Land Sustainability and Common Property Resources Management in India: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Natural resources (land, water, biodiversity and genetic resources, biomass Resources, forests, livestock and fisheries) – the very foundation of human survival, Progress and prosperity, have been degrading fast, and the unprecedented pace of their Erosion is one of the root causes of the agrarian crisis that the country is facing. The Demographic and socio-economic pressures notwithstanding, the unmindful agricultural Intensification, over use of marginal lands, imbalanced use of fertilizers, organic matter Depletion and deteriorating soil health, extensive diversion of prime agricultural lands to Non-agricultural uses, misuse and inefficient use of irrigation water, depleting aquifers, Salanisation of fertile lands and water logging, deforestation, biodiversity loss and genetic Erosion and climate change are the main underlying causes Land distribution is highly skewed, more than 80 per cent of the farmers are small, marginal and sub-marginal and together own about 40 per cent of the total cultivated land, and increasing proportions of the holdings are becoming uneconomical. In the above back drop, this paper made an attempt to critically examine the inter linkages of issues of natural resources particularly land degradation and livelihood sustainability. It also explore the sustainable land management by Using Common Property Resources efficiently, eco friendly Input technology in Agriculture and Converting Wastelands into Cropped Land.