CONSERVATION OF NATURAL

RESOURCES
• Environment is derived from the French word
“Environ” which means “surrounding”
– biotic factors like human beings, Plants, animals,
microbes, etc
– abiotic factors such as light, air, water, soil, etc.
• Environment is a complex of many variables,
which surrounds man as well as the living
organisms.
• The natural environment consist of four
interlinking systems namely, the atmosphere,
the hydrosphere, the lithosphere and the
biosphere.
 Natural Resource
• Any component of the natural environment
that can be utilized by man to promote his
welfare
• Can be a substance, an energy unit or a
natural process or phenomenon.
• Any material given to us by nature which can
be transformed in a way that it becomes more
valuable and useful.
 Renewable Resources or Inexhaustible
Resources
• Resources, which can be renewed along with
their exploitation, are always available for use.
• Eg forest, solar energy ,wind energy
 Non-renewable resources or Exhaustible
Resources
• These resources once used are lost forever, as
they are not restored
• formation of some resources like iron ore,
coal, mineral oil etc. has taken several
thousand years
• their exploitation at large scale will result in
their fast depletion
 Natural Resources and Associated
Problems
• Continuous increase in population caused an
increasing demand for natural resources
• There is need for conservation of natural
resources
• Problems associated with natural resources:
Forest resources and associated problems
1. Use and over-exploitation.
2. Deforestation.
3. Timber extraction.
4. Mining and its effects on forest.
5. Dams and their effects on forests and tribal
people
Water resources and associated problems
1. Use and overutilization of water.
2. Floods, droughts etc.
3. Conflicts over water.
4. Dams and problems.
Mineral resource and associated problems
1. Use and exploitation.
2. Environmental effects of extracting and
using minerals

Energy resources and associated problems

1. Growing energy needs.
Food resources and associated problems
1. World food problems.
2. Changes caused by agriculture and over
grazing.
3. Effects of modern agriculture.
4. Fertilizer-pesticide problems.
5. Water logging and salinity
Land resources and associated problems
1. Land degradation.
2. Man-induced landslides.
3. Soil erosion and desertification.
EFFECTS OF RESOURCE DEPLETION
1. Air pollution: deforestation leads to a higher
level of air pollution. Industrial processes
result in the emission of harmful gases.
2. Health effects: Resource depletion also
indirectly contributes to severe health effects
like, cancer and other disease.
3. Global warming: By processing natural
resources, quite harmful greenhouse gases
(ex. - co2, methane) are emitted into the air.
4. Loss of forests: Deforestation, lead to a loss of forests.
Farmers often burn down forest intentionally.
5. Extinction of animals and plants: By extracting resources,
we usually destroy the habitat of a variety of animals and
plants.
6. Depletion of elements and minerals: If the extraction
rate of natural resources stays on the levels we currently
face, it is quite logical that many precious elements and
minerals will be entirely depleted in the near future.
7. Water shortages: Due to overexploitation, industrial
processes and the inappropriate disposal of waste in
water bodies, water shortage will become a quite severe
problem in the near future.
8. Oil shortages: we need great amounts of oil in our daily
lives. This can lead to a massive shortage or even to the
depletion of oil since oil is a fossil resource.
9. Gas shortages: Since we consume quite high amounts of
it on a daily basis, we will likely run out of gas sooner or
later.
10. Economic effects: The price for goods, including natural
resources, is determined through supply and demand on
the world market. The supply is likely to drop in the
future since resources will become scarcer.
 SOLUTION OF RESOURCE DEPLETION

1. Reduction in consumption: One of the most obvious solutions to

the resource depletion problem is a reduction in consumption.
2. Save electricity: we should save electricity in our daily activities
whenever possible. For instance, this could mean switching off the
lights when you do not urgently need it or to give up watching TV.
3. Buy more power-efficient devices: we should buy the energy
efficient models instead of old energy intensive ones.
4. Avoid plastic: Plastic is made out of oil. Since oil is a non-
renewable natural resource, the avoidance of plastic means saving
natural resources.
6. Switch to public transportation facilities: You could use public
transport instead of personal car or even use your bike for
short distances.
7. Electric cars: Electric cars are another option for saving
natural resources compared to cars using fossil fuels.
8. Stop deforestation: stopping or at least doing deforestation in
a sustainable way would mitigate the resource depletion
issue.
9. Recycle and reuse: We can all contribute to mitigate resource
depletion through the recycling and reuse of old things.
10. Sustainable agriculture: We have to make sure that
farmers have the incentive to grow their plants in a
sustainable manner in order to be able to use our farming
areas for a long period of time.
11. Organic gardening: If you have a garden or a balcony,
you could grow your own vegetables. Thus, through
organic gardening, you can make a small impact to mitigate
the resource depletion issues.
12. Reduce waste: you should make sure to produce as
little waste as possible.
13. Use food efficiently: we should take more care what and
how much food we buy and make sure that we consume all of
it.
14. Renewable energies: The switch from fossil to renewable
energies is a very important step in order to mitigate the
resource depletion problem.
15. Government regulations: To make sure that many
measures against resource depletion are implemented,
governments have to install effective control mechanisms.
16. Education: We have to make sure that people understand
the adverse impact of resource depletion on our global
environmental system.
17. Convince others: We have to show people how the
depletion of resources adversely affects our planet.
 Land
• Land is a major constituent of the life
supporting Lithosphere.
• It forms 1/5th of the earth surface.
• It is largely covered by natural forests,
wetlands, grasslands, agricultural land and
urban and rural settlements.
• Land is a major source of many materials
essential to man and other organisms..
 The Soil
• The thin layer of grainy substance covering the
surface of the earth is called soil.
• Soil is made up of organic matters, minerals
and weathered rocks found on earth.
• Soil is formed by the process of weathering.
• Soil can take several decades or centuries to
be formed.
Types of Land Form
Grass land
Wetlands
Forests
Agricultural land
Urban establishment
Desert
 Grasslands
• Grassland, area in which the vegetation is
dominated by a nearly continuous cover of
grasses
• Grasslands are one of the most widespread of
all the major vegetation types of the world.
• Grasslands occur on every continent except
Antarctica, are ecologically and economically
important, and provide critical ecosystem goods
and services at local, regional, and global scales.
• Grasslands account for up to 40% of the Earth’s
land surface.
• Grasslands usually lie between deserts and
mountain climates.
• Grassland occurs where there is sufficient moisture
for grass growth, but where environmental
conditions, both climatic and anthropogenic
prevent tree growth.
• There are two types of grasslands; tropical and
temperate.
 Wetlands:
• A wetland is a place in which the land is
covered by water—salt, fresh, or somewhere
in between—either seasonally or
permanently.
• The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands
from other land forms or water bodies is the
characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants
adapted to the unique hydric soil
 Forests
• A forest is a complex ecosystem which is predominantly
composed of trees, shrubs and is usually a closed
canopy.
• Forests are storehouses of a large variety of life forms
such as plants, mammals, birds, insects and reptiles etc.
• Also the forests have abundant microorganisms and
fungi, which do the important work of decomposing
dead organic matter thereby enriching the soil.
• Nearly 4 billion hectares of forest cover the earth’s
surface, roughly 30 percent of its total land area
 Agricultural Land
• Agricultural land is typically land devoted to
agriculture, the systematic and controlled use
of other forms of life particularly the rearing
of livestock and production of crops to
produce food for humans.
• It is generally synonymous with both farmland
or cropland, as well as pasture or rangeland
 Deserts
• Desert is a barren area of landscape where little
precipitation occurs and, consequently, living
conditions are hostile for plant and animal life.
• Areas with an average rainfall of less than
100mm a year can be classed as deserts.
• Deserts can be classified by the amount of
precipitation that falls, by the temperature that
prevails, by the causes of desertification or by
their geographical location.
 Conservation of Land Forms
• Landform conservation is the protection and wise
use of the land base including its form, soil and
associated biophysical processes.
• It is an approach that encourages planning, design
and construction practices which:
i. Minimize disruption to natural form and related
ecological processes
ii. Enhance protection of biophysical features in a
natural state and keep a greater portion of a site in
an open-space character.
iii. It protects the endangered flora and fauna
from extinction.
iv. The traditional practices associated with
these areas, are of greater importance and
must be preserved.
v. Change to landform leads to drastic effect on
the climate which is a global concern
Deforestation
• Deforestation is the conversion of forested
areas to non-forest land use such as arable
land, urban use, logged area or wasteland.
• According to Food and Agriculture
Organisation of UNO,deforestation is the
conversion of forest to another land use or
the long-term reduction of tree canopy cover
below the 10% threshold.
 Causes of deforestation
a) Shifting cultivation or jhum cultivation
• This practise is prevalent in tribal areas where forest
lands are cleared to grow subsistence crops.
• It is estimated that principle cause of deforestation in
tropics in Africa, Asia and tropical America is estimated
to be 70, 50, and 35% respectively.
• Shifting cultivation which is a practice of slash and burn
agriculture are posses to clear more than 5 lakh hectares
of land annually.
• In India, shifting cultivation is prevalent in northeast and
to limited extent in M.P, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and
is contributing significantly to deforestation.
b) Commercial logging
• It is a important deforestation agent.
• It may not be the primary cause but definitely
it acts as secondary cause, because new
logging lots permits shifting cultivation and
fuel wood gatherers access to new logged
areas.
c) Need for fuel wood
• Increased population has lead to increasing
demand for fuel wood which is also acting as
an important deforestation agent, particularly
in dry forest.
d) Expansion for agribusiness
• With the addition of cash crops such as oil
palm, rubber, fruits and ornamental plants,
there is stress to expand the area for
agribusiness products which results in
deforestation.
e) Development projects and growing need for
food
• The growing demand for electricity, irrigation,
construction, mining, etc. has lead to
destruction of forest.
• Increased population needs more food which
has compelled for increasing area under
agriculture crops compelling for deforestation
f) Raw materials for industrial use
• Forest provides raw material for industry and
it has exerted tremendous pressure on
• forest.
 IMPACTS OF DEFORESTATION

Alteration of local and global climates through disruption of:

a) The carbon cycle:
• Forests act as a major carbon store because carbon dioxide (CO 2) is taken
up from the atmosphere and used to produce the carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins that make up the tree.

• When forests are cleared, and the trees are either burnt or rot, this
carbon is released as CO2. This leads to an increase in the atmospheric CO2
concentration.

• CO2 is the major contributor to the greenhouse effect. It is estimated that

deforestation contributes one-third of all CO2 releases caused by people.
Deforestation causes 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
b) The water cycle.
• Trees draw ground water up through their roots
and release it into the atmosphere (transpiration).

• With removal of part of the forest, the region

cannot hold as much water as a result trees no
longer evaporate groundwater, which can cause
the local climate to be much drier. The effect of
this could be a drier climate.
Soil erosion:
• Deforestation accelerates rates of soil erosion, by
increasing runoff and reducing the protection of the soil
from tree litter.

• With the loss of a protective cover of vegetation more

soil is lost.

• Soil erosion occurs when trees and plants are removed;

the rain water washes the nutrients in the top soil away.
Extinction of species:

• Forests contain more than half of all species on

our planet - as the habitat of these species
(that depends on the forest for survival) is
destroyed, so the number of species declines.
Reduced biodiversity:

• Deforestation and forest degradation can

cause biodiversity to decline. When forest
cover is removed, wildlife is deprived of
habitat and becomes more vulnerable to
hunting.
Desertification:
The causes of desertification are complex, but deforestation
is one of the contributing factors
 Afforestation:

• Afforestation is the conversion from other land uses

into forest, or the increase of the canopy cover to
above the 10% threshold.
• Afforestation is the reverse of deforestation and
includes areas that are actively converted from other
land uses into forest through silvicultural measures.
• Afforestation also includes natural transitions into
forest, for example on abandoned agricultural land
or in burnt-over areas that have not been classified
as forest during the barren period.
 Soil
• Soil forms on earth’s surface where plants
grow.
• Soil consists of rocks, sand, clay, dead plants,
animal remains, and fungi.
• Soil is composed of inorganic particles, organic
matter, air, water and a variety of organisms.
• Soil contains small creatures such as
earthworms that turn plant and animal
materials into nutrients.
• Earthworms also dig through the soil which
loosens it so plants grow better.
 Importance of Soil
• Food and other biomass production
• Environmental Interaction: storage, filtering,
and transformation
• Biological habitat and gene pool
• Source of raw materials
• Physical and cultural heritage
• Platform for man-made structures: buildings,
highways
 Soil Health
• The state of the soil being in sound physical,
chemical, and biological condition, having the
capability to sustain the growth and
development of land plants.”
 Ecological and Economical Importance of
Soil
• Advances in watershed, natural resource, and environmental sciences have
shown that soil is the foundation of basic ecosystem function.
• Soil filters our water, provides essential nutrients to our forests and crops, and
helps regulate the Earth's temperature as well as many of the important
greenhouse gases.
• Almost 35% of all greenhouse gases (GHG) released into the atmosphere due to
anthropogenic activities since 1850 are linked to land use changes.
• Crop, grazing, and forest lands, as well as wetlands, all have the potential to
contribute to or, through sound management strategies, mitigate GHG emissions
through soil carbon sequestration, while also enhancing ecosystem services. Soil
stores carbon dioxide (CO2) and other GHGs in soil organic matter.
• Soil organic matter offers several added benefits: it filters and cleans water,
enhances water retention and storage, mitigates the impacts of extreme
weather events, improves soil structure, reduces soil erosion, provides microbial
habitats, and serves as a source of long-term, slow-release nutrients
 Causes of Soil Degradation

•Soil Erosion
•Loss of Soil Fertility
•Land slide
•Soil sealing through urbanisation and industrialisation
•Soil contamination
•Salination
 Soil Erosion
• Movement of water and air removes top soil from the land by the
process of erosion.
• Abundant plant cover significantly reduces soil erosion.
• Human activities accelerate soil erosion by removing natural plant
cover.
• From croplands in India, millions of tons of topsoil are eroded into
sea each year.
• Erosion causes a significant loss of soil fertility by transporting
organic matter and nutrients that are essential part of the soil.
• The eroded soil, which gets into streams, rivers and lakes in the
form of sediments, affects water quality and habitats of aquatic
organisms.
 Depletion of Soil Fertility
• When natural vegetation is removed to develop
agricultural systems, as has happened in most parts
of India and indeed in the world, not only the
nutrients stored in vegetation are removed, the
organic matter and nutrients accumulated in the
soil are also lost.
• From agricultural systems, nutrients are exported
through crop harvest.
• Thus, over a period of time the agricultural soil
inevitably loses its fertility
 Landslide Damage
• The earth mass may move during landslide by falling, sliding or
flowing or by their combination.
• As, landslide involves the movement of soil and vegetation mass,
the self sustaining, soil plant system is fragmented which often
lead to disruption of community structure, nutrient cycling and
losses of soil with nutrients from the ecosystem.
• Generally the destruction of habitat results in loss of biodiversity,
and decrease in forest biomass and soil fertility.
• The recovery after landslide disturbances depends upon intensity
of disturbance.
• If disturbance is of low intensity the recovery in this case is faster.
Recovery is delayed if the site is disturbed for long term duration.
 Soil sealing through Urbanisation and
Industrialisation
• Establishment of the infrastructure for modern life, housing,
roads or other land developments is known as urbanization and
the closure of the soil pores on the surface due to the materials
used for urbanization or by urbanization itself, is called as soil
sealing.
• When land is sealed, the soil is unable to perform many of its
functions including the absorption of rainwater for infiltration,
and filtering in general.
• In addition sealed areas may have a great impact on surrounding
soils by changing water flow patterns.
• Soil sealing is almost irreversible and there is increasing concern
amongst governments and environmental regulators at this
permanent loss of soil and the associated loss of ecosystem
functions
 Soil Contamination
• The introduction of contaminants in the soil
may result in damage to or loss of individual
or several functions of soils and the possible
contamination of water.
• The occurrence of contaminants in soils above
certain levels entails multiple negative
consequences for the food chain and thus for
human health, and for all types of ecosystems
and other natural resources
 Salination
• Salination is the accumulation in soils of soluble salts
of principally sodium, magnesium, and calcium to
the extent that crop production is severely reduced.
• This process is often associated with insufficient
irrigation practices as irrigation water will contain
variable amounts of salts, in particular in regions
where low rainfall, high evapo-transpiration rates or
soil textural characteristics impede the washing out
of the salts which subsequently buildup in the soil
surface layer
 Soil Conservation
• Soil Conservation is a combination of practices used to
protect the soil from degradation.

• First and foremost, soil conservation involves treating

the soil as a living ecosystem. This means returning
organic matter to the soil on a continual basis.

• The ultimate objective of soil conservation is to check

the further soil erosion and sustain the agricultural
productivity
• The integrated nutrient management is also associated
with soil conservation, and this employs the measures
such as correction of soil defects, application of manures
and fertilizers, proper crop rotations, irrigation, drainage
etc., which aim at maintaining the higher level productivity
in soils

• However, soil conservation mainly deals with improvement

of land use and reclamation of eroded land to utilize the
unusable land resources under cultivation as well as
protecting the land resources from further degradation
 Need for Soil Conservation
• To sustain the production from natural resources to
meet the basic requirements of food, shelter and
clothing of growing population.
• To preserve topsoil to reduce deterioration in soil
fertility and the water holding capacity, thus
sustaining productivity
• To check the formation of rills and gullies due to soil
erosion in the field, which adversely affect the
productivity.
• To increase the groundwater recharge, by sustaining
the soil moisture retention capacity of the soil
• To maintain the land productivity and prevent
shrinkage of arable area.
• To reduce the dredging work due to sedimentation in
creeks, rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
• To protect water bodies from non-point source
pollution.
• To minimize the flooding risk that affects the
sustainability and livelihoods of humans, animals and
plants.
• To control the deterioration of ecosystem due to soil
loss, which leads to interruption of nutrient cycle,
loss of soil fertility, extinction of flora and fauna and
soil erosion etc. ultimately resulting in biological
impoverishment and human sufferings.

• To facilitate environmental system that affects the

plant growth and rejuvenation of forests
 Soil Conservation Practices
Afforestation

• Tree plantation helps in the reduction of soil erosion.

• Trees reduce the intensity of runoff & increase the
seepage of water to the underground water table.
• Social forestry can be developed along the banks of
rivers, canals, lakes, roads & railway tracks.
Checking overgrazing

• Overgrazing of forests and grass lands should

be properly checked
• Separate grazing grounds should be
earmarked
• Crop rotation
• It is a tool that enables farmers to increase soil
organic matter content, soil structure and
rooting depth.
• This is accomplished by growing secondary
crops which enhance soil health.
• Growing leguminous plants helps in fixing
nitrogen to the soil
COVER CROPS
• Cover crops are crops planted to reduce the impact of wind
and water on bare soil.
• They absorb the impact of rain, reduce the speed of runoff,
hold the soil in place, and encourage greater infiltration; and
hence less runoff.
• Millet, oats, triticale, barley Sweet clover, alfalfa, rye, and
winter wheat are common cover crops.
• They are planted on areas susceptible to erosion like steep
slopes; stream and river banks, grassed waterways or around
wells to protect ground water supplies from contamination.
No-till farming
• Growing of crops without removing the existing plant cover &
previous crop residue.
Shelter Belts
• Shleter belts are rows of
trees , usually along fence
lines.
• It is the method of soil
conservation in the
coastal & dry
regions.
Mulching

• Mulch is simply a protective

layer of a material that is
spread on top of the soil.

• It helps to retain soil

moisture
Terrace Cultivation
• Terrace cultivation is a method of growing
crops on the sides of hills or mountains by
planting on graduated terraces built into
the slope.

• Though labour intensive, the method has

been employed effectively to maximise
arable land area in variable terrains & to
reduce soil erosion
Contour Cropping

• Ploughing & planting

along the contours of
the land, so that
water cannot runoff the
soil easily
• Strip cropping
• It is the method of developing different crops
on the very same field in distinguishable
stripes or patches, generally alternately.
• It alternates rows of carefully sown crops like
hay, wheat, or other grains with rows of row
crops like corn, soybeans, cotton, or sugar
beets.
• It is used to control erosion by reducing the
velocity of wind and water.
• Windbreaks
• A windbreak or shelterbelt is a vegetation barrier
designed to reduce or eliminate the velocity of
the wind and hence reduce wind erosion.
• Windbreaks are rows of trees or shrubs that
reduce the force of the wind.
• They can reduce soil erosion, increase crop yields
and protect livestock from heat and cold.
• Windbreaks can shield buildings and roads
from drifting snow.
• They beautify the landscape and provide
travel routes and habitat for wildlife.
Salinity Management
• Use of Humic acids may prevent excess salination,
especially given excessive irrigation
• Planting species that can tolerate saline conditions
can be used to lower water tables and thus reduce
the rate of capillary and evaporative enrichment of
surface salts. Salt-tolerant plants includesaltbush, a
plant found in much of North America and in
the Mediterranean regions of Europe
• Use of Natural Fertilizers
– Excessive use of chemical fertilizers can result in
chemical run off and groundwater contamination
– Natural fertilizer are a better alternative, as they
replenish the soil with essential nutrients like
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; while
offering the added benefit of providing the soil
with organic matter.
– Natural fertilizers include livestock manure, mulch,
municipal sludge, and legume plants such as
alfalfa or clover.
 Measures/Schemes for Soil Conservation in India

Watershed Development Project in Shifting

Cultivation Areas (WDPSCA)

• This was implemented from 1955 onwards to

Protect hill slopes of Jhum areas through soil
and water conservation measures on a
watershed basis
• NABARD Loan- Soil & Water Conservation
Scheme under RIDF(2001 onwards)

– The scheme envisages to promote sustainable

development through conservation and
management of soil and water.
• Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Yojana (RKVY)

• The thrust area is to protect the loss of topsoil,

improving soil fertility, enhancing crop
production, land and water productivity of
watershed areas comprising of wastelands,
river valleys and the eco-system as a whole
Soil Health Card Schemes

• The scheme aims at promoting soil test based

and balanced use of fertilizers to enable
farmers to realize higher yields at lower cost.
• Also the objective is to aware growers about
the appropriate amount of nutrients for the
concerned crop depending on the quality of
soil.
 Impact of soil degradation on agriculture
and food security
• The gravity of soil degradation, and the
possibility to remedy it, depend on the type of
degradation process, with soil erosion and
salinification being very serious as they can drive
farmers to abandon the land, or face the very
high management costs to keep cropping it.
• Soil degradation has become a very serious
problem in densely inhabited agricultural regions
• Land degradation is one of the prominent
problems of mankind which not only reduces
the production capacity of an area, but also
affects the overall ecosystem.
• Various types of physical, chemical and
biological land degradation result in
degradation of soil quality
• In addition, chemical fertilizers coupled with
inappropriate irrigation management also result in
worsening of groundwater quality in the country.
• The impact of chemicals on groundwater quality is
much higher in shallow and unconfined aquifers.
• Majority of the Indian rural population uses water for
domestic purpose from shallow private boreholes
which are contaminated by nitrate (NO3–) pollution.
• Rapid human-induced secondary salinity in the last few
decades has rendered vast tracts of land in dryland
and irrigated regions of the world uncultivable.
• Annually, 0.25–0.5 m ha agricultural lands is lost due
to secondary salinization.
• Changing temperature and rainfall patterns and
intensity due to increased extreme events of
climate change, soil degradation as well as pest and
disease infestation impose serious threats on
traditional agricultural systems
• The main causes of low productivity are excessive
pressure of population on land, social environment,
land degradation, uneconomic land holdings,
uncertain monsoons and inadequate irrigation
facilities, incidence of pests and diseases, etc
 Sustainable Land Use Planning
• The objective is to harmonize the
complimentary goals of providing
environmental,economic and social
opportunities for the benefit of present and
future generations, while maintaining and
enhancing the quality of the land (soil, water
and air) resource
 It combines technologies, policies, and activities aimed at integrating
socioeconomic principles with environmental concerns, so as to
simultaneously:
• maintain and enhance production (productivity)

• reduce the level of production risk, and enhance soil capacity to buffer against
degradation processes (stability/resilience)

• protect the potential of natural resources and prevent degradation of soil and
water quality (protection)

• be economically viable (viability)

• be socially acceptable, and assure access to the benefits from improved land
management (acceptability/equity)
 PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA FOR SUSTAINABLE LAND
MANAGEMENT
Global concerns for sustainability

• Sustainability can be achieved only through the collective efforts of

those immediately responsible for managing resources. This requires
a policy environment that empowers farmers and other, local
decision makers, to reap benefits for good land use decisions, but
also to be held responsible for inappropriate land uses.

• Integration of economic and environmental interests in a

comprehensive manner is necessary to achieve the objectives of
sustainable land management. This requires that environmental
concerns be given equal importance to economic performance in
evaluating the impacts of development projects, and that reliable
indicators of environmental performance be developed.
• There is urgent need to resolve the global challenge
to produce more food to feed rapidly rising global
populations, while at the same time preserving the
biological production potential, resilience, and
environmental maintenance systems of the land.
Sustainable land management, if properly designed
and implemented, will ensure that agriculture
becomes a part of the environmental solution,
rather than remaining an environmental problem.
Sustainable Agriculture
• More ecologically balanced land management can
achieve both economic and environmental benefits,
and this must be the foundation for further rural
interventions (investments). Without good land
management, other investments in the rural sector are
likely to be disappointing2. At the same time, arguing for
the continued maintenance of agriculture without
reference to environmental sustainability is increasingly
difficult. Indicators of land quality are needed to guide
us along the way.
• Agricultural intensification is often necessary to achieve more
sustainable systems. This requires shifts to higher value production,
or higher yields with more inputs per unit of production and higher
standards of management (more knowledge intensive). However,
sustainable agriculture has to work within the bounds of nature not
against them. Many yield improvements can be achieved by
optimizing efficiency of external inputs rather than trying to
maximize yields.

• The importance of off-farm income should not be underestimated

because it i) supplements cash flow on the farm, ii) generates an
investment environment for improved land management, and
therefore iii) reduce production pressures on land.
Sharing responsibilities for sustainability

• Farmers and land managers must expand their knowledge of

sustainable technologies and implement improved procedures of
land stewardship. The preferred option is not to tell the farmer
what to do (command and control legislation), but to create an
enabling environment through policy interventions where farmers
are more free to make the right choice. A policy environment
where farmers are more empowered, but also held accountable,
for achieving the objectives of sustainable land management is
essential. However, sustainable land management is the
responsibility of all segments of society. Governments must ensure
that their policies and programs do not create negative
environmental impacts, and society needs to define requirements
for land maintenance and develop a "social" discount rate for
future land use options that encourages the most sustainable use.
• Concerns for sustainable land management go beyond
agriculture to include the legitimate interests of other
aspects of land stewardship, including wildlife,
waterfowl and biodiversity management. There is
increasing evidence that society is demanding that
farmers become stewards of rural landscapes, and that
agriculture become more than simply putting food on
the table. Many of society's environmental values may
not represent economic gains for farmers, however, and
farmers cannot shoulder all the costs of environmental
maintenance.
• https://www.insightsonindia.com/indian-geog
raphy-2/soils/soil-conservation/
• https://www.teachmint.com/tfile/studymateri
al/agriculture/soilconservationmeasure/soilco
nservationpdfpdf/72d0f17a-a2dd-43f6-b66a-a
58e1da5c97a
• https://www.johnstonnc.com/swc/content.cf
m?pageid=wisc
• https://www.perennia.ca/wp-content/uploads
/2018/04/soil-conservation-and-practice.pdf