Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India

India is the seventh largest country in the world with 328.72 million hectares (mha) of area. The report states that 94.53 mha (28.76 per cent of the total area) was undergoing land degradation in 2003-05, and 96.4 mha (29.32 per cent) in 2011-13.

States that contribute most to India’s land degradation are – in descending order – Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. Desertified lands in these states accounted for 23.64 per cent of India’s total area in 2003-2005, and 23.95 per cent in 2011-2013.

More than half of the land in Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Rajasthan, was experiencing land degradation in the given time frames. The area under desertification was less then 10 per cent in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Kerala, Mizoram, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Water erosion is the leading cause of desertification in the country (contributing 10.98 per cent of desertified area in 2011-2013; 10.83 per cent in 2003-2005), followed by vegetation degradation (8.91 per cent in 2011-2013; 8.60 per cent in 2003-2005) and wind erosion (5.55 per cent in 2011-2013; 5.58 per cent in 2003-2005).

Anthropogenic causes – mining, brick kilns and so forth – account for the least amount of land degradation in India; 0.12 per cent in 2011-13 and 0.11 per cent in 2003-05.

Rajasthan has the second highest rate of area under land degradation among all states. Yet it contributes the highest amount of desertified land to India’s total area. The main reason for land degradation is wind erosion, which accounted for 44.8 per cent of desertification in the state in 2003-05, and 44.41 per cent in 2011-13.

Jharkhand recorded the highest percentage of desertified area among the states. About 67.97 per cent of its total area was undergoing land degradation in 2003-05, and 68.98 per cent in 2011-13. The report notes an increase of 1.01 percentage points in the state’s area under desertification during this time.

Sikkim contributes the least amount of desertified land to India’s total area. Since 2003-05, the state’s area under land degradation has shown a marginal increase. The main cause for this is vegetation degradation, which accounted for 10.46 per cent of the state’s desertified area in 2003-05, and 10.47 per cent in 2011-2013.

Of all states, Arunachal Pradesh had the least proportion of its area under degradation – 1.63 per cent in 2003-05 and 1.84 per cent for 2011-13. The report notes an increase of 0.21 percentage points in the state’s area under desertification during this time.

Delhi recorded the highest percentage increase in desertified area between 2003-05 and 2011-13 among all states. The report attributes this 11.03 percentage point difference to rise in urbanisation. Area occupied by settlements in the union territory increased from 42.61 per cent in 2003-05 to 53.64 per cent in 2011-13.

Uttar Pradesh reclaimed 0.3 million hectares of land under desertification between 2003-05 and 2011-13 – the highest amount of reclaimed area out of all states.

Focus and Factoids by Rohan Datta.