African Centre for Statistics United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Session 7: Land Use and Land degradation Workshop on Environment Statistics and Accounts 7 – 11 March 2011 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

African Centre for Statistics Outline of Presentation I. Introduction II. Causes of Land Degradation III. Types of Erosion IV. Land degradation in Africa V. Indicators on Land VI. Points for discussion

African Centre for Statistics I. Introduction What is land degradation? Degraded Land: Land which, due to natural processes or human activity, is no longer able to sustain properly an economic function and / or the original ecological function Vegetation degradation: Reduction in biomass, decrease in species diversity, or decline in quality in terms of the nutritional value for livestock and wildlife

African Centre for Statistics I. Introduction (cont’d) Soil degradation: Decline in soil qualities commonly caused through improper use by humans. This includes physical, chemical, and/or biological deterioration. –Loss of organic matter; decline in soil fertility –Decline in structural conditions; erosion –Adverse changes in salinity, acidity, or alkalinity –Effects of toxic chemicals, pollutants, or excessive flooding Soil erosion: Wind and water erosion (sheet, rill and gully) of soil can be measured as net loss and applied to one of four categories: light, moderate, strong, and extreme. Alternatively erosion can be measured visually or derived on the basis of reduced productivity.

African Centre for Statistics I. Introduction (cont’d) Salinization: The net increase in salt concentration in the top soil leading to declining productivity or biodiversity. Salinization can be a result of the clearing of the native vegetation, the overuse of irrigation, or the evaporation of saline groundwater. Desertification: The process of land degradation in arid, semi- arid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations (ex. drought) as well as direct and indirect human activities (ex. overgrazing, intensive agricultural cultivation)

African Centre for Statistics II. Causes of Land Degradation Land degradation is caused by –Water erosion –Salinization –Rangeland degradation due to overgrazing –Sand dune encroachment –Loss of biodiversity

African Centre for Statistics III. Types of Erosion Four types Light erosion Moderate erosion Strong erosion Extreme erosion

African Centre for Statistics IV. Land degradation in Africa Land degradation is a serious problem in Africa Key issues of land degradation in Africa include: –Escalating soil erosion –Declining fertility –Salinization –Soil compaction –Pollution by agro-chemicals –Desertification

African Centre for Statistics IV. Land degradation in Africa (cont’d) Desertification in Africa Threatens the lives of millions of persons Seriously affects 39 percent of the total area (More than one third of the surface area is affected) All the sub-regions of the continent are affected The Convention to Combat Desertification addresses the challenges of desertification The Convention entails the involvement of local populations and communities in the decision making and its implementation process

African Centre for Statistics IV. Land degradation in Africa (cont’d) Due to land degradation –Crop yields could be reduced –Affects the food security of the continent –Aggravates poverty and malnutrition Recurrent droughts, extreme weather events, and climate change aggravate land degradation To tackle the problem of land degradation –The role NGOs and community-based organizations in organizing local communities –Partnership among affected people, government and donor community –The need for national, sub-regional and regional action programmes

African Centre for Statistics IV. Land degradation in Africa (cont’d) To address the problem of land degradation activities under NEPAD focus on the following themes –Sustainable land use –Integrated management of water resources –Development of new and renewable energy sources –Development of sustainable agriculture –Management of rangelands –Integrated natural resources management –Reforestation –Ecological monitoring –Natural resources mapping –Remote sensing –Early warning systems

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land V.1 UNSD/UNEP Questionnaire In the Questionnaire four indicators included: –L1: Land Use –L2: Area affected by Soil Erosion –L3: Area Affected by Salinization –L4: Area Affected by Desertification

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) L1: Land Use Total land area is the sum of –Agricultural land –Forest and other wooded land –Built-up and related land –Wet open land –Dry open land with special vegetation cover –Open land without or with insignificant vegetation cover

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) 1. Agricultural land 1.1 Arable land 1.2 Land under permanent crops 1.3 Land under permanent meadow and pastures 1.4 Fallow and other agricultural land Agricultural land covers the major classes of land on agricultural holdings. It includes –Land under scattered farm buildings, yards, and their annexes –Permanently uncultivated land (uncultivated patches, banks, footpaths, ditches headlands and shoulders)

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) 2. Forest and other wooded land 2.1 Land under forest 2.2 Land under wooded land Forest and other wooded land includes land under forestry or no land use –Spanning more than km2 (0.5ha) –With trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10Percentage –Or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ –Mangroves and forests on wetlands according to the above height and canopy coverage

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) 3. Built-up and related land »Under houses, roads, mines and quarries »Any other facilities including auxiliary spaces deliberately installed for human activities 4. Wet open land »Non-wooded sites which are either partially, temporarily or permanently water-logged »Water may be fresh, brackish or saline on blanket or raised peatlands »Water may be stagnant or running, usually shallow

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) 5. Dry open land with special vegetation cover Non-wooded land which is covered by low vegetation (less than 2 meters) 6. Open land without or with insignificant vegetation cover »Non-built-up land with its surface »Not covered at all by vegetation »Scarcely covered by some vegetation

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) L2: Area affected by Soil Erosion 1. Total area affected by soil erosion is the sum of –Area affected by light erosion –Area affected by moderate erosion –Area affected by strong erosion –Area affected by extreme erosion The area affected by soil erosion could be classified into –Agricultural land –Forest and other wooded land –Dry open land with special vegetation cover –Open land without, or insignificant, vegetation cover

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) L3: Area Affected by Salinization Total area affected by salinization is the sum over –Agricultural land –Forest and other wooded land –Dry open land with special vegetation cover –Open land without, or insignificant, vegetation cover L4: Area Affected by Desertification Total area affected by desertification is the sum over –Dry sub-humid areas –Semi-arid areas –Arid areas

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) V.2 Indicators of Sustainable Development on Land Ten indicators are included –Arable and permanent cropland area –Area of forest under sustainable forest management –Area under organic farming –Fertilizer use efficiency –Land affected by desertification –Land degradation –Land use change –Percent of forest trees damaged by defoliation –Proportion of land area covered by forests –Use of agricultural pesticides

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) V.3 Millennium Development Indicators on Land (2) Proportion of land area covered by forest Proportion of terrestrial areas protected V.4 Lead indicators of NEPAD (27) NEPAD indicators on land use (22) –Percentage area of formal and informal settlements (built up and related land) –Percentage area of land in rural areas –Percentage area occupied by displaced people / refugees –Agricultural production index –Proportion of arable land and permanent crops –Change of area of arable land –Proportion of land covered with forests and other wooded land

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) V.4 Lead indicators of NEPAD (cont’d) –Forest area as a percentage of land area –Proportion of soils degraded by irrigation, erosion, use of pesticides / fertilizers –Proportion of land covered with vegetation –Change in vegetation cover –Proportion of areas contaminated with toxic substances –Use of agricultural pesticides –Use of fertilizers –Forest average annual change (rate) –Rate of afforestation / deforestation –Proportion of land covered by forests and woodland

African Centre for Statistics V. Indicators on Land (cont’d) V4. Lead Indicators of NEPAD (cont’d) –Total forest area as a percentage of total land area –Percentage of exports of forestry products –Number of protected areas –Protected forest area –Ratio of protected forest area to surface area Land Degradation (5) –Proportion of land lost per year –Proportion of land / area affected by soil erosion –Proportion of land / area affected by wind erosion –Proportion of land / area affected by desertification –Proportion of land / area affected by salinization

African Centre for Statistics VI. Points for discussion Which land indicators are compiled by your country? Which offices are the main sources of land data? What challenges have you faced during compilation of the data? How did you address the challenges?

African Centre for Statistics United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Thank you