Skip to main content

Land Degradation: Causes, Impacts, and Interlinks with the Sustainable Development Goals

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Responsible Consumption and Production

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

Synonyms

Climate change; Environment pollution; Land pollution; Soil degradation; Soil erosion

Definitions

Land degradation has been an elusive term in geographical literature and environmental studies because of its association with similar natural occurrences, such as deforestation, desertification, and soil erosion. In an understandable sentence, land degradation is perceived as the impairment of the quality of the land and its surrounding associate elements because of natural or human-made causes. This is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected, and the changes or disturbances to the land and its related components have been identified as deleterious or undesirable for the whole environment and its inhabitants.

Land degradation affects people and ecosystems across the planet. The term can also be referred to as soil degradation, but there are some basic differences between the concepts of land and soil. The land comprises soil and also consists of...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aleksakhin RM (2009) Radioactive contamination as a type of soil degradation. Eurasian Soil Sci 42(12):1386–1396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alloway BJ (ed) (2012) Heavy metals in soils: trace metals and metalloids in soils and their bioavailability, vol 22. Springer Science & Business Media

    Google Scholar 

  • Bai ZG, Dent DL, Olsson L, Schaepman ME (2008) Proxy global assessment of land degradation. Soil Use Manag 24(3):223–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blaikie P, Brookfield H (eds) (2015) Land degradation and society. Routledge

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherlet M, Hutchinson C, Reynolds J, Hill J, Sommer S, Von Maltitz G (eds) (2018) World atlas of desertification: rethinking land degradation and sustainable land management. Publications Office of the European Union

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark M (2012) Deforestation in Madagascar: consequences of population growth and unsustainable agricultural processes. Global Majority E-J 3(1):61–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Dooley E, Roberts E, Wunder S, Sgorbati G, Dotti N, Verschuuren J, … Berthier A (2015) Land degradation neutrality under the SDGs: national and international implementation of the land degradation neutral world target. Elni Rev 1(2):2015

    Google Scholar 

  • ELD Initiative (2015) The value of land quick guide to the report. https://www.greengrowthknowledge.org/sites/default/files/downloads/resource/The_Value_of_Land_Quick_guide_to_the_report.pdf. Retrieved 23 Oct 2020

  • ELD Initiative & UNEP (2015) The economics of land degradation in Africa: benefits of action outweigh the costs. Available from http://www.eld-initiative.org

  • Elmi AA (2017) Food security in the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council States. In: Sustainable agriculture reviews. Springer, Cham, pp 89–114

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Elum ZA, Mopipi K, Henri-Ukoha A (2016) Oil exploitation and its socioeconomic effects on the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23(13):12880–12889

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eswaran H, Lal R, Reich PF (2001) Land degradation: an overview. In: Bridges EM, Hannam ID, Oldeman LR, de Vries FWTP, Scherr SJ, Sompatpanit S (eds) Responses to land degradation. In Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on land degradation and desertification, Khon Kaen, Thailand. Oxford Press, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbey B, Davies J, Metternicht G, Magero C (2019) Taking land degradation neutrality from concept to practice: early reflections on LDN target setting and planning. Environ Sci Pol 100:230–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gisladottir G, Stocking M (2005) Land degradation control and its global environmental benefits. Land Degrad Dev 16(2):99–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giuliani G, Chatenoux B, Benvenuti A, Lacroix P, Santoro M, Mazzetti P (2020) Monitoring land degradation at national level using satellite earth observation time-series data to support SDG15–exploring the potential of data cube. Big Earth Data 4(1):3–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez-Roglich M, Zvoleff A, Noon M, Liniger H, Fleiner R, Harari N, Garcia C (2019) Synergizing global tools to monitor progress towards land degradation neutrality: trends. Earth and the world overview of conservation approaches and technologies sustainable land management database. Environ Sci Policy 93:34–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta GS (2019) Land degradation and challenges of food security. Rev Eur Stud 11:63

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hassan R, Scholes R, Ash N (eds) (2005) Millennium ecosystem assessment: ecosystems and human well-being. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Heger MP, Zens G, Bangalore M (2020) Land and poverty: the role of soil fertility and vegetation quality in poverty reduction. Environ Dev Econ 25(4):315–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilker T, Natsagdorj E, Waring RH, Lyapustin A, Wang Y (2013) Satellite observed widespread decline in Mongolian grasslands largely due to overgrazing. Glob Chang Biol 20(2):418–428

    Google Scholar 

  • International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (2017) Deforestation and forest degradation, issue brief, November. Available at https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/deforestation-and-forest-degradation. Retrieved 08 Oct 2020

  • Issaka S, Ashraf MA (2017) Impact of soil erosion and degradation on water quality: a review. Geol Ecol Landsc 1(1):1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson H, Prince SD (2016) Degradation of net primary production in a semiarid rangeland. Biogeosciences 13(16):4721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khamzina A, Lamers JPA, Worbes M, Botman E, Vlek PLG (2006) Assessing the potential of trees for afforestation of degraded landscapes in the Aral Sea Basin of Uzbekistan. Agrofor Syst 66(2):129–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khor M (1996) Land degradation causes $10 billion loss to South Asia annually. Third World Resurgence:5–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirui OK (2016) Impact of land degradation on household poverty: evidence from a panel data simultaneous equation model (No. 310-2016-5325)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kust G, Andreeva O, Cowie A (2017) Land degradation neutrality: concept development, practical applications and assessment. J Environ Manag 195:16–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz K, Lal R, Ehlers K (2019) Soil organic carbon stock as an indicator for monitoring land and soil degradation in relation to United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Land Degrad Dev 30(7):824–838

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLeman R (2017) Migration and land degradation. Global Land Outlook working paper. UNCCD

    Google Scholar 

  • Milesi O, Jarroud M (2016) Combating desertification and drought soil degradation threatens nutrition in Latin America, IPS News Agency Report. Available at http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/06/soil-degradation-threatens-nutrition-in-latin-america/. Retrieved 03 Oct 2020

  • Minelli S, Erlewein A, Castillo V (2017) Land degradation neutrality and the UNCCD: from political vision to measurable targets. In: International yearbook of soil law and policy 2016. Springer, Cham, pp 85–104

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mirzabaev A, Nkonya E, von Braun J (2015) Economics of sustainable land management. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 15:9–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Motavalli P, Nelson K, Udawatta R, Jose S, Bardhan S (2013) Global achievements in sustainable land management. Int Soil Water Conserv Res 1(1):1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nachtergaele F, Petri M, Biancalani R (2011) Land degradation. SOLAW background thematic report, 3

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunez C (2019) Desertification, explained, National Geographic Environment Reference. Available at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/desertification. Retrieved 11 Oct 2020

  • Oldeman LR, Hakkeling RTA, Sombroek WG (1991) World map of the status of human-induced soil degradation: an explanatory note. Global Assessment of Soil Degradation (GLASOD), 2nd edn. Winand Staring Center, International Society for Soil Science, FAO, International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Science, Wageningen

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacheco FAL, Fernandes LFS, Junior RFV, Valera CA, Pissarra TCT (2018) Land degradation: multiple environmental consequences and routes to neutrality. Curr Opin Environ Sci Health 5:79–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pohit S (2009) Land degradation and trade liberalization: an Indian perspective. Available at SSRN 1457666

    Google Scholar 

  • Prince SD (2016) Where does desertification occur? Mapping dryland degradation at regional to global scales. In R. Behnke & M. Mortimore (Eds.), In The End of Desertification? Disputing Environmental Change in the Drylands. Springer-Praxis Earth System Science Series.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowntree K, Duma M, Kakembo V, Thornes J (2004) Debunking the myth of overgrazing and soil erosion. Land Degrad Dev 15(3):203–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saad AMA, Shariff NM, Gairola S (2011) Nature and causes of land degradation and desertification in Libya: need for sustainable land management. Afr J Biotechnol 10(63):13680–13687

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Safriel UN (2007) The assessment of global trends in land degradation. In: Climate and land degradation. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 1–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Scherr SJ (1999) Poverty-environment interactions in agriculture: key factors and policy implications. United Nations Development Programme

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh K, Pandey VC, Singh B, Singh RR (2012) Ecological restoration of degraded sodic lands through afforestation and cropping. Ecol Eng 43:70–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sonneveld BGJS, Keyzer MA, Ndiaye D (2016) Quantifying the impact of land degradation on crop production: the case of Senegal. Solid Earth 7(1):93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stavi I, Lal R (2015) Achieving zero net land degradation: challenges and opportunities. J Arid Environ 112:44–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton PC, Anderson SJ, Costanza R, Kubiszewski I (2016) The ecological economics of land degradation: impacts on ecosystem service values. Ecol Econ 129:182–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Symeonakis E, Drake N (2004) Monitoring desertification and land degradation over sub-Saharan Africa. Int J Remote Sens 25(3):573–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teketay D (2001) Deforestation, wood famine, and environmental degradation in Ethiopia’s highland ecosystems: urgent need for action. Northeast Afr Stud 8:53–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Lancet P. H (2018) Land degradation: a solution is possible. The Lancet 2(5):e184

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas DS, Middleton NJ (1994) Desertification: exploding the myth. Wiley

    Google Scholar 

  • Tóth G, Hermann T, da Silva MR, Montanarella L (2018) Monitoring soil for sustainable development and land degradation neutrality. Environ Monit Assess 190(2):57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UN Stats (2020). https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/. Retrieved 10 Oct 2020

  • UNCCD (2017a) The global land outlook. Available at https://knowledge.unccd.int/glo/GLO_first_edition. Retrieved 10 Oct 2020

  • UNCCD (2017b) Land degradation neutrality transformative action, tapping opportunities. Available at https://www.unccd.int/publications/land-degradation-neutrality-transformative-action-tapping-opportunities. Retrieved 04 Oct 2020

  • UNCCD (2020). https://www.unccd.int/actions/achieving-land-degradation-neutrality#:~:text=Land%20Degradation%20Neutrality%20(LDN)%20has,and%20spatial%20scales%20and%20ecosystems. Retrieved 10 Oct 2020

  • UNDP (2020) Goal 15: life on land. Available at https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-15-life-on-land.html. Retrieved 05 Oct 2020

  • Uyigue E, Agho M (2007) Coping with climate change and environmental degradation in the Niger Delta of southern Nigeria, vol 1(30). Community Research and Development Centre Nigeria (CREDC)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wessels, K. J., van den Bergh, F., & Scholes, R. J. (2012). Limits to detectability of land degradation by trend analysis of vegetation index data. Remote Sens Environ, 125(0), 10–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2012.06.022

  • World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (2005) Climate and Land Degradation, WMO-No 989. Available at http://www.wamis.org/agm/pubs/brochures/wmo989e.pdf. Retrieved 06 Oct 2020

  • Wunder S, Kaphengst T, Frelih-Larsen A (2018) Implementing land degradation neutrality (SDG 15.3) at national level: general approach, indicator selection and experiences from Germany. In: International yearbook of soil law and policy 2017. Springer, Cham, pp 191–219

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Md Shahidulla Kaiser .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Kaiser, M.S. (2021). Land Degradation: Causes, Impacts, and Interlinks with the Sustainable Development Goals. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P.G., Wall, T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71062-4_48-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71062-4_48-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71062-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71062-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics