India's soil biodiversity

INDIA'S SOIL BIODIVERSITY

India’s soil biodiversity is in grave peril, according to the

Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas, prepared by the World Wide

Fund for Nature. 

India’s soil biodiversity is in grave peril, according to the

Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas, prepared by the World Wide

Fund for Nature.

Risk Index

The WWF’s risk index’s for the globe - indicating threats

from loss of above-ground diversity, pollution and nutrient

over-loading, over-grazing, intensive agriculture, fire, soil ero-

sion, desertification and climate change - shows India among

countries whose soil biodiversity faces the highest level of risk.

Coloured red on the Atlas, these include Pakistan, China,

several countries in Africa and Europe, and most of North

America.

Status of Soil Biodiversity

Soil biodiversity encompasses the presence of micro-organ- 

isms, micro-fauna (nematodes and tardigrades for example),

and macro-fauna (ants, termites and earthworms).

The population of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and

reptiles have dwindled by an average of 60% from 1970 to

2014, and fresh-water species have declined by 83% in the

same period.

Since 1960, the global ecological footprint has increased

by more than 190 %. Globally, the extent of wetlands was

estimated to have declined by 87% since 1970.

Drivers of Biodiversity Loss

The two key drivers of biodiversity loss were the over

exploitation of natural resources and agriculture.

While India's per capita ecological footprint was less than

1.75 hectares/person (which is in the lowest band, among 

 countries surveyed) its high population made it vulnerable to

an ecological crisis, even if per-capita consumption remained

at current levels.

Addressing the Challenges

To address these challenges, the WWF suggests three

necessary steps: "clearly specifying a goal for biodiversity

recovery, developing a set of measurable and relevant indica-

tors of progress; and agreeing on a suite of actions that can

collectively achieve the goal in the required time frame."

The Impacts of Land Degradation

Land degradation is the persistent reduction of the capacity

of the land to support both biodiversity and human needs. It

takes many forms, including the loss of soil, or soil health, in

croplands; loss of habitat and hydrological function in urban

areas; deforestation or over-logging in forests; overgrazing

and shrub encroachment in rangelands; and drainage and

eutrophication in wetlands.

In March 2018, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodi-

versity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released its latest Land

Degradation and Restoration Assessment (LDRA), finding

that only a quarter of land on Earth is substantively free of the

impacts of human activities. By 2050 this fraction is projected

to decline to just a tenth. Wetlands are the most impacted

category, having lost 87% of their extent in the modern era.

The immediate causes of land degradation are typically

local - the inappropriate management of the land resource- 

but the underlying drivers are often regional or global. The

key driver is the growing demand for ecosystem-derived

products, beyond the declining capacity of ecosystems

supply them

The consequences of land degradation are also both local

and global:

For instance, there is a complex interaction between degra

dation, poverty, conflict and the migration of people. Degraded

land often bleeds sediments and nutrients into rivers, or sports

windborne dust to distant locations. Loss of habitat is the key

driver of declining terrestrial biodiversity worldwide, and

land degradation is a big contributor to global climate change

In the opinion of the LDRA expert authors, most of the UN

Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved unless land

degradation is simultaneously addressed

Preventing degradation is much cheaper in the long run

than permitting it, and then later paying for the impacts and

restoration:

In many landscapes we no longer have that choice. Yet.

there is hope. In all ecosystems assessed, examples of suc

cessful damage rehabilitation can be found. Rehabilitating

damaged lands is cost-effective despite the high initial price, if

the full long-term costs and benefits to society are considered

Many of the necessary actions are at the policy level - locally.

nationally and internationally. Coordinated, urgent action is

needed to slow and reverse the pervasive undermining of the

basis of life on Earth.

Risk Index

The WWF’s risk index’s for the globe - indicating threats

from loss of above-ground diversity, pollution and nutrient

over-loading, over-grazing, intensive agriculture, fire, soil ero-

sion, desertification and climate change - shows India among

countries whose soil biodiversity faces the highest level of risk.

Coloured red on the Atlas, these include Pakistan, China,

several countries in Africa and Europe, and most of North

America.

Status of Soil Biodiversity

Soil biodiversity encompasses the presence of micro-organ- 

isms, micro-fauna (nematodes and tardigrades for example),

and macro-fauna (ants, termites and earthworms).

The population of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and

reptiles have dwindled by an average of 60% from 1970 to

2014, and fresh-water species have declined by 83% in the

same period.

Since 1960, the global ecological footprint has increased

by more than 190 %. Globally, the extent of wetlands was

estimated to have declined by 87% since 1970.

Drivers of Biodiversity Loss

The two key drivers of biodiversity loss were the over

exploitation of natural resources and agriculture.

While India's per capita ecological footprint was less than

1.75 hectares/person (which is in the lowest band, among 

 countries surveyed) its high population made it vulnerable to

an ecological crisis, even if per-capita consumption remained

at current levels.

Addressing the Challenges

To address these challenges, the WWF suggests three

necessary steps: "clearly specifying a goal for biodiversity

recovery, developing a set of measurable and relevant indica-

tors of progress; and agreeing on a suite of actions that can

collectively achieve the goal in the required time frame."

The Impacts of Land Degradation

Land degradation is the persistent reduction of the capacity

of the land to support both biodiversity and human needs. It

takes many forms, including the loss of soil, or soil health, in

croplands; loss of habitat and hydrological function in urban

areas; deforestation or over-logging in forests; overgrazing

and shrub encroachment in rangelands; and drainage and

eutrophication in wetlands.

In March 2018, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodi-

versity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released its latest Land

Degradation and Restoration Assessment (LDRA), finding

that only a quarter of land on Earth is substantively free of the

impacts of human activities. By 2050 this fraction is projected

to decline to just a tenth. Wetlands are the most impacted

category, having lost 87% of their extent in the modern era.

The immediate causes of land degradation are typically

local - the inappropriate management of the land resource- 

but the underlying drivers are often regional or global. The

key driver is the growing demand for ecosystem-derived

products, beyond the declining capacity of ecosystems

supply them

The consequences of land degradation are also both local

and global:

For instance, there is a complex interaction between degra

dation, poverty, conflict and the migration of people. Degraded

land often bleeds sediments and nutrients into rivers, or sports

windborne dust to distant locations. Loss of habitat is the key

driver of declining terrestrial biodiversity worldwide, and

land degradation is a big contributor to global climate change

In the opinion of the LDRA expert authors, most of the UN

Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved unless land

degradation is simultaneously addressed

Preventing degradation is much cheaper in the long run

than permitting it, and then later paying for the impacts and

restoration:

In many landscapes we no longer have that choice. Yet.

there is hope. In all ecosystems assessed, examples of suc

cessful damage rehabilitation can be found. Rehabilitating

damaged lands is cost-effective despite the high initial price, if

the full long-term costs and benefits to society are considered

Many of the necessary actions are at the policy level - locally.

nationally and internationally. Coordinated, urgent action is

needed to slow and reverse the pervasive undermining of the

basis of life on Earth.