The terms desertification refers to degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. It does not imply loss of land to desert or through sand-dune movement.
Land degradation occurs everywhere, but is known as desertification when it occurs in the dryland ecosystems, i.e. land areas where the mean annual precipitation is less than two thirds of potential evapotranspiration (PET = potential evaporation from soil plus transpiration by plants), excluding polar regions and some high mountain areas which meet this criterion but have completely different ecological characteristics.
They cover over one-third of the world‘s land area and are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use. Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing and improper irrigation practices can all play a complex role in undermining the productivity of the land. The drivers can be climatic as well, such as low soil moisture, changing rainfall patterns and high evaporation.
However, majority of them are human-related, and include poverty, technology, global and local market trends and socio-political dynamics. It is vital to mention that poverty is both a cause and consequence of land degradation.
Other major side-effects of include: diminished food production, soil infertility and a decreased natural resilience of the land; increase in downstream flooding, reduction in water quality, sedimentation in rivers and lakes, and silting of reservoirs and navigation channels; aggravated health problems due to wind-blown dust, including eye infections, respiratory illnesses, allergies, and mental stress; loss of livelihoods forcing affected people to migrate.
GLOBAL DESERTIFICATION VULNERABILITY MAP, 1998
Drylands take up 41.3 per cent of the land surface, out of which 6.6 per cent consists of deserts and 34.6 per cent is drylands (un.org). They are major contributors to the world’s breadbasket, considering that one in every three crops under cultivation today has its origins in the drylands.
They are valuable indigenous food vaults as the wild ancestors and relatives of these plants still grow there. They support 50 per cent of the world’s livestock, are wildlife habitats and account for nearly half of all cultivated systems. The affected people include many of the world’s poorest, most marginalized and politically weak citizens.The fine line between drylands and deserts once crossed cannot be reversed. Some little-known facts about drylands:-
Value of Drylands for Livelihoods
- 5 billion people live in the world’s deserts and drylands.
- 90 per cent of this population is in developing countries.
- 50 per cent of world’s livestock is supported by rangelands.
- 46 per cent of global carbon is stored in drylands.
- 44 per cent of all cultivated land is in drylands.
- 30 per cent of all cultivated plants came from drylands.
- They harbour some of the world’s most valuable and rarest biodiversity.
Degradation
- 24 per cent of the land, globally, is degrading.
- 20-25 per cent of degrading land is rangeland.
- 20 per cent of degrading land is cropland.
- 5 billion people in the world depend on degrading land.
Desertification and Land Degradation in India
The latest Atlas of the Space Applications Centre (SAC, ISRO, published in 2016) reveals that 96.40 million hectare area (mha) of the country is undergoing land degradation i.e., 29.32 per cent of the Total Geographic Area (TGA) of the country during 2011-13, while during 2003-05 it was 94.53 mha (28.76 per cent of the TGA).
Around 24% of desertification/land degradation (out of total TGA) is contributed by the states of – Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana in descending order.
All other remaining states contribute less than 1 per cent (each).
But if seen from a different angle, states such as Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Delhi, Gujarat and Goa show more than 50 per cent area under desertification/land degradation, whereas in Kerala, Assam, Mizoram, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh, it is less than 10 per cent.
DESERTIFICATION / LAND DEGRADATION STATUS MAP OF INDIA – 2011-2013
In spite of the problems at present, drylands have a great potential for development, only if handled with wise management at the global, national and local levels. A land left impoverished, will sooner or later, impoverish its inhabitants and vice versa. Sustainable land management practices can equip land users to respond to changing market demand with adapted and traditional technologies not only to generate income, but also to improve livelihoods and protect ecosystems.
These are the main thoughts that went into declaring 2010-2020 as the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification. Infact, these trends can be reversed. To preserve soil productivity, sustainable long-term practices that combine both traditional as well as modern technology need to be applied. Another measure is to decrease the dependence on these lands by creating jobs in other sectors, improve land management, reforestation, controlling erosion, using non-wood sources of energy, zero-tillage farming etc.
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Droughtis observed every year on the 17th of June to create public awareness on the issue. This year, the day is being celebrated at Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
The theme for 2017 is “Land degradation and migration”. It examines the important link between land degradation and migration. Environmental degradation, food insecurity and poverty are causes of national and international migration. There is a need to look at ways by which local communities attempt to solve the present multi-fold development challenges through sustainable land management practices. The aim of this day is to celebrate land’s important role in producing food and generating local employment, as well as to show how sensible human involvement can help in adding sustainability, stability and security of drylands that are required for a strong future, that is why the slogan for the year is “Our land. Our home. Our Future.”
Recent Posts
Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.