It may arise either by natural processes or by manmade activities. For reasons outlined above, poor farmers are led to clear forest, cultivate steep slopes without conservation, overgraze rangelands, make unbalanced fertilizer applications, and the other causes noted above. Soil erosion is the most widely recognised and most common form of land degradation and, therefore, a major cause of falling productivity. However, the shortage of land causes overgrazing without replenishment and over time, the degradation becomes so severe that it renders the land permanently unproductive. Zimbabwe s problems of land degradation date back to the colonial era when the rhodesian government created native reserves, the socalled tribal trust lands ttls in 1926. Deforestation now a serious threat zimbabwe situation. Deforestation and lack of soil conservation measures in zimbabwe has caused death and destruction from flooding downstream in mozambique.
Biomass and land use carbon emissions data for zimbabwe tree cover threshold is used for defining the tree cover area. After reading this article you will learn about the environmental degradation in rural areas. If we do not understand our land resources and the environment in which they occur, then we cannot manage them and thus we will be heading for disaster. The causes of land degradation are diverse and degradation manifests itself. Human activity affects not only soil quality and water supply, but also biodiversity. A recent publication proposes the use of those indicators for agricultural, environmental, climate policies. Through the enactment of the land apportionment act of 1930, the country was subdivided into european and native lands.
The two most significant direct causes of land degradation are the conversion of native vegetation into crop and grazing lands, and unsustainable landmanagement practices. Congress and international bodies are discussing various policies to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation redd. Save catchment, land degradation, remote sensing, baseline data, ndvi, gis introduction political, economic and environmental factors have interacted in complex ways to bring about the current state of land degradation in the communal areas of zimbabwe whitlow 1988. Land degradation is any change in the condition of the land which reduces its productive potential. Major causes of wetlands loss and degradation darl 2011 gives activities resulting in wetlands loss and degradation which include.
Subsaharan africa ssa has experienced the most severe land degradation in the world. In the climatic conditions which prevail throughout most of zimbabwe fluvial erosion is dominant, that is the effects of rain splash and runoff, both surface and subsurface. Pdf this paper considers evidence of land degradation and its impact. 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. Jrc vacancy in land and soil degradation assessment. Causes, effects and control strategies sumit chakravarty 1, s. Environmental degradation in rural areas environment. 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. Degradation studies in zimbabwe have indicated estimated soil loss due to sheet erosion to be as much as 50 tonnesha elwell 1987. We make available the scoreboard for soil erosion indicators including sdg soil erosion indicator, cap context indicator. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification.
Unesco eolss sample chapters water resources management vol. Aug 09, 2018 land pollution is defined as a degradation or even destruction of the earths surface and soil as a result of human activities. The causes of dry land degradation are complex, and may be the product of. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. 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. Johansson, j, svensson, j 2002 land degradation in the semiarid catchment of baringo, kenya. Pollution of water resources from the contamination of. Land degradation is turning soils into deserts newsday zimbabwe. The cost of soil erosion in zimbabwe in terms of the loss of three major nutrients. It is estimated that 10 percent of its soils are under high risk of erosion due to the. Causes and efforts to control soil erosion in africa. So now, of course, those settled want more land elsewhere.
Land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid areas as a basic result of adverse human conduct. Environmental degradation is a complex process involving transformation, alteration or material loss from any one of the environmental components. Land shortage and poverty, taken together, lead to nonsustainable land management practices, meaning the direct causes of degradation. Land degradation and livestock production in zimbabwes. Republic of zimbabwe national land degradation neutrality. Pdf land degradation and livestock production in zimbabwes. The three degradation terms, environmental degradation, land degradation, and soil degradation, are defined as any change or disturbance to the environment, land, or soil perceived to be. Although situations widely vary, the following can be highlighted as the most common. The effect of deterrents on land degradation only applies in those areas using land extensively. Land degradation food and agriculture organization of the united. Thirty per cent of the earth s land area or abou t 3. While land degradation can occur as a result of natural processes, there is a widespread opinion that it mostly happens as a result of the impact of users activity on the land and is often a social problem, which can be prevented if the underlying causes are addressed properly vlek et al.
For example, 75% includes only areas with more than 75% tree cover, whereas 10% includes all areas with more than 10% tree cover. Mitigate the causes and negative effects of land degradation on the structure and. There are many causes of tropical deforestationcommercial logging, largescale agriculture. The changes in area of forest by region and subregion are shown in table 1. These are soils whose sodium salt concentration affects the soil structure. The erosion problems ar immensely complicated involving the interaction of many political, social, economic and environmental factors. The causes of land degradation in this category will require immediate application or. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. 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. Conversion of agricultural land in nonagricultural uses is one of the main reasons to follow. In the third section, a conceptual framework of the environmental degradation poverty nexus is provided.
Report prepared on behalf of the department of natural resources. This report covers five main aspects of the erosion survey of zimbabwe. A minor field study of physical causes with socioeconomic aspect. Whitlow and campbell 1989 estimated that 25 per cent of the communal areas were severely eroded compared to 2 per cent in the commercial areas. Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. Land tenure, has, over the years been identified as a major underlying cause of deforestation in zimbabwe. Ministry of mines, environment and tourism the national. Forest degradation occurs when the ecosystem functions of the forest are degraded but where the area remains forested rather cleared anon. About to lose all the soil in zakas ward 5, zimbabwe european. Perspectives on the assumed causes of land degradation in. A case study on keyain village of munshigonj district. 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. Dec 12, 20 deforestation and lack of soil conservation measures in zimbabwe has caused death and destruction from flooding downstream in mozambique. The two most significant direct causes of land degradation are the conversion of native vegetation into crop and grazing lands, and unsustainable land management practices.
About to lose all the soil in zakas ward 5, zimbabwe. Chapter 6 causes of land degradation food and agriculture. The first willing buyer willing seller farms settled in the early 1980s are now bare rock. Zimbabwe, with its fixed area of 390 759 km2 has limited land resources central statistical office cso 1982, 1992, 2002. Firstly, the history of the erosion problem is examined with respect to the large and small scale commercial farming areas and the communal lands. Economics of land degradation in subsaharan africa. Thus, arthur and jeanette conacher defined land degradation as alterations to all aspects of the biophysical environment by human actions to the. Zimbabwe has not been spared, from the adverse impacts of land degradation desertification, and drought. Poverty is both the cause and result of environmental degradation.
Sources of soil pollution can be direct, for example, from dumping toxic chemicals directly on to a site, or indirect, for example where toxic chemicals leach through the soil from particulates that have settled. Land degradation has accelerated during the 20th century due to increasing and combined pressures of agricultural and livestock production overcultivation, overgrazing, forest conversion, urbanization, deforestation, and extreme weather events such as droughts and coastal surges which salinate land. History, nature, causes, consequences, and solutions conacher, arthur encyclopedia of life support systems eolss peoples attitudes, perceptions and knowledge, actions or inactions by government agencies, and inappropriate government policies. Various measures of rangeland degradation, using both primary and secondary production indicators, are examined. Abu sayeed during the last few years the agriculture sector is facing danger in many ways. Human perceptions on degradation of wetland ecosystems. It was estimated that the original forest cover was approximately six billion hectares bryant et. Previous studies on this phenomenon have indicated wide. Whereas overcultivation, overgrazing and deforestation have previously been identified as the major causes of land degradation in zimbabwe, they are in fact the. Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. However, since the effects of soil loss vary depending on the underlying soil type, soil loss, by itself, is not an appropriate proxy measure for productivity decline.
Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11. Causes, effects and control strategies 5 deforestation are maintained. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. Degraded soil diminishes food production and leads to soil erosion, which in turn contributes to desertification. It is estimated that 10 percent of its soils are under high risk of erosion due to the nature of soils, which are sodic. In the third section, a conceptual framework of the environmental degradationpoverty nexus is provided. Rapid population growth in a situation of limited livelihood options is a major factor in growing poverty and environmental degradation in the whole of the southern african region. Questionnaire for mapping land degradation and sustainable. It may refer to the destruction or deterioration of the health of terrestrial ecosystems, thus affecting the associated biodiversity, natural ecological processes and ecosystem resilience. Multiple linear regressions was deployed for this work in order to know the relationship between the anthropogenic factors of land degradation on crop productivity of rural households. Perspectives on the assumed causes of land degradation in the. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. This paper considers evidence of land degradation and its impact on livestock production systems in the communal areas of southern zimbabwe.
The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation. It has large impact on land as it often causes substantial transformation of land cover. What are causes and effects of environmental degradation. History, nature, causes, consequences, and solutions conacher, arthur encyclopedia of life support systems eolss above. A report on the causes of soil erosion in zimbabwe. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of. Given that livelihoods of the majority of the rural poor heavily depend on natural resources, countries in the region have designed a number of policies and strategies to address land degradation and to enhance productivity. Land pollution is defined as a degradation or even destruction of the earths surface and soil as a result of human activities.
An assessment of land degradation in the save catchment of. Land degradation, the effects of climate change, pollution and siltation of water bodies are some of. Farming is undertaken without due consideration to sustainable land use practices, with large tracts of land being cleared for farming and infrastructural development at the expense of valuable wildlife habitat. It is the deterioration in the quality of land, its topsoil, vegetation, andor water resources. The major forms of environmental degradation and their consequences are shown. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods.
Land degradation is a concept in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by one or more combinations of human induced processes acting upon the land. Land degradation is turning soils into deserts newsday. Soils and soil erosion soil erosion involves the detachment of soil particles from larger aggregates or peds and the removal of the particles by flowing water and wind. Colonialism and inequity in zimbabwe 251 abstract the battle over access to land resources in zimbabwe demonstrates how gross inequities with respect to distribution of and access to key life supporting resources such as land and forests can compromise human and environmental security, and undermine conservation efforts.
1399 579 417 740 837 399 1541 193 892 118 976 896 1002 621 348 361 1105 1480 427 845 158 1282 42 258 676 136 864 663 882 1171 366 428 996 90 203 294 372 1379 256 1326 892