Land degradation: India

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Delhi

As in 2022

Priyangi Agarwal, June 3, 2022: The Times of India

Land degradation in Indian states, 2022
From: June 3, 2022: The Times of India

See graphic:

Land degradation in Indian states, 2022

DELHI

New Delhi: The “State of India’s Environment 2022”, a report released by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Thursday, stated that nearly 62% of land in Delhi was under degradation. Almost 30% of India’s geographical area is under degradation. 
 The report said degradation meant decline in productivity of land in terms of biodiversity and economy triggered by various factors, including climate and human-induced factors. 
Rajit Sengupta, assistant editor, Down to Earth, and one of the authors of the report, said land degradation denoted deterioration or loss of soil productivity for the present and future. “In India, agricultural land (46%) and forests (22%) are the two most common kinds of land getting degraded. It affects us all and leads to food insecurity through lower yields and climate change as degraded land releases soil carbon and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere,” he added.

Delhi (25%) is among 14 states that have seen over 10% rise in the share of degraded land between 2003-05 and 2018-19. Among the states that have seen the most degradation, five are in the Northeast. Land in Mizoram (188%), Punjab (80%), Arunachal Pradesh (47%), Assam (46%), Tripura (37%) and Nagaland (29%) degraded the most between 2003-05 and 2018-19. Over 3 million hectares of additional land degraded in India during the same period.

Of the 15 sustainable development goals (SDGs), Delhi remains off-track in six — zero hunger, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, climate action, responsible consumption and production and peace, justice and strong institutions. “Delhi’s performance has deteriorated on 13 indicators spread across eight SDGs. These include dropout rate at secondary education level, crimes against women, sex ratio and share of industries complying with waste water treatment norms. The capital has set up nine working groups and a steering committee for review and monitoring of SDGs,” the report stated.

The e-publication is brought out every year in June by CSE and Down To Earth magazine to mark World Environment Day on June 5.

The other key aspect highlighted in the report was pollution levels continuing to remain high in Delhi. The average annual and 24-hour limit of PM10 levels was found at 243 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3). However, the target of India is to bring down PM10 levels to 80 µg/m3.

In Delhi, only around 80% of municipal solid waste was treated. Only 50% of wards were using waste segregation techniques.