{"id":43837,"date":"2025-10-27T05:27:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T23:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=43837"},"modified":"2025-10-28T15:31:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T10:01:39","slug":"land-degradation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/land-degradation\/","title":{"rendered":"Land Degradation: A Growing Crisis Threatening Humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What is Land Degradation?<\/li>\n<li>Regions Most Affected by Land Degradation<\/li>\n<li>Consequences and the Need for Action<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (<strong>UNCCD<\/strong>) has released a comprehensive report titled \u2018Stepping Back from the Precipice: Transforming Land Management to Stay Within Planetary Boundaries.\u2019<\/li>\n<li>The report (published a day before the COP16 of UNCCD began in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) underscores the <strong>alarming scale and consequences of land degradation globally<\/strong> and urges transformative changes in land management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What is Land Degradation?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Meaning:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Land degradation refers to the <strong>loss of biological and economic productivity of ecosystems<\/strong> like croplands, forests, and pastures.<\/li>\n<li>According to the UNCCD, it <strong>results from unsustainable land use and management practices<\/strong>, amplified by natural and human-induced pressures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key impacts:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Human health and livelihoods: <\/strong>Reduces food quality and quantity, raising malnutrition risks.\n<ul>\n<li>Promotes <strong>water- and food-borne diseases<\/strong> from poor hygiene and water scarcity.<\/li>\n<li>Causes <strong>respiratory diseases<\/strong> due to soil erosion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ecosystems and biodiversity: <\/strong>Harmful runoff from eroded soils impacts freshwater and marine systems, endangering fauna and dependent communities.\n<ul>\n<li>Decreases biodiversity and destabilises ecosystems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Climate change contributions: <\/strong>Degraded land releases stored carbon and nitrous oxide, <strong>intensifying global warming<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/ecosystem\/\" target=\"_blank\">Ecosystem<\/a> carbon absorption capacity has dropped by 20% in the past decade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Causes of land degradation:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Unsustainable agricultural practices:<\/strong> Overuse of chemical inputs, pesticides, and fertilizers disrupts soil health. Water diversion and poor irrigation practices lead to freshwater depletion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Climate change: <\/strong>Increased heat stress and erratic precipitation worsen land degradation. <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/global-warming-why-is-india-heating-up-slower-than-the-world-average\/\" target=\"_blank\">Global warming<\/a> escalates soil erosion and reduces vegetation cover.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rapid urbanisation: <\/strong>Expanding urban areas contribute to habitat destruction and pollution. Loss of agricultural and forest lands impacts biodiversity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Regions Most Affected by Land Degradation:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Dry regions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>South Asia, northern China, the High Plains and California (USA), and the Mediterranean are particularly vulnerable.<\/li>\n<li>These areas face severe soil erosion, reduced vegetation, and water scarcity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Low-income countries disproportionately affected:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Tropical and arid regions, especially in <strong>Africa<\/strong>, bear the brunt of degradation due to limited resources and resilience.<\/li>\n<li>A third of humanity, including three-quarters of Africa\u2019s population, lives in drylands, making them especially vulnerable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Consequences and the Need for Action:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"image image_resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiram-prod.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/Consequences_of_Land_Degradation_1_008e55691a.webp\" alt=\"Consequences of Land Degradation (1).webp\" \/><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Consequences: <\/strong>The degradation of 15 million square kilometers of land &#8211; equivalent to the size of Antarctica &#8211; signals a planetary crisis.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Immediate steps are essential to reverse this trend,<\/strong> including:\n<ul>\n<li>Sustainable agricultural and water management practices.<\/li>\n<li>Restoring degraded ecosystems to rebuild carbon sinks.<\/li>\n<li>Addressing urban expansion impacts on natural habitats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Steps taken by India:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"image image_resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiram-prod.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/Measures_to_Combat_Desertification_in_India_4c04c6cfef.webp\" alt=\"Measures to Combat Desertification in India.webp\" \/><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>India\u2019s Union Environment Minister, while speaking at the 16th conference of parties (<strong>COP16<\/strong>) held under the UNCCD in <strong>Riyadh, Saudi Arabia<\/strong>, highlighted that India is taking proactive measures to tackle land degradation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>As desertification and poverty are linked<\/strong>, the minister emphasised that land degradation is not just an environmental but <strong>socioeconomic issue<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>As a result, India has initiated several programmes to enhance resilience and recovery against land degradation, including issuance of <strong>soil health cards<\/strong>, to help farmers engage in sustainable agricultural practices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Conclusion: <\/strong>Without swift action, land degradation will undermine global efforts to combat climate change, protect biodiversity, and ensure food security, leaving a dire legacy for future generations.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. What is UNCCD?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was established in 1994 to protect and restore our land and ensure a safer, just, and more sustainable future. The UNCCD is the only legally binding framework set up to address desertification and the effects of drought.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. What is the Soil Health Card Scheme?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Soil Health Card Scheme is a scheme launched by the Government of India on 19 February 2015 to issue soil cards to farmers which will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilisers required to help farmers to improve productivity through judicious use of inputs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/bhupender-yadav-india-taking-proactive-steps-to-tackle-land-degradation-9703009\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bhupender Yadav: \u2018India taking proactive steps to tackle land degradation\u2019<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-climate\/how-land-degradation-is-threatening-earths-capacity-to-sustain-humanity-9703110\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A UNCCD report underscores the alarming scale and consequences of land degradation globally and urges transformative changes in land management<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","7":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}