Desertification and varied related issues including flora and availability of water are very complex subjects which appear to have been taken lightly. In such a scenario wherein the productivity element has been affected by factors like erosion, loss of water and vegetation with 60,000 square kilometers global area undergoing desertification per year, undertaking another ‘green revolution’ will further exacerbate the degradation of the land. This and other views were expressed by subject experts at a programme organised in the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) on the occasion of World Day to Combat Desertification here on Friday.
Addressing the gathering in the institute auditorium, WII director VB Mathur said that the United Nations General Assembly in Paris during 1994 had declared that World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) would be observed on June 17 after which the WDCD has been observed every year since 1995 in order to encourage international cooperation and public awareness towards combating desertification and the effects of drought.
He said, “More than 2.6 billion people on the earth depend directly on agriculture and out of these more than 1.5 billion people are globally affected by land degradation. Approximately 40 per cent of the world’s degraded land occurs in areas with the highest incidence of poverty affecting almost 74 per cent of the world’s poor,” he said.
The institute director further emphasised on the need for a global effort in order to reverse the impacts of land degradation which affect the sustainability of the entire planet. “land resources—soil, water and biodiversity—are the foundation upon which our societies and economies grow and prosper,”added Mathur. He also referred to this year’s theme for WDCD—inclusive cooperation for achieving land degradation neutrality with the motto of ‘Protect Earth, Restore land, Engage People.
Speaking on the occasion, former dean of the WII Faculty of Wildlife Sciences, PK Mathur opined that desertification is a very complex subject which appears to have been taken lightly. He cited the example of Cherrapunji—credited for being the wettest place on earth in the past—to stress on the detrimental effects of excess and indiscriminate use of natural resources along with apathy towards rainwater harvesting.
He said, “It is said that forests cover about 20 per cent of India’s total geographical area. While we talk of the quantitative aspect, we also need to talk about the quality aspect. Already affected by repercussions of factors like erosion, loss of water and vegetation, excessive, indiscriminate exploitation of resources and actions of those suffering from low livelihood and poverty, bringing about the third green revolution will cause further degradation,” he said. Though increasing pressure of rising human population is a major factor, there seems to be no talk about family planning for addressing population pressure.
Speaking on aspects of cold deserts and hot deserts, independent consultant Nita Shah said, “The cold desert and Tibetan plateau landscape is unique but is also facing a crisis situation. The landscape has been been affected by the serious impact of increased pressure from rising human presence, mining for gold and construction activities,” she said.
WII project scientist Sutirtha Dutta also gave a presentation on issues addressing causes of desertification, need for developing a national dryland policy and implementing mitigation measures to achieve land degradation neutrality.