Land degradation in south Asia: Its severity, causes and effects upon the people


Table of Contents


World Soil Resources Reports
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 1994

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, of the United Nations Development Programme or of the United Nations Environment Programme concerning the legal statue of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

M-51
ISBN 92-5-103595-4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.

(c) FAO, UNDP and UNEP 1994

 


Contents


Acknowledgements
Summary
Chapter 1 - Introduction

Origin, objectives and constraints
Background to the South Asia region
Arrangement of the report

Chapter 2 - Types of land degradation

Definitions
Types of land degradation assessed
Other types of degradation included
Types of degradation excluded from the study
Problems of the natural environment
Reversible degradation and land reclamation

Chapter 3 - Sources of data

Global assessment of soil degradation (GLASOD)
Other sources of data
Variations in data and the need for definition of degrees of severity

Chapter 4 - Status of degradation. I. Erosion and fertility decline

Water erosion
Wind erosion
Soil fertility decline

Chapter 5 - Status of degradation. II. Other types of degradation and summary

Waterlogging
Salinization
Lowering of the water table
Other types of degradation
Watershed degradation and management
Summary: the severity and extent of land degradation
Discussion

Chapter 6 - Causes of land degradation

Natural degradation hazards
Direct causes of degradation
Underlying causes of degradation
Land, population, poverty and degradation: the causal nexus

Chapter 7 - Economic consequences of land degradation

Introduction: economic and social consequences
Economic valuation of natural resources and degradation
Land degradation in South Asia: the orders of magnitude of the economic costs
Macroeconomic impact of land degradation

Chapter 8 - Effects upon the people

Effects upon production
Consequences for the people
Land degradation and the poor

Chapter 9 - Institutions and programmes to combat degradation

National institutions
National institutions: discussion
Environmental legislation
International institutions in the region
Regional collaborative programmes

Chapter 10 - Conclusions and proposals

Conclusions from the study
Proposals: introduction
Proposals for strengthening efforts to combat land degradation

References
World soil resources reports