programme to Combat Desertification 2001, Desertification-Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change)
Answer: Recommendations of UNCCD to Achieve LDN Targets
According to UNCCD “achieving LDN requires three concurrent actions; firstly, avoiding new degradation of land by maintaining existing healthy land; secondly, reducing existing degradation by adopting sustainable land management practices that can slow degradation while increasing biodiversity, soil health, and food production; and thirdly, ramping up efforts to restore and return degraded lands to a natural or more productive state.”
UNCCD has also recommended some land restoration techniques to reverse the previous degradation and achieve ‘zero net losses’ in healthy and productive lands, It includes:
(i) Planting trees
(ii) Rotating crops
(iii) Using water retention techniques such as building retention ditches and cut-off drains
(iv) Applying organic manures and mineral fertilizers.
Some Other Required Measures
1. Including local stakeholders in restoring land: It is important to involve local stakeholders in land restoration efforts. This ensures their participation, helps them gain sustainable livelihoods, and strengthens their connection to the land, leading to long-term success and resilience in land restoration projects.
2. Diverse Land Restoring Approaches: Depending on the type and extent of land degradation, land restoration techniques can vary. As there is no one-size-fits-all approach, it is crucial to apply diverse approaches to achieve the common goal. These approaches can involve measures such as implementing sustainable land management practices, planting native vegetation, establishing protected areas, and adopting agroforestry systems to restore soil health and productivity.
| Sustainable land management (SLM) |
| According to the UNCCD website- SLM aims to integrate socio-economic principles. These principles refer to the use of land resources – including soils, water and plants – for the production of goods to meet human needs whilst ensuring the long-term productive potential of land resources. |
Points to Ponder:
— Can land degradation neutrality be achieved by the middle of this century or have we run out of time?
— What is the status of desertification in India?
Post Read Question:
In what way micro-watershed development projects help in water conservation in drought-prone and semi-arid regions of India? (UPSC CSE 2016)
(Source: Land & life-United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification )
| Prelims Answer Key |
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