Sustainable Land Management

Molla Mekonnen Alemu

doi:10.4236/jep.2016.74045

Abstract

In one way or another, one out of three people are being affected by land degradation. It is estimated that, about every year, 75 billion tonnes of soil material are being lost worldwide as a result of land degradation. Recent findings also showed that about 2 billion hectares of land were severely degraded, in some cases in an irreversible way, all these caused a severe damage to local ecologies as well as contributed a lot for climate change and its associated effects on the wellbeing of humanity. Apart from this, the major portion of most developing countries population are still dependent on the un-mechanized and primitive forms agriculture, livestock production, forestry and fishery, and their livelihood and options for economic development are directly linked to the quality of the land and its resources. The objective of this article is to reaffirm the role of Sustainable Land Management in the process of agricultural development, the main source of livelihood in the developing countries. The paper initially explored the basic concept and principles of sustainable management. Causes of land degradation, the prime challenge of sustainable land management and development are also dealt in detail.

Highlights

Sustainable Land Management is the use of land resources such as soils, water, animals and plants for the production of goods; to meet changing human needs; while assuring the long-term productive potential of these resources, and the maintenance of their environmental functions [1]-[3]
Sustainable Land Management is an approach which deals with the basic components of the global life support system
The indigenous technical knowledge on the conservation of natural capital reveals that, the un-sustained use of land resources coupled with land degradation is not always necessarily associated with low level of awareness on land management, it at times is associated with social, political and economic factors that determine the informed choice of land users in a sustainable way

Summary

Introduction

The concept of Sustainable Land Management can be defined as the use of land resources such as soils, water, animals and plants for the production of goods to meet changing human needs while assuring the long-term productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their environmental functions. Sustainable land management is the foundation of sustainable agriculture and a strategic component of sustainable development and poverty alleviation [1]-[3]. It is a general fact that agricultural productivity and production must be increased and intensified on land, which is already brought under cultivation. Their livelihood and options for economic development are directly linked to the quality of the land and its resources [4]

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Conclusion