Mentors Comments:
1. Define land degradation and the various forms of it.
2. Mention how land degradation takes place – very briefly
3. Establish the clear link between land degradation and climate change impact: changing monsoons, food security, climate stress on agriculture
4. Suggest ways to achieve LDN status

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-new-ethics-for-a-sustainable-planet/article29316564.ece

Answer:

Land degradation is the deterioration or loss of the productive capacity of the soils for the present and future. It is a global challenge that affects everyone through food insecurity, higher food prices, climate change, environmental hazards, and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Land degradation is happening at an alarming pace, contributing to a dramatic decline in the productivity of croplands and rangelands worldwide.

As per ISRO’s Atlas maps degradation and desertification, land degradation area totaled 29.3% of India’s total land area, representing an area of 96.4 million hectares. The land degradation is imperative for curbing climate change because-
 The degrading land resources globally and its impact on furthering negative effects of climate change. The better management of the world’s farms and forests is necessary to tackle climate change.
 The IPCC report warns that clean energy, clean transport and reducing emissions alone will not cut global emissions enough to avoid dangerous warming beyond 2 degrees Celsius.
 It points out that the global food system is responsible for 21 to 37 percent of the world’s GHG emissions.

The correlation between land degradation and climate change are as follows
 Land degradation is both a cause and consequence of climate change. When land is degraded, it becomes less productive, restricting what can be grown and reducing the soil’s ability to absorb carbon. This exacerbates climate change, while climate change in turn exacerbates land degradation.
 Rapid agricultural expansion has led to the destruction of forests, wetlands and grasslands and other ecosystems thus boosting global warming.
 Soil erosion from agricultural fields, the report estimates, is 10 to 100 times higher than the soil formation rate.
 Land serves as a sink for carbon, because healthy ecosystems and soils can absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Between 2007-2016, these sinks removed 28% of total human carbon dioxide emissions from the air — an important barrier to even more severe climate change.
 However, degraded land does not have the capacity to absorb carbon; it can actually release carbon. And it’s possible that climate change and human activities could damage land to the point where it becomes a net source of carbon emissions.
 Agriculture, forestry and other types of land use account for 23% of human greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time natural land processes absorb carbon dioxide equivalent to almost a third of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry.
 Land must remain productive to maintain food security as the population increases as well as the negative impacts of climate change on vegetation increase.
 Food security will be increasingly affected by future climate change through yield declines – especially in the tropics – increased prices, reduced nutrient quality, and supply chain disruptions.
 Impact on local/regional climate: Land degradation significantly affect climate due to land surface changes that impact temperature and rainfall.
 Dust storms: increased frequency and severity of dust storms is one of the manifestations of land degradation; particularly in drylands. 

Way Forward:
 Sustainable Land Management (SLM) is crucial to minimizing land degradation, rehabilitating degraded areas and ensuring the optimal use of land resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
 Watershed Management: To combat soil loss by water erosion it is important to undertake watershed management initiatives including afforestation and other programmes aimed at checking soil erosion, improving soil moisture, increasing recharge, stabilizing river basins and making agriculture and communities climate resilient
 Reducing Severity of degradation/desertification: proper land use policy, protection of prime agricultural lands and regular monitoring of highly vulnerable areas should be taken up to reduce severity.
 Landscape Restoration: Measures should be taken to assist in ecological restoration. For example, natural regeneration can be supported through the development of community grazing plans that include seasonal rest.
 Soil Conservation Practices: Soil conservation practices should be taken up to prevent or reduce physical loss.
 The concept of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) has been adopted under SDG.
 Many schemes Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, etc has been launched to mitigate concerns over desertification and land degradation.
 It is important to secure land rights and access to natural resources for the poor. Further, alternative livelihood opportunities should be provided to rural poor in vulnerable areas.  

Today we need an urgent transformation in land use. Priorities include protecting and restoring natural ecosystems and moving to sustainable food production and consumption. The costs of inaction will be catastrophic.