Caring
For Land
FOR majority of the
Nepalese, land is the only major resource they have. They are engaged in eking out
livelihood from what ever little land they have at their disposal. Life is hard as they
try to manage two square meals a day. So little is the cultivable land they have that,
often, without some supplement from off-farm income, the agriculturists among the Nepalese
cannot survive. These small pieces of land, be it in the plains or the hills, are thus the
only major means for surviving. Thus it should be a matter of great distress that Nepal is
facing an alarming rate of land degradation, with some parts of Nepal already experiencing
desertification. A preliminary draft of a National Action Programme on Land Degradation
and Desertification, presented to mediapersons by Ministry of Population and Environment
on Wednesday, contains disturbing facts and figures, that point to the need for most
urgent attention in addressing land degradation problem. A study found out that the per
capita agricultural land declined from 0.16 hectares in 1980 to 0.13 in 1999. About 10,000
hectares in trans-Himalayan Dolpa and Mustang districts have turned into cold desert, and
the soil erosion rate even in well-managed forests and paddy terraces is between five and
10 tonnes per hectare per year. Rampant deforestation in the far west in the past has
allowed desertification process to begin in the region. Almost 42,000 hectares of land was
affected by landslides and floods in 1995, up from 19,000 hectares in 1987, the most
affected areas being Tarai, Siwalik and Chure hills.
Causes for land
degradation and desertification are plenty. According to an expert, apart from the human
activities, excess water-flow during wet seasons and low water level in dry season lead to
land degradation. The land system is affected by fragmentation, cultivation practices
including erosion-inducing crops, floods, landslides and sedimentation, and inappropriate
use of agro-chemicals. The foregoing causes are also an indication of the massive task
that stopping land degradation entails. But address this problem we must. The action plan
has specified 23 different programmes to address the land degradation problem and is
proposed to be implemented between the period of three to eight years. After knowing what
causes continuous degradation of what insufficient cultivable land Nepal has, it is urgent
that the identified plans and programmes are put into action without delay. As it means
the continued existence or fast disappearance of the very source of livelihood for many
Nepalese, land has to be protected and nurtured through whatever local and national
schemes possible, drawing lessons from many success stories in, for instance, good
forestry and cultivation practices that Nepal nonetheless has proudly
showcased—practices that have demonstrated helpful ways of caring for the land.
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