National Initiatives
The People’s Republic of China has achieved remarkable control of soil
erosion in some areas through the implementation of water and soil conservation
measures in eight different parts of the country following the initiation
of a soil erosion scheme by the State Council in 1983. After 10 years of
conservation efforts, the erosion has been brought under control in 2 million
hectares, a third of the total affected area. Improved land productivity
doubled the total grain output in these areas. The second phase of the
programme, covering 1993-2002, aims to introduce higher quality and efficiency
in crop production (NEPA, 1993). As a result of a serious effort by the
Central Government of China, about 10 per cent of the country’s desertified
land has been rehabilitated in the last few decades and the deterioration
of another 12 per cent has been halted in north China. About 444,000 hectares
of severely degraded rangeland have been recovered and maintained. Up to
18.36 million hectares of land have been afforested through the "Three
North" Shelter System, the Upper Yangtze River Shelter System and the Coastal
Shelter System which were mainly aimed at combating desertification. Combating
desertification has recently been listed in Chapter 16 of the Chinese Agenda
21, and was officially approved by the Central Government in April 1994.
Nation-wide mapping and assessment of desertification in sandy areas and
of water erosion have been carried out and field experimental stations
for the study and control of desertification of sandy areas have been established,
including in Sapotou in Ningxia, Naiman in Inner Mongolia, Yulin in Shaaxi
and Cele in Xinjiang. National and regional maps of geomorphology, land
resources and land use were completed by 1980 to provide a basis for combating
desertification and for rational land reclamation. A further 20 per cent
of desertified land in the arid and semi-arid zones are targetted for rehabilitation
by 2000, while another 32 million hectares severely affected by water erosion
will be brought under control (Jinfa, 1994; UNEP, 1994).
Australia’s land administrators, managers and scientists are responding
to past mistakes and land-use changes in a variety of ways. Restrictions
have been placed on land clearing in most areas and much of the native
fauna is now protected. A taxation system is being imposed to promote better
land management, and soil conservation works are considered as tax deductible.
It is not only the Government that is making changes; community-based action
programmes are now seen as crucial in combating land degradation and they
make up a major part of the National Landcare Programme. A joint effort
of the National Farmers’ Federation and the Australian Conservation Foundation
resulted in a national programme with 2,200 Landcare Groups nation-wide,
involving one-third of all farm families (Australia, 1994).
In Nepal, various watershed management projects are undertaken in critically
affected or degraded areas, such as the Kulekhani Watershed Management
Project and the Phewa Tal Watershed, by the Department of Soil and Water
Conservation. Considerable success has been achieved in abating the extent
of land degradation in the targeted areas. Involvement of the local communities
at every stage in the implementation of the projects has ensured the sustainability
of the measures and that they would continue even after completion of the
project ( ESCAP, 1995).
In India, watershed management programmes have also been implemented
extensively. The Soil and Water Conservation Division in the Ministry of
Agriculture plays a key role in the implementation of integrated watershed
management programmes. These programmes are planned to cover 86 million
hectares, of which 26 million hectares (27 river valley catchments and
8 in flood prone rivers) are considered highly critical and have been given
priority under 35 centrally-sponsored projects. Over 30,000 hectares of
shifting and semi-stable sand dunes have been treated with shelter belts
and strip cropping (ESCAP, 1995).
To minimize the impact of mining activities on land degradation, countries
such as the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea,
the People’s Republic of China, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka
have already enacted laws to ensure proper use of underground resources
without significant effects on the environment (ESCAP, 1995).
Regional Initiatives
The FAO established an Asian Network on Problem Soils in 1989 involving
13 countries. The network is mainly concerned with the rational use, management
and conservation of problem soils within the Asia-Pacific region in a sustainable
and environmentally sound manner. At the same time the FAO, in co-operation
with the Asia Soil Conservation Network for the Humid Tropics (ASOCON)
is developing a Framework for Action on Land Conservation in Asia and the
Pacific (FALCAP). The FAO has also commissioned a study on land degradation
in eight countries of South Asia with the help of United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and UNEP funding in 1993 (ESCAP, 1995).
A Regional Network of Research and Training centres on Desertification
Control in Asia and the Pacific (DESCONAP) was established by ESCAP in
1988 to combat desertification in the Asia-Pacific region. The network
includes 19 governments, international organizations and non-governmental
agencies. Recently, the network has assisted in the development of National
Plans of Action on Combating Desertification for Mongolia and Pakistan.
Similar plans are being developed for China and the Islamic Republic of
Iran (ESCAP, 1995).
The Fertilizer and Development Network for Asia and the Pacific (FADINAP)
is concerned with fertilizer production, trade and use. A meeting on "Fertilization
and the Environment" in 1992 was particularly relevant to land degradation.
The Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia and the Pacific (FORSPA)
is organized by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAPA).
Some of its activities are particularly relevant to land degradation, i.e.
those related to tropical deforestation, forestry’s role in sustaining
agricultural productivity, management of fragile tropical soils, fuel wood,
and forestry and the environment. |
