Living Land

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Wasteland rehabilitation for sustainable

agriculture in the Indian Himalayan region

G.C.S. Negi, Scientist E; P.P. Dhyani, Director; and R.C. Sundriyal, Scientist F,

Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, India

and degradation is a global problem caused by

a variety of factors and processes including soil

erosion by water/wind and deterioration in the

physical, chemical and biological properties of soil.

These lead to long-term loss of the productive capacity

of land, biodiversity and associated ecosystem goods

and services. In India, land degradation estimates vary,

ranging from 53-188 million hectares.

In the Indian Himalayan region (IHR), which extends

over 2,500 km in length and 240 km in width, waste-

lands account for about 34 per cent, and the area under

wasteland varies from one state to another. This is mainly

because about 22 per cent of land in the IHR is either

under snow or barren, and does not support any biologi-

cal growth. Out of 59 million hectares total geographical

area of IHR, 7.3 million hectares are degraded commu-

nity land, 13.5 million hectares are degraded government

forests, and 1.2 million hectares are abandoned agricultural

land. Of the 23 wasteland categories,

those such as land

with open and dense scrub, current and abandoned shift-

ing cultivation area, underutilized/degraded forest scrub,

agriculture land inside notified forest land, and degraded

pastures/grazing land comprise a total of 32 per cent of

the IHR area, and these can be rehabilitated for biomass

production and to reduce the pace of soil erosion. This

region is thus faced with increasing land degradation and

wasteland generation and reduced livelihood opportuni-

ties. For example, during 2005/06 and 2008/09 remarkable

increases in land with dense scrub (3 per cent), open scrub

(18 per cent), degraded pasture (15 per cent) and mining

wasteland (6.8 per cent) have been recorded in the region.

However, decreases ranging from 0.4 per cent to 33 per

cent in all other categories of wasteland have also been

recorded during this period.

Subsistence agriculture is the mainstay of rural people in

the IHR. The majority of holdings are marginal (<2 ha), and

agriculture is heavily dependent on the surrounding forests

and pastures for a variety of ecosystem services such as

fodder for livestock; forest floor litter for livestock bedding

and fertilizing the crop fields; wood for fuel; agricultural

implements and other minor timber needs. Furthermore,

people derive a variety of wild edibles and raw materials for

cottage industries from the forests that generate income and

employment and contribute to livelihoods. Thus continu-

ing biotic pressure on various categories of land year-round

Image: GBPIHED

A community pasture land taken up for silvi-pasture development: note the

trenches dug along contours for soil and rainwater conservation

Silvi-pasture developed on a community wasteland

iving

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