Degraded soils

Soil degradation: largely due to human activity

Soil degradation is the gradual decline of soil properties. In agricultural land, for example, productivity diminishes, posing a major problem for the food supply. International organisations such as the FAO and the UNEP have flagged this problem for years, but far from improving, the situation is currently deteriorating.

Soil degradation may spring from natural causes linked to topography or climate. However, human, or “anthropogenic”, causes are far more common: inappropriate farming or livestock practices (overuse) and destruction of the ground cover, especially in tropical regions.

The world map of anthropogenic soil degradation shows 4 types of soil degradation: light, moderate, strong, and extreme. The indicator “degraded soils” furnishes the percentage of strong and extreme soil degradation affecting the land area of each country, in relation to the country’s total land area.

However, since this soil degradation map was made on a global scale (1:10,000,000) and in such a way that affected regions can not be identified in detail, the results are exaggerated, sometimes greatly so, in comparison to real reported figures. According to the map, soil degradation in Bulgaria is 100%, whereas in reality, a more detailed study of the situation reveals that only 32% of the country’s total land area is affected by strong or extreme soil degradation.

Moreover, it should be noted that desert regions are generally not considered degraded. Thus, soil degradation in Mauritius totals 16% even though 73% of the country is mapped as desert.

Some fifteen countries report 99 to 100% soil degradation, mainly: Eastern Europe (6 countries); Central America and the Caribbean (4); and Lesotho. On the other hand, 18 countries report no soil degradation. They are located principally in Africa (8), Western Europe (3), and Oceania (3).