RAWALPINDI, June 16: As the World Day to Combat Desertification is being observed on Tuesday, the government says it has launched a full-scale project on sustainable land management (SLM) to combat desertification. The programme is being implemented for a period of two years from 2008 to 2009 to protect and restore ecosystem and essential ecosystem services that are key to reducing poverty.

Official sources told Dawn that the project was being implemented in two phases: with the first phase focused on creating an enabling environment for SLM and piloting innovation, and the second phase drawing lessons learned to deepen the policy and institutional commitment to SLM and completing demonstration projects that can later be scaled up and replicated.

One of the principal natural resources that Pakistan is endowed with is arable land. About 28 per cent of country’s total land area is under cultivation and is watered by one of the largest irrigation systems in the world. Despite the existence of good irrigation canal network, Pakistan still suffers from wastage of a large amount of water in the irrigation process.

In addition, out of a total land area of 79.6 million hectares, only 16 million hectares are suitable for irrigated farming. Hence, majority of the people depend on arid and semi- arid areas to support their livelihoods through agro-pastoral activities.

Persistent water logging, salinisation and sodicity is continuously reducing the productivity of fertile soil in the country. Official estimates show that about 38 per cent of Pakistan’s irrigated land is water logged, 14 per cent is saline and the application of agricultural chemicals has increased by a factor of almost 10 per cent since 1980.

Land degradation is mainly due to four major causes: water erosion, wind erosion, salinity, sodicity and water logging. Pakistan like most of the developing world is faced with the challenges of land degradation and desertification, which are causing environmental problems, including soil erosion, loss of soil fertility, flash floods, salinity, deforestation and associated loss of biodiversity and carbon sequestration. About 11.2 million hectares, mostly northern mountain regions, are affected by water erosion. According to an estimate, about two million hectares are affected by water logging and around six million hectares by salinity and sodicity. Wind erosion is another issue concerning land degradation. About three to five million hectares of land is affected by wind erosion in arid regions of Punjab (Cholistan), Sindh (Tharparkar) and Balochistan (Chagai desert and sand areas along the coast).