Ihe result is a dastic revision of previous land degrdation cost estimates in two respects. Land degradations implications on agricultural value of. 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. In the case of ethiopia, many view this issue as the countrys prmary enviromental problem. The major causes of land degradation in ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop.
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. Land degradation degradation of arable lands became the major constraint of production in east african highlands. This section looks at a land degradation definition, causes of land degradation, effects of land degradation, land degradation solutions and land degradation facts. Penny environmental and developmental consultantpractitioner, cape town, south africa keywords. Causes and features of watershed degradation related to. A study of the deforestation in komto forest in east wollega. Destruction of natural vegetation cover is a major factor responsible for erosion of soils by water and wind. Topography, soil types and agroecological parameters are also additional factors affecting the land degradation.
Miserably the degradation and loss of wetlands is more rapid than that of other ecosystems, for this agricultural land expansion, climate change and sedimentation are the major causes mea, 2005. Kiage, lawrence, perspectives on the assumed causes of land degradation in the rangelands of subsaharan africa. Various socioeconomic as well as political causes can lead to land degradation. Nature and causes of land degradation in the oromiya region. In addition, land degradation directly affected the type of plant grown on the area, reduced availability of potable water, lessened volumes of surface water, depletion of aquifers and biodiversity loss. In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend 4 in land condition, caused by direct or indirect humaninduced processes including anthropogenic. According to fao, deforestation is the conversion of. The degradation or deterioration of soil may be caused by the following factors. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of the population in toke kutaye woreda. It reduces the depth of soil where it takes place, depletes the ground water table, limits the moisture storage capacity and feeding zones of the crops, deteriorates the soil organic matter, destroys soil structure and impairs fertility due to nutrient losses.
The following report will be assessing the socioeconomic as well as the environmental impacts of soil erosion and land degradation impacts in. The study area, toke kutaye, is one of the 18 districts of the west shewa zone of oromia regional state in ethiopia with the total area of 788. Ethiopia soil degradation and overpopulation essay 2146 words. Wetlands potential, current situation and its threats in tana. Livelihoods of the population in toke kutaye woreda. Population growth and the concomitant demand for additional arable land are the main drivers of human encroachment into the wetlands of ethiopia 49. The study area is located in gimbi town, west wollega zone, ethiopia at a distance of 441 km from addis ababa capital city.
Overview on degradation of land due to overgrazing in ethiopia. Inappropriate land use systems and land tenure policies enhance desertification and loss of. These are the proximate and interacting or root causes. A study of the deforestation in komto forest in east. While land degradation is widely recognized as reducing agricultural potential, few studies have explicitly measured its effects on the value of production. The major causes of land degradation in ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and. Ethiopia soil degradation and overpopulation essay 2146. Read this article to learn about the meaning, factors responsible, prevention and control measures of land degradation. To determine the major causes of soil erosion and deforestation through interviews with both farmers and experts, as well as through observation and expert judgment.
Federal democratic republic of ethiopia ethiopia land. Nature and causes of land degradation in the oromiya. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. The irony is that ethiopia is a country with high biodiversity and. Land use change and inappropriate land management practices major causes of soil degradation, soc reduction and ghg emissions. The case ofjam jam province1 taddesse berisso addis ababa university deforestation and soil degradation have reached catastrophic levels in ethiopia over the last 100 years.
Overgrazing, water, and wind are causes of soil degradation in ethiopia faoagl, 2000. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content deforestation and environmental degradation in ethiopia. Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of. In addition, land degradation directly affected the type. Mined area and mine spoils are a major source of erosion and land degradation with resultant loss of water resources and. Nov 14, 2010 the major causes of land use and cover change lucc and land degradation in the area were population and livestock growth in regions of limited resources, unsustainable farming techniques, the ethiopian land tenure system and poverty. Cost of land degradation in ethiopia efd initiative. The extraction of such natural resources demand deforestation and changes in landscape, causing irreversible changes in the natural land resource base.
As a result, ethiopian citizens cannot rely on food security. Ethiopia is among the poorest of countries and poverty and land and resource degradation appear to feed off each other. Land degradation is a great threat for the future and it requires great effort and resources to ameliorate. For over a century, governments and aid organizations have tried to combat soil erosion in africa, often with limited effect. May 30, 2019 in ethiopia, fao calculates that desertification causes the loss of 92,000 hectares of woodlands every year, along with 2 billion tons of fertile, productive soil. In ethiopia, fao calculates that desertification causes the loss of 92,000 hectares of woodlands every year, along with 2 billion tons of fertile, productive soil. The health impacts of desertification and drought pdf, 1. Annual productivity losses in the ethiopian highlands, including the oromiya region, is estimated to be 0. Desertification, a phenomenon referring to land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid regions as a result of climatic variations and human activities, is considered as one of the most severe environmental and socioeconomic problems of recent times. These key drivers are also mentioned as the main causes of land degradation in the nap to combat desertification document of ethiopia. Within short horizontal distances, climates from tropical to subhumid and subtropical to arctic can occur krauer.
Causes and features of watershed degradation related to mhp. The major causes of land use and cover change lucc and land degradation in the area were population and livestock growth in regions of limited resources, unsustainable farming techniques, the ethiopian land tenure system and poverty. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. The dominant man induced causes of land degradation in ethiopia are poor farming practices, population pressure, overgrazing, over cultivation, soil erosion, deforestation, salinity and alkalinity problems, and the use of. Despite all those and other indispensable values, these wetlands are under severe pressure and degradation. Because there is more than three times as much organic carbon in the soil as there is carbon in the atmosphere lal 2004, small changes in soc levels can have a large impact on atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforestation causes fast degradation when the soil is steep sloppy or easily erodible. Senegal, a country all the way across the continent from ethiopia, also struggles with the harsh effects of desertification. The study proposes agroforestry and social forestry practices, plantation forestry, and conservation of the remaining natural forests as a strategy for physical recovery in ethiopia. This chapter addresses the status and causes of land degradation in northern ethiopia over the last century. Ethiopia, and a large number of people are living in poverty and are depending on wetland resources for their subsistence livelihoods 48. Desertification trends in northern ethiopia were quantified using the normalized difference vegetation index. Nature and causes of land degradation in the oromiya region core.
Recent estimates using satellite imagery show that land degradation hotspots over the last three decades cover about 23 % of the land area in the country. Thus, the above classification indicates that land degradation in ethiopia is caused by the interaction of many forces figure 1 and 2. Land degradation is an important problem in ethiopia, with more than 85 % of the land degraded to various degrees. The land degradation assessment in drylands lada project was launched. Degraded soil diminishes food production and leads to soil erosion, which in turn contributes to desertification. Watershed degradation is the loss of value over time, including the productive potential of land and water, accompanied by marked changes in the hydrological behaviour of a river system resulting in inferior quality, quantity and timing of waterflow. Land degradation is the common environmental problem in ethiopia. Soil erosion is a particular physical process that causes land and soil degradation, and refers to the wearing away of the land surface by water andor wind as well. It is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity and continuing food insecurity and rural poverty. Deforestation and land degradation on the ethiopian. Higher the population size the more highly sever is the land degradation. This is certainly true in ethiopia where deforestation is a major problem, and. Deforestation and land degradation on the ethiopian highlands. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of the population in toke kutaye woreda, ethiopia feyera deresa tsetadirgachew legesse mizan tepi university, school of agriculture and natural resource, department of natural resource management.
The change in the characteristic and quality of soil which adversely affect its fertility is called as degradation. A cycle of land degradation occurs because, as forests are mined, people turn to grasses, crop residues and livestock dung for fuel, which deteriorates the land further pearce and warford 1993, p. Soil degradation causes include agricultural, industrial, and commercial pollution. Degradation, primarily in form of salinization, occurs in this case due to a bias between water inflow and outflow or the use of salty water. The major causes of land degradation in ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and livestock production. Economics of land degradation and improvement in ethiopia. Causes and efforts to control soil erosion in africa. Pdf deforestation and land degredation in the ethiopian. According to global assessment of soil degradation glasod, deforestation is the main cause of soil erosion by wind in about 98% of the area. Project muse deforestation and environmental degradation in.
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. Land degradation is exhibited as deforestation, decreasing biodiversity resources, soil moisture stress as well as soil erosion. Burundi and rwanda face a serious threat of land degradation followed by eritrea, uganda, kenya and ethiopia. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods. The principal aim of this study was to explore the impacts of desertification, degradation and drought on both the natural resources. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Marsfm working paper 5 2007 forestry department food and agriculture organization of the united nations manual on deforestation, degradation, and fragmentation using remote sensing and gis prepared by giri tejaswi rome, march 2007 strengthening monitoring, assessment and reporting on sustainable forest management in asia gcpint988jpn. Root causes of these problems include historical and changing patterns of land ownership and government control, low levels of investment in agriculture and. The impact of soil erosion and land degradation in ethiopia.
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. Ethiopia owns more than 58 different types of wetlands which provide enormous socioeconomic and environmental values. Soil erosion and land degradation have been increasing in ethiopian highlands due to the existence of arable land 90 %, high human. Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. Land degradation and desertification is a great concern of arid and semiarid areas. The impact of climate change, desertification and land. This paper estimates the effect of land degradation on the value of agricultural production in ethiopia. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation. Deforestation is a contributor to global climate change, and is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect 7.
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