In 2006, the Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) had warned that many parts of Odisha were showing symptoms of desertification and the State was ‘developing’ from a drought-prone to desert-prone region.
Desertification is a process of productivity loss of lands; when severe, it leads to permanent damages to land.
By analysing Government statistics, WIO convenor Ranjan Panda had then said, “In just 13 years, severely degraded land increased by 136 per cent, barren land by 69 per cent and land converted to non-agricultural uses had increased by 34 per cent. In 1991-92, about 10 per cent of total geographical area of the State was unfit for agriculture, forest and tree cover excluded. In 2004-05, such spread increased to nearly 17.5 per cent of total area of the State.”
He even predicted that Odisha would go totally barren in about 150 years.
Now Panda is of the view that the State would turn barren much faster of urgent measures are not taken to arrest desertification.
“As the State is facing worst ever heat and water crisis, we wanted to add up to our 2006 analysis and do some more calculations based on Government statistics. We are shocked to find that the state will turn barren even much faster,” warned Panda in a statement on the eve of the Earth Day 2016 (April 22).
He said, between 2005 and 2015, the barren and fallow land of the State have increased further by almost 50,000 hectares to reach at 17,53,000 hectares.
Adding to the ‘culturable wastelands,’ that is at 3,75,000 hectares, the degraded land reaches to about 22 per cent of total georgraphical area. Then, the State has lost about 5 per cent forests in forest lands and 1 per cent tree cover in plantation areas during the last decade. This adds up the land degradation rate to 28 per cent of total geographical area.
“During this decade, agricultural land given away for other purposes has increased by a whopping 2, 99,000 hectares. We have every reason to believe that all this agricultural land has gone to developmental activities that does not contribute to ecological restoration, and hence have added to heat woes either by degrading water resources or increasing concrete cover,” said Panda.
If we add the agricultural land taken away for other purposes, that also cause degradation of fertile lands, another about 1.92 per cent of land stand degraded, the total degraded land of the state adds up to almost 30 per cent of its geographical area. That means, during the last ten years, the State degraded at least 1,95,000 hectares per year on an average.
In this decade, the net sown area of the State has shrunk by as high as 2,43,000 hectares.
The State’s temperature is on an upward trend. land degradation increases the devastating impacts of increased warming. It reduces the water retention capacity of the soil, making both surface water and groundwater more scarce and makes the land further vulnerable to erosion during rains and floods. All these factors increase the pace of desertification.
“This Earth Day, Odisha should decide to mend its ways and drastically redesign development programmes that put emphasis on conservation of forests; rejuvenation of rivers and water bodies; reduction of coal fired power plants; increase in alternative energy sources; and promotion of land,” urged Panda.