Land and water have been the basic elements of life support system on our planet since the dawn of civilization.
All great civilizations, flourished where these resources were available in plenty and they declined or perished with the depletion of these resources.
In recent years, the land resource has been subjected to a variety of pressures. Still it is surviving and sustaining mankind.
What is alarming in the way land is being used is the tendency towards over-exploitation on account of a number of reasons leading this pristine resource being robbed of its resilience.
Of all the species on the earth, man is the chief culprit of this degradation. He views land in terms of its utility, meaning the capability to meet his perceived needs and wants.
The most easily categorised varieties of land from the utility point of view are – land fit for use, land with potential for use and land which appears useless at least in the foreseeable future.
Here probably lies the genesis of the problem of land degradation and erosion of ecosystems. Mahatma Gandhi had said -“The Earth has enough for everybody’s need but not for everybody’s greed”.
class="cs71E23436">Preserving, protecting and defending the land resources has been part of our age-old culture. The respect for the importance of land resources is best depicted in the conventional concept of Panchabhutas – land, water, fire, sky and air that constitute a set of divine forces.
There are innumerable examples of the traditional conservation practices and systems, which are still surviving and are effective. But with the advent of modern age and the advent of newer forces, this tradition is fast deteriorating mainly on account of – consumerism, materialistic value systems, short-term profit-driven motives and greed of the users
Land Resources
The utilization of land depends upon physical factors like topography, soil and climate as well as upon human factors such as the density of population duration of occupation of the area, land tenure and technical levels of the people.
LAND USE IN INDIA
The major land uses in India are:
Net sown Area
Agriculture land means cultivated area, it includes net cropped area and fallow lands. Cropped area in the year under consideration in called net sown area.
India stands seventh in the world in terms of total geographical area but second in terms of cultivated land.
Net shown Area is about 46%.
Percentage wise Punjab and Haryana are highest and Arunachal Pradesh is Lowest (3.2% )
The net sown area and the area sown more than once together are called gross cultivated area.
Forest Area
This includes all land classified either as forest under any legal enactment, or administered as forest, whether State-owned or private, and whether wooded or maintained as potential forest land.
The area of crops raised in the forest and grazing lands or areas open for grazing within the forests remain included under the “forest area”.
Area under Non-agricultural Uses
This includes all land occupied by buildings, roads and railways or under water, e.g. rivers and canals, and other land put to uses other than agriculture.
Barren and Un-culturable Land
This includes all land covered by mountains, deserts, etc.
Land which cannot be brought under cultivation except at an exorbitant cost is classified as unculturable whether such land is in isolated blocks or within cultivated holdings.
Permanent Pasture and other Grazing Land
This includes all grazing land whether it is permanent pasture/meadows or not.
Village common grazing land is included under this category.
Land under Miscellaneous Tree Crops, etc.
This includes all cultivable land which is not included in ‘Net area sown’ but is put to some agricultural use.
Land under trees, thatching grasses, bamboo bushes and other groves for fuel, etc. which are not included under ‘Orchards’ are classified under this category.
Culturable Waste Land
This includes land available for cultivation, whether taken up or not taken up for cultivation once, but not cultivated during the last five years or more in succession including the current year for some reason or the other .
Such land may be either fallow or covered with shrubs and jungles which are not put to any use.
Fallow Lands other than Current Fallows -This includes all land which was taken up for cultivation but is temporarily out of cultivation for a period of not less than one year and not more than five years.
Current Fallows- This represents cropped area which is kept fallow during the current year
Policies, Acts, Programmes by Govt. on Land Resources
National Land Reforms Policy
Abolition of intermediary tenures
Tenancy reforms
Ceiling on agricultural holdings and redistribution of surplus land
Updating and maintenance of land records
Consolidation of land holdings
Distribution of government wasteland
Drought-prone Areas Programme
Minimize adverse effects of droughts on the productivity of land, water and human resources
Promote overall economic development and improve the socio-economic condition of poor and disadvantaged sections inhabiting the programme areas Capacity building and empowerment of village community, ensuring participation of Panchayati Raj Institutions and NGOs in programme implementation at grassroots level and transfer of funds as well as decision-making power to the local people
Since 1995-96, a watershed development based approach has been adopted
Desert Development Programme (DDP)- 1977-78
Mitigate adverse effects of desertification and adverse climatic conditions on crops, human and livestock population
Restoration of ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing natural resources, i.e. land, water, vegetative cover, and raise land productivity
Capacity building and empowerment of village community, ensuring participation of Panchayati Raj Institutions and NGOs
1985 -National Land Use and Conservation Board
Formulate a national policy and perspective plan for conservation, management and development of land resources of the country
Review of the progress of implementation of ongoing schemes and programmes connected with conservation and development of land resources and soils
Take measures to restrict the conversion of good agricultural land to non– agricultural uses
Co-ordinate the work of State Land Use Boards
1985 National Wastelands Development Board (NWDB)
Formulate perspective plan and programmes for the management and development of wastelands in the country
Identify the wastelands in the country
Review the progress of implementation of programmes and schemes for the development of wasteland
Create a reliable data base and documentation centre on related aspects of wasteland development
1989-90 Integrated Wastelands Development Project (IWDP)
Adopt soil and moisture conservation measures such as terracing, bunding, trenching, vegetative barriers, etc
Encourage natural regeneration
Enhance people’s participation in wasteland development programmes at all stages resulting in equitable sharing of benefits
Employment generation, poverty alleviation, community empowerment and development of human and other economic resources of the village
Training, extension and creation of awareness among the participants
Strategies for Sustainable Land Management
Tenth Five-Year Plan assigns high priorities to area specific programmes such as watersheds, river valleys, arid areas, wastelands.
Public policies towards land use and the influence of subsequent land uses on natural resources
Coordinate the activities of all line departments and adopt an integrated approach
Expansion and intensification of irrigated agriculture
Weaknesses in land use policies as well as options that are available to better address natural resource management and conservation issues in the interface
Establish the horizontal linkages between various agencies that are involved in land resource management
Involve the stakeholders from the planning stage onwards and address other socio-economic and poverty issues in land development programmes
The government would take the lead role in capacity building at the grassroot level by planning, implementing and monitoring integrated land resources management programmes
Intensification of high-quality rain-fed lands
land is not accounted for, especially when land quality deteriorates or the ecosystems functions change
Intensification of densely populated marginal lands
Increasing women’s access to productive land by regularizing leasing and sharecropping of uncultivated agricultural land by women’s groups, encouraging collective efforts in bringing wastelands under cultivation and providing policy incentives to women in low-input subsistence agriculture, will have immediate benefits for women’s empowerment and household food security
Expansion of farming into sparsely populated marginal lands
The rise of urban and periurban farming with accelerated urbanization
Natural resource managers and local planning officials need to understand the role each plays in protecting natural resources in the interface. In particular, natural resource managers need to better understand and influence public policies related to natural resources
