Desertification : Environment minister says, "a quarter of India’s land is turning into desert"

About a quarter of India's land is turning to desert and degradation of agricultural areas is becoming a severe problem, the environment minister said, potentially threatening food security in the world's second most populous country.

India occupies just 2 per cent of the world's territory but is home to 17 per cent of its population, leading to over-use of land and excessive grazing. Along with changing rainfall patterns, these are the main causes of desertification.

"Land is becoming barren, degradation is happening. A lot of areas are on the verge of becoming deserts but it can be stopped." Land degradation — largely defined as loss of productivity — is estimated at 105 million hectares, constituting 32 per cent of the total land.

According to the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) that prepared a report on desertification in 2007, about 69 per cent of land in the country is dry, making it vulnerable to water and wind erosion, salinization and water logging.

See :  National Action Programme to Combat Desertification