11% of Kerala's total geographic area being desertified: Data

KOCHI: Blame it on human activities or climate change, nearly 4,22,299 hectares in the state, or about 11% of its total geographic area, is undergoing desertification or degradation as of 2018-19. This degradation leads to biodiversity loss, food insecurity, water shortages and increased human-wildlife conflicts - a hot topic in the state now.
Around 30% of India's total geographical area is undergoing desertification or degradation, minister of state for environment and forests Kirti Vardhan Singh recently stated in the Rajya Sabha in reply to a query from TMC's Derek O'Brien. Among states and UTs, desertification and land degradation (DLD) are the highest in Jharkhand (68.77%), followed by Rajasthan (62.06%), Delhi (61.73%), Goa (52.64%), Gujarat (52.22%) and Nagaland (50%) in 2018-19, according to govt data.

The data indicates a rising trend in Kerala as well. According to the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India, the affected land in the state was 9.54% in 2003-05, increasing to 9.77% in 2011-13. By 2018-19, it had risen to 10.87% - an increase of over 1% in just five years. Much of this degradation is occurring in forested areas, posing challenges to both humans and wildlife.
Land-use changes cause lasting impact
Experts said the main driver is drastic and unscientific land-use changes due to anthropogenic activities. “Forest areas have been converted into plantations, particularly rubber and eucalyptus, without scientific management practices. The Western Ghats is an ancient landmass and its vegetation is also very old. In this tropical forest, often called a living fossil, natural regeneration of vegetation is very poor, so even small disturbances have a huge impact. When desertification occurs, the natural habitat for wildlife is also affected, leading to human-wildlife conflicts. A scientific and interdisciplinary approach, involving society, is needed to restore biodiversity,” Kerala State Biodiversity Board chairman N Anil Kumar said.
Besides human intervention, geohazard experts note that natural hazards also contribute to desertification.
“The intensified and in creased frequency of landslides, mainly due to extreme weather events such as excessive rainfall, significantly contribute to natural slope failures and, consequently, deforestation or destruction of natural vegetation. Excessive soil erosion along vulnerable slopes has also led to the washing away of forest vegetation. Man-made private forests of rubber, coffee and tea plantations reduce the density of green cover and destroy natural ecosystems and biodiversity, as highlighted in the Madhav Gadgil and Kasturirangan committee reports on the destruction of Western Ghats,” said Sudesh Kumar Wadhawan, former director general of the Geological Survey of India.
Can the damage be mitigated? Dr Joji V S, who served in the Central Ground Water Board, said strengthening afforestation efforts, improving water management and implementing artificial water harvesting methods are necessary to reduce the impact.