Lanterna Rally

Author: Mwanjalolo J.G. Majaliwa

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

Land degradation is a major environmental issue that affects rural livelihoods and the well-being of inhabitants by substantially impacting the sustainability of food production and other ecosystem services as well as rural infrastructures that are essential to the prosperity of these communities. Land degradation refers to the human-induced reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of land, which is most often attributed to poor land management practices and unsustainable land use. Land degradation consists of a multitude of processes including deforestation, soil erosion, and increased sedimentation, among others. These processes interact in concert to cause severe environmental impacts such as the reduction of biomass and biodiversity, nutrient depletion of soils, loss of organic matter in soil, reduction in soil structure and quality, and destruction of rural infrastructure such as roads or dams, to name a few. The effects of land degradation, both onsite and offsite, are widespread and linked. The onsite consequences include loss of productivity, reductions in resilience leading to higher variability in yields and vulnerability to extreme weather conditions, and a reduction in the capacity to adapt to climate change while the off-site consequences are global or regional, such as increased carbon emissions and poor water regulation, resulting in floods, sedimentation and reduced base flow downstream. After the introductory chapter, chapter two presents an overview of soil erosion, land degradation and SLWM practices in the LVB. Chapter three first introduces the case study area - the Simiyu catchment and its constituencies, and then the methodology used. Key findings and results regarding the effectiveness of the various SLWM practices are discussed in chapter four. Chapter five presents monitoring and evaluation frameworks and soil erosion indicators. Chapter six summarizes the recommendations resulting from the case study.