Global warming affects humans quest for food security by reducing land productivity. Arable land loss estimated at 30 to 35 times the historical rate. Land degradation here mainly refers to the loss of lifesupporting land resource through soil erosion, desertification, salinization, acidification, etc. Pdf deforestation and forest degradation due to gold. Of the land degradation processes, deforestation, increasing wildfires, 12 degradation of peat soils, and permafrost thawing contribute most to climate change through the release of greenhouse gases and the reduction in land carbon sinks following deforestation high. Soil degradation is part of a vicious circle of flooding and drought. Disappearing forests in malawi open computing facility. Unredd report agricultural expansion and deforestation policy and institutional factors.
Making, the global community is losing up to 5% of total agricultural gross domestic product gdp due to land degradation, costing some usd490 billion per year. The magnitude and significance of impact on environment due to mining varies from mineral to mineral and also on the potential of the surrounding environment to absorb the negative effects of mining, geographical. Understanding the effects of resource degradation on socio. Agriculture is estimated to be the proximate driver for around 80% of deforestation worldwide. The benefits of forests include purification of air, water and provision of employment. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. Deforestation results in an immediate lowering of groundwater level. Addressing these root causes of land degradation and likely impacts of climate. Combating land degradation and desertification deforestation and desertification adversely affect agricultural productivity, the health of humans as well as of livestock, and economic activities such as ecotourism. It causes the extinction of species and accentuates climate change. Deforestation has recently become a major concern for many countries in the world. Deforestation in this letter denotes the complete removal of trees and the conversion from forest into other land uses such as agriculture, mining etc, with the assumption that forest vegetation is not expected to naturally regrow in that area. The shrinking of protected areas leading to habitat fragmentation biodiversity loss. Of the 80 countries substantially affected by land degradation.
The impact of climate change, desertification and land. Oct 26, 2020 land degradation has accelerated during the 20 th and 21 st centuries 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. Therefore the study makes a serious effort to reconsider into the deforestation in ethiopia. The environmental consequences of land degradation are vast, including amplified soil losses, water quality deterioration, biodiversity decline and degradation of ecosystem services and corresponding values, especially if actual land uses disrespect capability natural use, in which cases land is in a. Oct 01, 2018 degradation is currently affecting 25% of earths land and 40% of earths agricultural land. Deforestation must be kept to a minimum and always be followed by reforestation, in order to keep the land well bound and rich with the nutrients it needs.
Globally more than 60 percent of forests are under some form of use or management by humans. Land degradation is, usually, the result of complex interrelationships between biophysical and socioeconomic issues which affect many people and their land, specially in the tropics and developing countries. Congress and international bodies are discussing various policies to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation redd. Deforestation affects the biota and neighbouring ecosystems, soil erosion, land degradation, alteration of groundwater channels, pollution and scarce.
Cost of land degradation in forests and pastures 15 3. Forests play an important role in maintaining fertility of soil by shedding their leaves. Deforestation is the conversion of forest to nonforest land and can result in land degradation. Due to drought and desertification each year 12 million hectares are lost, where 20 million tons of grain could have been grown. Jun 11, 2019 land degradation is, therefore, considered as a major global environmental issue of this century.
Pdf deforestation and forest degradation due to gold mining. Clearing the vegetative cover for slash and burn farming exposes the soil to the intensity. Fragmentation of habitats which causes increasing humanwildlife conflicts with migrating animals. Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation gov. Coffee is a cash crop that offers farmers more than a mere subsistencebased livelihood. The term land degradation involves both soil and vegetation degradation. Abstract the rate at which zambia and other east and central african countries are losing their forests is very worrying to governments, chiefs and citizens. Land degradation in the ethiopian highlands 21 jan nyssen, jean poesen, sil lanckriet, miro jacob, jan moeyersons, mitiku haile, nigussie haregeweyn, r. Deforestation, forest degradation, and climate change. Land degradation is a major environmental issue resulting from population and land. We wish to thank our collaborators and partners for their contributions. Deforestation in this letter denotes the complete removal of trees and the conversion from forest into other land uses such as agriculture, mining etc, with the assumption that forest. Deforestation is the logging andor burning of trees in a forested area 9.
The process works through a cycle known as land degradation cycle. Productivity declines may be due directly to soil degradation, for example through depletion ofsoil nutrients. Our gratitude goes to youssoufa bele for the translation of this. If hunger and food insecurity are to be overcome, an estimated 60% increase in agricultural productivity. At times, tropical deforestation results from weak land tenure andor weak or corrupt governance to protect the forests. Colored areas indicate deforestation due to mining, with the year that land was.
Forests climate change, biodiversity and land degradation. This can damage the atmosphere and lead to global warming and eventually climate. Pdf effects of deforestation on land degradation researchgate. Natural causes of degradation include insect pests, storm damage and natural fires. Land degradation in northern nigeria academic journals. This paper will attempt to unravel some of the causes, with the goal of identifying shortterm and longterm solutions. Cost of land degradation induced infrastructure damage 17 3. 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. Forests and tree cover combat land degradation and desertification. Cost of crop lands abandoned due to land degradation 17 3. Cost of land degradation induced health problems 18 3. Responses to halt land degradation and to restore degraded land. Apr 27, 2019 natural causes such as heavy rain or strong winds obviously cannot be avoided, but according to a report by the united nations economic and social commission for western asia on land degradation assessment and prevention, the manmade causes need to be better managed or eliminated in order to avoid land degradation. An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers.
The magnitude and significance of impact on environment due to mining varies from mineral to mineral and also on the potential of the surrounding environment to absorb the negative effects of. Deforestation and forest degradation eu redd facility. Land degradation and poor land management are largely due to farmers lack of resources and sometimes knowledge. Proximate or direct drivers of deforestation and forest degradation are human activities and actions that directly impact forest cover and result in loss of carbon stocks. Deforestation, coffee cultivation, and land degradation. According to fao, deforestation is the conversion of forest to another land use or the longterm reduction of tree canopy cover below the 10% threshold. Report on the assessment of drivers of deforestation and. Land degradation and deforestation undp climate change. Impacts of climate related land degradation on people and nature. The drivers are considered separately for deforestation and forest degradation. Due to drought and desertification each year 12 million hectares are lost, where 20. It was estimated that the original forest cover was approximately six billion hectares bryant et. Costs of environmental degradation in the mountains of the. In this unique situation, environmental degradation is a specific instance of utilization or generation externalities reflected by uniqueness amongst private and social.
It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. 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. Deforestation is the conversion of forest to an alternative permanent nonforested land use such as agriculture, grazing or urban development van kooten and bulte, 2000. Land degradation is, however, difficult to grasp in its totality. Jan 21, 2005 though rapid population growth has led to a downward spiral of soil erosion, land degradation, poverty, and hunger. The main driver of deforestation in the tropics is demand for land on which to grow crops or raise livestock. Deforestation and degradation of forests accounted for 69 percent of losses of forest biomass across the tropics, with some models showing that tropical forests are a modest source of. Permafrost thawing due to warming high confidence, and coastal erosion due to sea level rise and. Of the 80 countries substantially affected by land.
Land degradation reduced livestock productivity as a result of reduced grazing resources, loss of nutritious plants and grass species fitsum et al. The main cause of forest degradation is selective logging of commercially valuable trees. The city of adoekiti has been selected as an examination of this trend because of its unprecedented growth in the last ten years, which was as a. In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend 4 in land condition, caused by direct or indirect humaninduced processes. Deforestation is a particular concern in tropical rain forests because these forests are home to much of the worlds biodiversity. The full text of this article hosted at is unavailable due to technical difficulties. In most cases, people clear tropical forests to cultivate. Deforestation and forest degradation are the biggest threats to forests. Deforestation and forest degradation as an environmental. Land degradation is a decline of the economic and biological productivity of land because of human treatment. More than 30 per cent of the worlds forest is believed to have been deforested litvinoff 1990.
The main driver of deforestation in the tropics is demand for land on which to. Unsustainable land use, including overgrazing, also reduces the quality of soil. Deforestation and forest degradation in the congo basin. The economics of desertification, land degradation and drought. Desertification, land degradation and drought sustainable. Land degradation and deforestation specific set of indicators. Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to nonforest land use see picture 1. Land degradation is often measured in terms of the financial cost of rehabilitating the land. Human activities that drive forest degradation include overgrazing, demand for fuel wood and charcoal, excessive logging and humaninduced fires. An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation.
During the rainy season, there is plenty of vegetation and animals get enough fodder. The long term impact of deforestation on the soil resource can be severe. The terms desertification and land degradation are often used interchangeably and in this chapter they will be examined together with deforestation. Deforestation is occurring around the world on a scale never known before. The availability of land suitable for agriculture is shrinking. Manmade land degradations are due to land celearance, deforestation overgrazing by live stock, in appropriate irrigation and over drafting, urban sprawl and commercial development and pollution. The degradation of our soils, due to human activities, today, can harm our wellbeing. Due to land degradation, increased runoff and reduced infiltration contributes to flooding problem desta et al. Population pressures, profits, and internal social and. Furthermore, the poor productivity of agricultural lands due to declining.
Land degradation, impacts and implications, humanrelated factors, climatic factors. Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to nonforest land use such as arable land, urban use, logged area or wasteland. The immediate cause of deforestation is the expansion of cultivation land. Neil munro, katrien descheemaeker, enyew adgo, amaury frankl, and jozef deckers abstract the high soil erosion rates in the ethiopian highlands. Overgrazing and deforestation leading to soil erosion, desertification bush encroachment. It can be the result of the deliberate removal of forest cover for agriculture or urban development, or it can be a consequence of grazing animals, wild or domesticated. However, the causes of malawis deforestation may be more subtle than they seem at first. Deforestation deforestation is cutting down of trees and converting that habitat into other land uses. The impact of tropical forest degradation on the environment.
Commercial agriculture is the most important driver of deforestation in latin. Because of this fragile context, the project preparation phase and final site. Land degradation affects 1, 5 billion people globally. An analysis of physical and monetary losses of environmental. Environmental degradation, to a large scale, is the result of market failure, namely the nonexistent or poorly functioning markets for environmental goods and services. It also contributes to the displacement of populations and the multiplication of conflicts. Deforestation can result from deliberate removal of forest cover for agriculture or. For example, in the amazon around 17% of the forest has been lost in the last 50 years, mostly due to forest conversion for cattle ranching. However, official figures often miss the additions to forest land through fallow land becoming managed, as well as many. Utilisation of crop residues for fuel and other uses hinders the natural processes of land rejuvenation and disturbs the sustainability of land resources. Forest degradation is land degradation that occurs in forest land. Conversion to agriculture the need for more agricultural land is the primary cause of deforestation.
However, this is largely because of an increase in forest cover in temperate and. Of the land degradation processes, deforestation, increasing wildfires, degradation of peat. Deforestation becomes a cause of degradation first, when the land that is cleared is steeply sloping, or has shallow or easily erodible soils. Analysis on the causes of deforestation and forest. Land degradation in the ethiopian highlands 21 jan nyssen, jean poesen, sil lanckriet, miro jacob, jan moeyersons. Forest degradation occurs when the ecosystem functions of the forest are degraded but where the area remains forested rather cleared anon.
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