Nature is our friend, we have to conserve it and preserve it at its best. We have to take all major steps to prevent the nature from getting destroyed or damaged. As humans, it is our primary duty to save nature and take preventive steps. There are many steps initiated for management of wastage, rather it has been garbage or it has been soil. There are new techniques invented for reusing the things and make the environment cleaner. With rapid urbanization, countries are facing a massive problem of wasteland management. There are major steps taken by the government and the people to increase awareness about wasteland management.
The soil is one of the precious and natural wealth of any country. It takes thousands of years to produce a rich soil which is essential for our environment. Nature usually takes a lot of time for producing the things at its best. With our primary concern and human urge, we need to save the land from it being wasted for the betterment of our future. The soil is the primary source of many primary things either directly or indirectly, we need to conserve it to satisfy our needs for food, fuel, and other things.
Our country is considered as having 329 M.HA of the geographic area where 167 M.Ha is polluted with different kinds of degradation, water erosion, wind erosion, salinity and alkalinity, and flooding. Due to many misuses and deforestation, we have been degraded every year with 2.1 M.Ha land. With an increasing population, there is a need for land which is suitable for cultivation. For that, we need to understand the concept of Wasteland Management and ways to prevent it.
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What is Waste Land Management?
In simple terms Waste Land Management refers to land that is not used due to any obstruction is considered as Waste Land. Land that can either be cultivable or non-cultivable falls under this category of wasteland. Managing these lands for proper use or re-use it for different purposes is known as wasteland management.
With the upcoming technology and advanced procedures, we can contribute towards utilizing the land to its full potential. There are many factors that are responsible along with technology like climate, topography and soil properties that make it suitable for land to be used or reused. It is estimated that the biomass production in the wasteland is below 20% due to which it is not considered suitable for use.
Usually, when a land does not return anything even when yield properly is a wasteland. A land that does not serve any purpose for cultivation falls under this category.
Causes of Wasteland?
Wasteland is caused due to many factors. Areas that are damaged by waterlogging, ravine, gully erosion, riverine lands, salinity, and alkalinity, shifting and sand dunes, wind erosion, extreme moisture deficiency, overexploitation or natural resource, a dump of industrial and sewage wastes, soil erosion, deforestation are some of the causes of wasteland.
Water, wind, man and other source are causing agents for Wasteland. There are two factors of wasteland – Utilisable Waste Land, Un- Utilisable Waste Land. Utilisable Wastelands include marshy lands, saline lands, and undulating lands. Rocky land, Glacier Land and Deserts are part of Un- utilizable wasteland.
How to Improve Wasteland?
- Afforestation on large scale helps to maintain the richness of the soil.
- Soil lacks moisture, so deep irrigation can be made for conserving it.
- Control the water of a river.
- Prohibit grazing or overgrazing.
- Conserving of soil and water by a method of plowing.
- Reforestation can be done where the lands were destroyed due to fires, overgrazing and excessive cutting.
- To prevent the soil erosion, it is better to leave crop residue.
- Running water down the hill erodes and carries the soil with it. It can be reduced by Strip Farming, Terracing, contour plowing.
- To avoid the salinity on affected land, the leaching with more water can be done.
- Crop rotation and cropping of different plants can be done to improve the fertility of the soil.
- Redevelopment of the ecosystem also helps in reclaiming the minerals back to the wasteland.
Beyond prevention and causes, it is important for planning the management of wasteland. Management of wasteland includes the appropriate method of reclamation that should be adopted.
- It is necessary that new strategies should be accepted which include voluntary of people along with government officials.
- Additional strategies should be initiated for increasing agricultural productivity and improving the condition of wastelands by planting more trees.
- Each district or state should be aware of technological causes supporting wasteland and various reclamation measure should be taught.
- There should be a programme started for the greening of wastelands which carries advanced methods for reclamation (reusing) of wastelands along with the structure of planting high-quality seeds.
- Farmers should be encouraged to adopt different ways and techniques to improve wasteland by growing crops of contour ploughing.
Wrapping Up– Although there is a lot of geographical areas available, a small amount of it is usable. There are many places that are become barren due to a climatic condition which does not make it suitable to grow something. For example, Antarctica is the highest, darkest and coldest continent on earth. It is surrounded by ice and strong winds. Due to degradation by many agents, the land is not usable for forestation. There is a threat to Amazon Rainforest in becoming wasteland sooner or later. Each year thousand acres of land is cleared for raising cattle. As cattle has become a secondary source of eating while green food is still at the primary position. Waste lands can be a cause of fast spreading diseases in your locality. Gift yourself a good health by using this land for some positive activities that can help in conservation of environment and save your locality from getting any infections. Utilize your wasteland today so that you can contribute in some way towards maintaining a healthy society and healthy land.
Also Read: The Urban Renewal, What is Urban Growth
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