LAND RESOURCES-NEED FOR
LAND USE POLICY
Mridula Singh*
Additional Director, State
Land Use board, Planning Department,
Govt. of U.P. Yojana Bhawan, Lucknow.
Introduction
Today the research focus is on the
dynamics of land use. Land represents an important
resource for the economic life of a majority of people in
the world. The way people handle and use land resource
is decisive for their social and economic well-being as
well as for the sustained quality of land resources. Land
use however is not only a realm of those directly using it;
it is exposed to a part of the wider reality of social and
economic development and change. Land use therefore
is a highly dynamic process. This implies that policy
discussion and development planning need to be based
on a sound understanding of these dynamics.
If, in the future, human requirements are to be met in a sustainable
manner, it is essential to resolve these conflicts now and move towards more
effective and efficient use of land and natural resources. Integrated physical
land-use planning and management are an eminently practical way to
achieve this. By examining all uses of land in an integrated manner, it
makes it possible to minimize conflicts, to make the most efficient trade-offs
and to link social and economic development with environmental protection
and enhancement, thus helping to achieve the objectives of sustainable
development. The essence of the integrated approach finds expression in
the coordination of the sectoral planning and management activities
concerned with the various aspects of land use and land resources. Land
resources are used for a variety of purposes which interact and may
compete with one another, therefore, it is desirable to plan and manage all
uses in an integrated manner. Integration should take place at two levels,
considering, on the one hand, all environmental, social and economic factors
and on the other, all environmental and resource components together (i.e.,
air, water, biota, land geological and natural resources). Integrated
consideration facilitates appropriate choices and trade-offs, thus maximizing
sustainable productivity and use.
Case for Land Use Policy
It is well established now that 80% of the world’s population lives in
countries where agriculture and land are primary sources of learning and
livelihood. In these countries the rising trend of land degradation is a distinct
feature. Deforestation, inadequate land use, unsuitable farming and grazing
practices, demographic pressure, lack of appropriate and improved
technologies, poor markets and other legal institutional faults are the main
cause of this. And this is, indeed, a concern for all in terms of food security and
sustainable development.
Conflict over land use is inevitable. The rise in population puts more
pressure on arable land, grazing, forestry, wild life, tourism and urban
development. It is estimated that the population dependent on land for food,
fuel and employment will double within next 50 years. Most of the land available
to meet current and future food requirements is already in production, any
further expansion must necessarily involve fragile and marginal lands. This is
particularly so in developing countries where population growth is high, poverty
is endemic and existing institutional capacity for land management is weak. In
spite of this knowledge the question is why land use planning is not a reality
even now.
The World economy which is presently dictated by urbanization, industrialization and
other development activities, is outstripping the land capability. As a result, serious
concerns of land and environmental degradation and declining productivity growth rate
have come into prominence the world over, in recent years. Approximately 5-7 million
hectares of usable lands are lost every year through land degradation, and 2 billion ha of
land are already degraded due to various causes. The relative influence of soil
degradation is estimated at 39% in Asia, 25% in Africa, 12% in South America, 11% in
Europe and 5% in Oceania. India plagued with high population and poverty, rank very
high among the developing countries. Half a billion people in developing countries live in
arid regions with no access to irrigation systems. Another 400 million are living on land
with soils unsuitable for agriculture, 200 million in slope-dominated regions, and more
than 130 million in fragile forest ecosystems. These areas covering an estimated 73
percent of Earth’s land surface face significant problems for agriculture investment and
have limited ability to sustain growing populations. Sensitive to land use patterns, they
are particularly vulnerable to degradation, erosion, floods, and landslides.
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to thee abundance of those, who
have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
- Franklin
Delano Roosevelt
One-quarter of the people in developing countries, 1.3 billion in all survive on fragile
lands, area that present significant constraints for intensive agriculture and where the
people’s links to the land are critical for the sustainability of communities, pastures,
forest and other natural resources. The least productive area should have been
abandoned first, as people migrate out to better opportunities. While some people have
left, many remain behind and others are migrating in (the estimated population on fragile
lands has doubled since 1950) Improving their livelihoods is essential for meeting many
of the Millennium Development Goals for the coming decades.
People living on fragile lands are vulnerable but have a modest portfolio of assets that
can help bring them out of poverty: the land, traditional social capital, human capital, and
indigenous knowledge and know-how. However, the potential productivity of even these
assets has not been fully developed by either local or national institution. Living in
disperse settlement and working in the informal or subsistence economy, people on the
rural periphery are largely invisible to decision makers. As a result, institutions have not
been picking up social and environmental distress signals from the periphery-nor have
these institutions been able to balance interests in setting their development agendas.
For the past 50 years the governments and private sector have focused the bulk of their
attention and agricultural spending on the development of lands with commercial
potential even though much of the rural population remains on marginal land.
Population pressure on arable land in Asia is considerable and growing. Severe
land degradation affects some 35 percent of productive land. The result has been to
put more population pressure on the Inner Asian dry lands. Most affected are
Afghanistan, China, India, and Pakistan and Inner Asia’s high steppe, the largest
remaining pastureland in the world, which includes Mongolia, northwestern China,
and parts of Siberia. Over thousands of years, these grasslands have been home to
nomadic herders of horses, camels, goats, sheep, and cattle, practicing elaborate
systems of seasonal pasture rotation across wide stretches of land in response to
climate fluctuation
Then there is a larger issue which humanity is confronting today. It is a selfgenerated environmental crisis. The patterns and ever accelerating pace of economic
development has been in conflict with the environment for quit some time now, and
if this trend continues, the cumulative effects of population increase, resource
depletion and degradation of the environment will take a heavy toll. Statistics
accumulated over the years show yearly deterioration in global resources. Our air,
soil and water are getting polluted; there is ozone depletion in the upper part of the
atmosphere while accumulation in the lower part is leading to global warming.
Something must be done urgently and on a large enough scale to arrest this
deterioration. There is need for an agreed agenda of action promoting an allencompassing concept of sustained development in order to ensure that the needs
of the present generation are met without compromising the ability of the future
generations to meet their own needs. This implies a commitment not to damage or
destroy the basic life support system of our planet ‘Earth’, namely, the air, water, the
soil and the biological system. Development must be economically sustainable to
ensure a continuous flow of goods and services derived from the earth’s natural
resources to all generation.
Water is also one of the most critical of natural resources.
This precious gift of nature is the essence of the life and the cradle
of life on our planet. Throughout the wide spectrum of historical
experience, we find that civilization were born and flourished
around water sources. Water crises have precipitated social and
political turmoil throughout human history; and for good reason.
Life cannot be sustained without water. Moreover it is a crucial
input for development.
There is a growing water crisis today. One can understand the
scarcity of water where nature has withheld its bounties, but there
should be none as a result of mismanagement of the available.
Water engineers and scientists are confronted with challenges of
sustainable development and have the responsibility to meet these
challenges both at the macro-level of overall demand and supply
and at the micro-level by designing, operating and maintaining
water resources and water projects in a manner consistent with
the objective of sustainability.
Indian Perspective
India, with only 2.3% of world’s total land area is supporting 18% and 15% of world’s
human and livestock population, respectively. The per capita arable land in the country is
only 0.15 ha and it is expected to come down to 0.08 ha by 2025. The increasing
pressure on the scarce soil resource and unscientific practices adopted for short-term
gains to meet the mounting multiple demands has led to over exploitation and
degradation of these resources. Long-term sustained productivity is being ignored for
short term gains.
It is a paradoxical situation that on the one hand more production is required from the
scarce soil resources for meeting the demand of ever expanding population, on the
other hand vast areas are either going out of cultivation or showing alarming reduction in
productivity due to land degradation at an alarming rate. Therefore, reclamation of the
degraded lands and prevention of any further degradation of land, are among the
serious national challenges.
As per the recent estimates of National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning,
out of a total of 146.5 million ha of degraded land, water erosion affects 103.9 million ha,
wind erosion 13.1 million ha physical deterioration 12.23 million ha, chemical
deterioration 10.3 million ha and deterioration due to other complex problems is 7.2
million ha.
On the other hand the water resources in
the country are unevenly distributed, spatially and
temporarily. Rainfall is erratic and most of the rain
falls in four months of the monsoon season. The
problem
is
compounded
by
the
unnecessary/inefficient use of water, both surface
and ground water. This has led to water logging
and soil salinity: the ground water table has fallen
in many areas and the numbers of dark
blocks/areas have increased. The challenge before
us is how to conserve and relocate rainwater, so
that four months rainwater can be utilized for
twelve month for multiple uses. Rainwater
harvesting is what will push agricultural
productivity, create employment and hence
eradicate poverty.
Need for a Land Use Policy - The State Perspective
Some Facts about U.P
Geographical Area
Degraded Area
 Eroded land
 Special Problem Land
 Per capita availability of land
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240.93 lakh ha.
120.44 lakh ha. (50%)
73.53 lakh ha. (61.05%)
46.91 lakh ha. (38.95%)
– 1950-51
– 1991
– 2001
0.46 ha.
0.21 ha.
0.14 ha.
– 1950-51
– 1991
– 2001
0.26 ha.
0.12 ha.
0.11 ha.
– National
– U.P.
0.46 ha.
0.04 ha.
Per capita availability of arable land
Per capita forest requirement
Area under green fodder
 National
10% of total cropped area
 U.P
4%
(IGFRI estimate)
Main Objectives of Land Use
Policy
 Resource use efficiency to meet the growing consumption

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needs.
To restore productivity of degraded lands
Suitable institutional mechanism for scientific management,
conservation & development of land resources.
Plan and resource linkages for land related programme
Expansion of effective forest cover to restore ecological balance
Conjunctive use of surface and ground water resources.
Preservation of prime agricultural land
Translate policies through plan efforts into action.
Greater awareness through education, training, extension
programmes
Issues for Consideration

Achievement of desirable land use pattern through sectoral
approach/Plan linkages

Formulation of economical viable projects for each sector i.e. forests,
agriculture, horticulture to translate land care into people’s movement.

Application of modern science & technology to enhance productivity.
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Preparation of Land Use Atlas.
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Generation of strong political/ administrative will.
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Computerized and updated Land Records.
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Strict laws/rules for land use conversion
 Maintaining and improving soil fertility and unit area land productivity.
 Surveys of land resources - climate, water, soils, landforms, forests, and
rangelands to improve efficiency of investment.
 Need to generate systematic database on land utilization and land
management practices at national, state and local levels in the country.
 Training/orientation programmes for land use practitioners.
 Publicity of success stories in case of soil conservation & better land
management
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Effective reclamation of degraded lands.
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Measures to check further degradation of land
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Effective watershed management and reduction in disparities and regional
imbalances prevalent in the State
through policy interventions.
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Diversification of land use
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Awareness generation based on local needs/environment
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Preventive measures on adverse effects from industrial waste and effluents on
good forest and cultivable land.
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Development of rural agro-based industries
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Treating water as an economic good and not as a free commodity
The State Land Use Boards should be suitably strengthened with statutory
powers to integrate and monitor activities of Land User Departments.