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
- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)