By — Manisha Swain

H& ad«se land because we regard1as a

aommod•Ey be/onging D us. When we see
/sn# ss a aommunity to which we belong, we
raay begin fa cse it with love and respect.
 De! nition
« Land management is the process of managing the
use and development (in both urban
and suburban settings) of land resources in
a sustainable way.
« Variety of uses of land which interact and
may compete with one another
x Need thus to plan and manage in an integrated
manner
 ImpoXance
« Land and water basic elements of life
support system
« Civilizations flourish with its presence and
perish with its decline
« A part of the Panchabhutas
« Tendency of overexploitation due to
consumerism, materialistic value systems,
short term profit driven motives etc.
 Indian Land distribution
« Per capita availability of forests is 0.08 per
ha
« 75.5 mn ha wasteland in country
« 58 mn ha treatable
« Efforts to take 58 years to complete the
process
Land Use and Degradation
« 41 mn ha land totally
unfit .
« Per capita availability of
Iture,
land declined from 0.89
ha in 1951to 0.3 ha in
2002
« Per capita agricultural
land declined from 0.14
ha in 1951to 0.14 ha in
2001
 Land use and degradation contd...
« It is estimated that 174 mn ha of land (53%)
suffers from different types and varying degrees
of degradation.
x 800mn ha land are lost due to ingress of ravines
« 5000 mn tonnes of topsoil are eroded every year.
« In 2004, total wasteland has increased upto
20% of total land.
 Management problems
« Common property Land resource
« Land use Change
« Combating land degradation
and desertification
« Stakeholder participation and awareness
creation
« Legislation, Policies, programmes and other
initiatives
 Watershed degradation
« Watershed is a geo-hydrological unit
which drains at a common point.
« watershed management entails the rational
utilisation of land and water resources for
optimum production but with minimum
hazard to natural and human resources.
 Wetland Cocservation Programme
« Wetlands — lands transitional b/w terrestrial &
aquatic system
« Life support systems
« Effective in flood control,wastewater treatment,
recharging of aquifers etc.
« Programme on wetland conservation initiates in
1987 to identify, and conserve these resources
« UNDP project
« Ramsar Convention
 De afiment of Land Reso«rces
« Nodal department created by Ministry of
Rural Development
« Mandate of developing valuable land
resources in India
« Issue- dynamic conservation, sustainable
development and equitable access to
the benefits of intervention
 WALMI
« Institute and research centre in state
for land and water management
« Provides training for efficient
land management to
engineers
« New technology in irrigation and
construction of dams, roads and
canals
 Strategies for sustainabie land
management
« Practices Requiring Change
= Greater Aboriginal involvement and respeu:
= Improved communication:
» Management of commercial auivities.
• Support Required
« recording ecological knowledge
= developing and implementing management plans
for vulnerable resources;
 Strategies tontd...
« Land-use planning
« Flood control
« Urbanization
« Water management
« Long-term funding: ( Mining industry)
Wasteland management
 Soil Pollution
• Soil pollution refers to addition of solid and liquid wastes
to soil creating imbalance in its natural composition and
functions.

« Caused by the presence of xenobiotic (man-made)

chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil
environment

• Also caused by agricultural runoff waters, industrial waste

materials, acidic precipitates, and radioactive fallout
 Continued...
x Pollution of soils with materials, mostly chemicals, that
are out of place or are present at concentrations higher
than normal which may have adverse effects on humans
or other organisms

• Soil pollutants include metals and their compounds, organic

chemicals, oils and tars, pesticides, explosive and toxic
gases, radioactive materials, biologically active materials,
combustible materials, asbestos and other hazardous
materials.

• Released through disposal of domestic and industrial

waste in designated landfills or uncontrolled dumps
 Types of Soil Pollution
Agricultural
. Pollution of surface soil
. Pollution of underground soil
« Soil pollution by industrial effluents and solid
wastes
. Pollution of surface soil
. Disturbances in soil profile
« Pollution due to urban activities
. Pollution of surface soil
. Pollution of underground soil
 Causes
« Increase in urbanization, forests encroached
by construction
« Disposal of non bio degradable wastes
e Agricultural wastes, pesticides, fertilizers
x Unfavorable and harmful irrigation practices- check
more on this pt!!!!!!!
« Mining- piles of coal and slag
« Industrial wastes- chemicals and paints
« Improper treatment of sewage- accumulation of
solid wastes, biomass sludge
 EPects
x Water pollution through seepage to underground level
or contaminated runoff reaches streams or oceans
x Air pollution- release of volatile compounds.Eg.
nitrogen , sulphur
• Sewage sludge- heavy metals, unable to support plant life
x Non water soluble chemicals in soil- accumulate in
food chain
• Uptake of contaminants by plants
• Corrosion of underground pipelines and buildings
x Increased erosion of surface soil
• Reduced crop yields — loss of fertility
 EPects Agricultural
« Reduced soil fertility
« Reduced nitrogen fixation
« Increased erodibility
« Larger loss of soil and nutrients
« Deposition of silt in tanks and reservoirs
« Reduced crop yield
« Imbalance in soil fauna and flora
 EPects - Industrial
« Dangerous chemicals entering
underground water
« Ecological imbalance
« Release of pollutant gases
« Release of radioactive rays causing
health problems
« Increased salinity
« Reduced vegetation
 EPects - Urban
« Clogging of drains
« Inundation of areas
« Public health problems
« Pollution of drinking water sources
« Foul smell and release of gases
« Waste management problems
 EPects - Heal h
x Affects health through contact or through inhalation
of vaporized contaminants
• Contamination of underground water through penetration
« Carcinogenic or congenital disorder- exposure to metals
like chromium, lead, petroleum etc.
• Leukemia- benzene
« Kidney damage- mercury and cyclodienes
x liver changes, kidney changes and depression of the
central nervous system induced by chlorinated solvents
• headache, nausea, fatigue, eye irritation, skin rash or
even death
x Health of soil too is affected !!!
 Control of Soil Pollution
• Ban on use of plastic bags (below 20
microns thickness)ftpiuohy
• Recycling of plastic wastes to
manufacture many ’remake’ items
• Ban on deforestation
• Encouraging forest re-plantation programmes
• Encouraging social and agro
forestry programmes
• Undertaking many pollution
awareness programmes
"The Earth has enough for everybody’s
need but not for everybody’s greed"
Mahatma Gandhi