There are various ways of looking at land degradation and its impact on the environment around it. Linkages with poverty are well established and current remedial. The importance of land degradation in calabar south is enhanced because of its impact on food security and quality of the environments. However their negative effects can be amplified through human action such as pastoral and agricultural land use for example within the watershed. Kiage, lawrence, perspectives on the assumed causes of land degradation in the rangelands of subsaharan africa. Land degradation and rehabilitation in ethiopia world bank. Recent estimates using satellite imagery show that land degradation hotspots over the last three decades cover about 23 % of the land area in the country. With steady growth in population, clearing of woodland for agriculture has been a. The dominant man induced causes of land degradation in ethiopia are poor farming practices, population pressure, overgrazing, over cultivation, soil erosion, deforestation, salinity and alkalinity problems, and the use of. Rural poverty, food insecurity, and environmental degradation in ethiopia. Water erosion is the most common form of degradation in the area, affecting 25 percent of agricultural land. Economics of land degradation and improvement in ethiopia.
The paper suggests some rules of thumb for identifying the priority areas for government and donor intervention, including the need for targeted research on the productivity. Principal processes of land degradation include erosion by water and wind, chemical degradation comprising acidification, salinization, fertility depletion, and. Soil erosion and land degradation have been increasing in ethiopian highlands due to the existence of arable land 90 %, high human. Soil degradation is the loss of lands production capacity in terms of loss of soil fertility, soil biodiversity, and degradation. Recommendations on priorities of lldcs on climate change, desertification, land degradation and drought what has emerged from this study is that there is an imperative need to give lldcs special attention in as far as the issues of climate change, land degradation and desertification are concerned. The major causes of land degradation in ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and. In addition, land degradation, low and declining agricultural productivity and poverty are severe and interrelated. Nature and causes of land degradation in the oromiya region core. Land degradation in the ethiopian highlands royal museum for. To determine the major causes of soil erosion and deforestation through interviews with both farmers and experts, as well as through observation and expert judgment. It is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity and continuing food insecurity and rural poverty. Land degradation is the common environmental problem in ethiopia. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. Within short horizontal distances, climates from tropical to subhumid and subtropical to arctic can occur krauer.
Land degradation is defined as the temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land, and the diminution of the productive potential, including its major land uses e. The change in the characteristic and quality of soil which adversely affect its fertility is called as degradation. A temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land. We use the total economic value approach tev to estimate the cost of land degradation in ethiopia. Land use change and inappropriate land management practices major causes of soil degradation, soc reduction and ghg emissions. The major causes of land degradation in ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and livestock production. Only about 51 % of this cost of land degradation represents the provisioning ecosystem services. The changes in area of forest by region and subregion are shown in table 1.
The impact of soil erosion and land degradation in ethiopia. Water erosion is the most common form of degradation in the area, affecting. Research by the economics of land degradation initiative in 2015 calculated that soil degradation is. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. Drought is the consequence of anticipated natural precipitation reduction over an extended period of time, usually a season or more in, download fulltext pdf download fulltext pdf the causes, effects and challenges of sahelian droughts. The map of the study area is presented on the next page. Land degradation is a broad term that can be applied differently across a wide range of scenarios. As a result, ethiopian citizens cannot rely on food security. This chapter addresses the status and causes of land degradation in northern ethiopia over the last century. May 30, 2019 in ethiopia, fao calculates that desertification causes the loss of 92,000 hectares of woodlands every year, along with 2 billion tons of fertile, productive soil. The study proposes agroforestry and social forestry practices, plantation forestry, and conservation of the remaining natural forests as a strategy for physical recovery in ethiopia.
Deforestation and land degradation on the ethiopian highlands. The most authoritative estimates of the extent of land degradation are contained in a report on south asia prepared by undp, unep and fao land degradation in south asia. Land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid areas as a basic result of adverse human conduct. In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend 4 in land condition, caused by direct or indirect humaninduced processes including anthropogenic. Penny environmental and developmental consultantpractitioner, cape town, south africa keywords. Degraded soil diminishes food production and leads to soil erosion, which in turn contributes to desertification. A number of factors contribute to unsustainable land management in ethiopia. According to global assessment of soil degradation glasod, deforestation is the main cause of soil erosion by wind in about 98% of the area. Causes and effects of desertification on people and the environment sara popescu slavikova soil degradation april 29, 2019 the word desertification may seem like a word depicting a very distant and abstract environmental problem that most of. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation.
Land degradation is exhibited as deforestation, decreasing biodiversity resources, soil moisture stress as well as soil erosion. Land degradation can be viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable eswaran, 2001. Land degradation is an important problem in ethiopia, with more than 85 % of the land degraded to various degrees. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of. Soil degradation causes include agricultural, industrial, and commercial pollution. Because there is more than three times as much organic carbon in the soil as there is carbon in the atmosphere lal 2004, small changes in soc levels can have a large impact on atmospheric carbon dioxide. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of the population in toke kutaye woreda, ethiopia feyera deresa tsetadirgachew legesse mizan tepi university, school of agriculture and natural resource, department of natural resource management. Thirty per cent of the earth s land area or abou t 3. In the third section, a conceptual framework of the environmental degradationpoverty nexus is provided. The term desertification has in the meantime been broadened to almost all forms of land degradation and is even used to include resource degradation in humid areas. Land degradations implications on agricultural value of.
The land degradation processes include soil erosion, nutrient depletion, salinization, desertification and soil acidification or alkalinisation. There are different causes for the different typesforms of land degradation, and causes may differ from one country or stateprovince to another depending on factors like agricultural practices, other environmental pollution factors and so on. Causes, effects and control strategies 5 deforestation are maintained. The causes of dry land degradation are complex, and may be the product of. Read this article to learn about the meaning, factors responsible, prevention and control measures of land degradation. Indeed some 31 countries do not even make the list because they have already removed most of their forests and even if that remain are seriously fragmented and degraded. Land degradation is one of the challenging environmental problems of ethiopia. Inappropriate land use systems and land tenure policies enhance desertification and loss of. This is particularly worrisome since, according to the uns food and agriculture organization, some 83% of subsaharan african people depend on the land for their livelihood, and food production in africa will have to increase almost 100.
Deforestation causes fast degradation when the soil is steep sloppy or easily erodible. The direct cause of land degradation is mismanagement of the land by man. Causes and features of watershed degradation related to. The study area, toke kutaye, is one of the 18 districts of the west shewa zone of oromia regional state in ethiopia with the total area of 788. Land degradation degradation of arable lands became the major constraint of production in east african highlands. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of the population in toke kutaye woreda. Land degradation is a great threat for the future and it requires great effort and resources to ameliorate. The impact of climate change, desertification and land. In addition, land degradation directly affected the type of plant grown on the area, reduced availability of potable water, lessened volumes of surface water, depletion of aquifers and biodiversity loss. It is important to note that most causes of degradation are closely interdependent and thus mostly more than one cause lead to the prevailing erosion features. Livelihoods of the population in toke kutaye woreda. The following report will be assessing the socioeconomic as well as the environmental impacts of soil erosion and land degradation impacts in the ethopian highlands of tigray.
Land degradation and rehabilitation in ethiopia society at large is also suffering from uncertain information about the rates of land use change and land degradation. Thus, the above classification indicates that land degradation in ethiopia is caused by the interaction of many forces figure 1 and 2. A case study from south central ethiopia summary this paper addresses the challenge of reducing poverty, food insecurity, and natural resource degradation, and abolishing recurrent famines in ethiopia. Causes and efforts to control soil erosion in africa. These are the proximate and interacting or root causes. The health impacts of desertification and drought pdf, 1. Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11.
Deforestation and land degradation on the ethiopian. It is estimated for example that only 4 to 6% of ethiopia is now. Burundi and rwanda face a serious threat of land degradation followed by eritrea, uganda, kenya and ethiopia. The land degradation assessment in drylands lada project was launched. In ethiopia, fao calculates that desertification causes the loss of 92,000 hectares of woodlands every year, along with 2 billion tons of fertile, productive soil. The external effects of soil erosion are caused by sedimentation of. Yigezu atnafe, international livestock research institute ilri, addis ababa. Cause and effects of land degradation environmental.
The direct causes of land degradaton are apparent and genelly agreed. Forest degradation occurs when the ecosystem functions of the forest are degraded but where the area remains forested rather cleared anon. Causes and features of watershed degradation related to mhp. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of humaninduced processes acting upon the land. The consequences of deforestation in terms of soil erosion, land degradation, nutrient loss, and the disruption of the delicate equilibrium among soil, plants and atmosphere can be seen in the vast tracts of barren and unproductive land where lush green forest once grew. Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. Apr 29, 2019 causes and effects of desertification on people and the environment sara popescu slavikova soil degradation april 29, 2019 the word desertification may seem like a word depicting a very distant and abstract environmental problem that most of us do not consider being important in our daily lives. Senegal, a country all the way across the continent from ethiopia, also struggles with the harsh effects of desertification. The main outcome of land degradation is a substantial reduction in the productivity of land. Causes of land degradation land degradation, in terms of degradation of soil and water resources, is partially or.
For over a century, governments and aid organizations have tried to combat soil erosion in africa, often with limited effect. Ethiopia is particularly vulnerable to the effects of land degradation with one of the highest rates of soil erosion in africa. While land degradation is widely recognized as reducing agricultural potential, few studies have explicitly measured its effects on the value of production. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods. Destruction of natural vegetation cover is a major factor responsible for erosion of soils by water and wind.
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