Desertification and its control: released on the occasion of the un conference of desertifiction, NAIROBI 29 August-9 September, 1977

THE arid zone of India occupies an area of 3.2 lakh sq km of hot desert, mostly in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Karnataka and 0.7 lakh sq km of cold desert in Ladakh. In Ladakh, extreme aridity combined with low temperature limits the possibility of growing crops to about 5 months in a year. Hence, the strategy for agricultural development in Ladakh has to depend largely on the cul tivation of quick-growing cereals, oilseeds and fodder crops and the rearing of goats, giving Pashmina wool. The hot desert regions, in contrast, have an abundance of sunshine, land and soils capable of respon ding to management, well-adapted grasses and trees, excellent breeds of sheep, goat and cattle, and considerable reserves of ground-water. Water and not land, is the principal limiting factor and hence all attempts have to be focused on maximi sing income per litre of water. This will be possible only if the ecological balance is not further disturbed and a proper land use pattern is adopted.

Let me cite three examples to illustrate the trends which are aggravating the un favourable consequences of aridity. First, the area used exclusively for grazing in Western Rajasthan has dropped from 13.09 million hectares to 11.04 million hectares during 1951-61, while the popu lation of grazing animals increased during the same period from 9.4 millions to 14.4 millions. The same trend of diminishing grazing area and rapidly expanding graz ing population is persisting. Secondly, while most of the land in the arid zone is fit only for forestry or range management, land is increasingly being brought under cropping. The areas cropped rose from 26 per cent in 1960 to 38 per cent in 1970, thus extending cultivation even to sub marginal areas. Thirdly, the area under forests is only 2 per cent although the ex tent of land classified under barren un cultivable waste is 28 per cent and cultu ral waste is 18 per cent, all of which could be planted with tree species like Acacia tortilis, Prosopis juliflora and Eucalyptus sp. Fruit trees like ber (Zizyphus mauritiana) and pomegranate can also be grown.