Desertification is one of the most leading problems of the world. In this presentation, I have presented what actually desertification is, its reasons, and measures to prevent it.

1. DESERTIFICATION Prepared by Megh Shah
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2. DESERTIFICATION: A GREAT
PROBLEM
Desertification is defined as a process of converting dry and non -
productive land into deserts. It is also known as land degradation.
According to Central Arid Zone Research Institute – a government
organization working on desert land, 328 MHA geographical available
land of India has its 1/3 land constitutes dry and arid which is
increasing every year.
90% of land in Kutch and Saurashtra is under effect of desertification
process.
It is an environmental problem and posing a threat for survival of
biological and human life.
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3. DESERTIFICATION IN KUTCH AND
SAURASHTRA
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4. RATE OF DESERTIFICATION PER
INDIAN STATE 2011-13
14.35
1.84
9.14
7.38
16.36
60.6
52.13
52.29
7.67
43.01
35.86
68.98
36.24
9.77
12.34
44.93
26.96
22.06
8.89
47.45
34.06
2.87
62.9
11.1
11.87
31.34
41.69
6.35
12.12
19.54
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Andhra…
Arunachal…
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal…
Jammu
and…
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya…
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil
Nadu
Telengana
Tripura
Uttar
Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West
Bengal
RATE OF DESERTIFICATION PER INDIAN STATE
2011-13(IN PERCENTAGE)
Series 1
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5. REASONS FOR DESERTIFICATION
I. When semi arid land comes under influence of human habitation
and excessive animal grazing, the land ultimately looses fertility
and gets converted into a non-fertile desert land.
II. When salty water of coastal area are swept on fertile land, the land
looses its fertility and becomes desert. This is a natural process
called ‘Sea Water Ingress’ in which sea water permeates into fertile
land. This problem is prevalent in coastal area of Kutch and
Saurashtra regions.
III. When fertility of land is continuously extracted through respective
crops and farming and it is not compensated by fertilizers and
manures, the land looses its fertility. Thus, it becomes desert land.
IV. Erosion of soil by wind and moving streams of water is also one of
the reason for desertification.
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6. MEASURES TO PREVENT
DESERTIFICATION
1. Rain water must be conserved by check dams and water harvesting and must
be allowed to penetrate into land.
2. Sea water must be collected in check dams to prevent the sea water ingress.
3. Dry lad forestry must be employed and acacia and cactus varieties of trees
must be planted. This trees requires very less water.
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