Soil Management in Konkan
Soil Management in Konkan
Introduction to soil management
Soil is non renewable natural resource which supports life on earth. It needs to be managed successfully to support sustainable development. It is growing in economic importance because of a broader environmental agenda.
Poor soil management in many regions, including parts Konkan and western Maharashtra, has progressively degraded productive soils. This is putting our food security at risk in the context of a growing and increasingly wealthy global population.
The National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning estimated that about 86% of land area in western Ghats and 75% in the Konkan coast suffer from sever to strong soil erosion. Land degradation reduces the productivity of land and total loss to the state economy from soil erosion is estimated at Rs 30billion (Rural Development and water conservation Department, GoM)
It is estimated that world’s 1/6th of have already been degraded by water or wind erosion.
This has two important consequences; firstly, the reduced ability of society to produce sufficient food due to loss of quality and depth of soils; and secondly, the offsite pollution effects connected with soil erosion. These include siltation of dams, pollution of watercourses by strong agricultural chemicals and damage to properties by soil-laden runoff.
Konkan region is bestowed with unique biodiversity and is situated on the western side of Maharashtra State having hilly topography accompanied with heavy rainfall concentrated in very small span of 90 to 100 days. The problem of soil degradation and erosion is further aggravated due to 720km long coastline and mining activities and Sindhudurga and Ratnagiri Districts.
Hence it was thought necessary to do a systematic study of the soil management in Konkan area which is a coastal strip of land bounded by the Sahyadri hills on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. Maharashtra's Konkan area consists of Raigad, Ratnagiri,
Introduction to soil management
Soil is non renewable natural resource which supports life on earth. It needs to be managed successfully to support sustainable development. It is growing in economic importance because of a broader environmental agenda.
Poor soil management in many regions, including parts Konkan and western Maharashtra, has progressively degraded productive soils. This is putting our food security at risk in the context of a growing and increasingly wealthy global population.
The National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning estimated that about 86% of land area in western Ghats and 75% in the Konkan coast suffer from sever to strong soil erosion. Land degradation reduces the productivity of land and total loss to the state economy from soil erosion is estimated at Rs 30billion (Rural Development and water conservation Department, GoM)
It is estimated that world’s 1/6th of have already been degraded by water or wind erosion.
This has two important consequences; firstly, the reduced ability of society to produce sufficient food due to loss of quality and depth of soils; and secondly, the offsite pollution effects connected with soil erosion. These include siltation of dams, pollution of watercourses by strong agricultural chemicals and damage to properties by soil-laden runoff.
Konkan region is bestowed with unique biodiversity and is situated on the western side of Maharashtra State having hilly topography accompanied with heavy rainfall concentrated in very small span of 90 to 100 days. The problem of soil degradation and erosion is further aggravated due to 720km long coastline and mining activities and Sindhudurga and Ratnagiri Districts.
Hence it was thought necessary to do a systematic study of the soil management in Konkan area which is a coastal strip of land bounded by the Sahyadri hills on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. Maharashtra's Konkan area consists of Raigad, Ratnagiri,