Measures needed to Combat Desertification

 

A comprehensive study at the country level on land degradation/ desertification, covering all its aspects ranging from the physical to economic, is absent. However, it is clear that the quality of land has deteriorated, and its impacts are visible. Over the last decade, crop yield has declined due to deterioration of physical and chemical properties of land and soil. It would be useful to establish a baseline survey on which future monitoring and assessment or further deterioration or improvement could be based.

 

The country has a number of policies to deal with land degradation, but with limited implementation. The existing policies must be implemented, and a number of new activities should be undertaken in the immediate future to address land degradation.

The Convention (UNCCD) states that efforts to combat desertification must be integral components of national development strategies and national environmental planning. Development of comprehensive action programs to combat desertification should include strategies for alleviating poverty because these two goals complement one another. The country has identified the factors that contribute to desertification in the relevant socioeconomic, biological, and geophysical context; and called for practical measures for combating desertification in the following priority fields.

 

(i) combating land degradation through, inter alia, intensified soil conservation, afforestation and reforestation activities;
(ii) encourage the creation of large scale reforestation and afforestation schemes, vegetation retention schemes and community-based agro-forestry schemes;
(iii) promote in-situ protection and conservation of special ecological areas through legislation, while ensuring the protection of biodiversity;
(iv) promote and encourage investment in forestry development through various incentives, including legislative measures and their implementation;
(v) ecosystem Management of drought prone areas i.e. Madhupur and Barind Tract, and other areas;
(vi) development of water catchments, water harvesting and rainwater harvesting in the vulnerable areas;
(vii) undertaking of silvo-agroforestry program for regeneration of degraded land, prevention of land degradation, seasonal harvesting of vegetation etc. in the dry region;

(viii) improvement of ground water system through wetland conservation and management in the Chalan Beel area;
(viii) sustainable management of natural resources which may include promoting improved management of water resources and appropriate water saving technologies;
(ix) establishment and preservation of grassland in the marginal areas as part of the soil conservation measures;
(x) development of ecologically sustainable agricultural practice to introduce appropriate; environmentally sound and economically feasible agricultural techniques;
(xi) improvement of the framework for poverty reduction and food security;
(xii) harnessing and efficient use of various energy sources;
(xiii) creation of favorable institutional and legal frameworks;
(xiv) strengthening of facilities for systematic monitoring and evaluation of desertification process;
(xv) strengthening the knowledge base and developing information and monitoring systems for regions prone to desertification and drought, including the economic and social aspects of these ecosystems;
(xvi) promotion of research on desertification control and management of the effects of drought;

(xvii) promote understanding and arrangements among neighbouring countries which shares common rivers so that as a downstream country Bangladesh gets her due share of water for her economic use as well as for prevention of land degradation, drought, desertification and loss of biodiversity;
(xviii) encouraging and promoting popular participation and environmental education.

 

There are two major constraints in preventing land degradation. The first one is tile high population pressure on land, especially in the west and northwest parts or the country. In these regions, tile exploitation or biomass due to a prevalent energy crisis appears to have exceeded the carrying capacity of the land, and led to encroachment on natural forests in the Barind and Madhupur Tracts. The second constraint is the absence of a comprehensive national land use policy. However, a draft land use policy has emerged as the follow-up program of NEMAP, is in place for wider discussion and government approvals. It needs to be emphasized that a plan to prevent land degradation must begin, strengthening of knowledge regarding the susceptible areas.

 

Source: National Report On Implementation Of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Bangladesh (Final Draft)