HEALTH OF THE SOIL MATTERS. SOIL IS NOT A DEAD MATTER, BUT A LIVING BEING. IT CAN BE HEALTHY OR UNHEALTHY, INJURED OR KILLED
ALDO LEOPOLD
MANZOOR AHMAD BHAT
World environment day is celebrated worldwide on 5th of June every year. The theme for world environment day, this year is “ Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience”. These all are associated with health of the land. They signify the condition when the health of the land is not good, rather it is pretty bad. Land being a natural resource is being taken for granted and is over exploited or mis-used for the short term benefits. The unsustainable use of the land results in Land degradation. One subtype of which is land desertification. Land along with suitable environmental conditions are a must as far as the food security of world is concerned. Without taking due care of the health of the land, food security can’t be achieved. With population of human beings on rise, the pressure on the land to feed more and more souls is also increasing. The production of the staple food grains can be increased either by increasing the productivity per unit area of the land or by bringing more land area under cultivation. The productivity of the land can’t be increased beyond some point. Further, increasing the productivity is being done by using high yield varities, use of inorganic pesticides and fertilizers. These practices are degrading the soil in the long run. The productivity could be enhanced at the cost of degradation of the land quality. So the best option available is to bring more land under cultivation.
Now the question is, Do we have the land available which could be cultivated? The answer is partly yes. The land is available. But the land is not cultivable as of now. But it could be made cultivable. Such lands which are not cultivatable due to presence of some deficiencies or deformities. Such lands are called waste lands or problem soils. These lands can be , water logged soils, ravines, saline soils, degraded grasslands, steep slopes, Mining lands, snow-covered lands etc.
One approach to correct the waste lands is land restoration, which is part of this year’s theme for WED. Land restoration is the process in which the degraded land is restored to the earlier state or some other state to meet the intended purpose. Land restoration is an important tool for bringing more and more land under cultivation. Hence increasing the area of land under cultivation. Land restoration would help in reversing the process of degradation which has been taking place for long. It would ensure that waste land are converted into useful Lands which are used for production of food grains. With increasing population, the land restoration is becoming a must to ensure that food security is achieved. Further more, it is to be ensured that no lands are further becoming wastelands. There are plethora of factors responsible which convert fertile lands into wastelands. These factors need to be checked. All such factors which could result in degradation of the land need to be eliminated. Some factors which are responsible for land degradation are; I. Excessive use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, 2. Excessive irrigation of the crop lands, 3. Unscientific tilling practices, 4. Wind erosion,5.Extraction of minerals 6. Over grazing 7. Deforestation
Such factors need to be checked. Otherwise there would be loss of land. The land is non renewable resource for the human purposes, as it’s rate of formation is very slow. It takes thousands of years to form few inches of soil. So the careless use of land should be avoided.
It is an important life supporting system. Without it life on the earth is not possible. it is medium for the growth of the plants. The importance of the soil could be understood by Land ethics of Aldo Leopold. Aldo Leopold in his Land ethics, which he has written as the finale to the ‘’ A Sand county Almanac ‘’. Aldo Leopold there stressed that Land is not a non living entity or property, rather it is a living being. He says land is not a dead matter which can be shaped in any way. As per Leopold, land should be viewed as a living being, which could be healthy or unhealthy, injured or killed. Further he considered land a pyramid, where land along with millions of microbes in it act as a base, followed by plants, birds, insects and other forms of life at the apex.
The other component of the theme of world environment day is desertification. Desertification is the type of land degradation where the productive potential of the land is continuously on the decline. Land desertification is occuring in all types of ecosystems. The point is the productive potential of the land is declining. It could be happening in the forest ecosystems, grass lands, agricultural lands and even deserts. The deserts already have low productive potential, if it is further decreasing, it is desertification in deserts. The factors like over grazing, deforestation, quarrying of rocks, dumping of wastes particularly industrial wastes, mining, pollution etc are contributing to the process of desertification. It is a thing of concern, as it is spreading very fast. Millions of hectares of land are under-going desertification. So the productive land is diminishing day by day. Desertification is converting productive land ecosystems barren lands. The steps are to be taken to arrest the land desertification processes.
The last component of the theme of this year’s World environment day, is “drought resilience”. It is the need of the hour. Among other affects of climate change, one is drought. The drought is a condition where the water resources are scare to such an extent that the land is having too little moisture to support the growth of the plants. Every year different parts of the world are facing drought like situations. It is ever increasing. It looks that the droughts are only going to get worse in the future. So the steps are required to be taken to avoid altogether drought like situation, which seems almost impossible. But steps could be taken to lessen the impact of droughts on humans, plants, animals and the environment. The water intensive crops are required to be replaced by the drought resistant crops. Further, the water harvesting structures are required to be placed, wherever possible. So that more and more water could be stored, which could then be used during the drought like situations. Further, the loss of soil moisture by insolation should be prevented, as far as possible. This could be possible by mulching the fields. The wastage of water should be avoided. The steps should be taken to make sure that each drop of water is being put to some use. The wastewater treatments plants should be installed wherever required. As going into the future, water will become new petrol. As its demand would keep rising, the resources would remain the same. In short, drought resilience have to be ensured through the farming and other related practices.
Tail piece: “Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience”, the theme of world environment day, 2024 is the need of the mankind. It is high time to high-light the importance of land restoration, prevention of desertification and drought resilience, to ensure that the food security of the humans is met. Otherwise, starvation, conflicts and malnourishment will become order of the day. For the better future of the mankind and other fauna and flora, the health of the land has to be ensured. Otherwise, we are doomed.
The author can be reached at bhat.manzoor2008@gmail.com
