World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2022

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed every year to promote public awareness to combat desertification. The day is a unique moment to remind everyone that land degradation neutrality is achievable through problem-solving, strong community involvement and cooperation at all levels. PGSC organized a webinar on "Interpreting Desertification from Remote Sensing Satellite Images". Dr. Pratap Chandra Moharana, Principal Scientist, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan was the resource person. Dr. Moharana said that India’s hot arid environment of 32 m ha spread in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana and in southern states is more vulnerable to desertification. About 97.85 million Ha area of the country is undergoing land degradation i.e. 29.77% of the Total Geographic Area (TGA) of the country during 2018-19. Thus, a cumulative increase of 1.45 million ha area (0.44% of the TGA) undergoing degradation is observed from timeframe 2011-13 to 2018-19. Water erosion (11.01%), vegetation degradation (9.15%) and wind erosion (5.46%) area are the major processes of land degradation. He further added that one of the ways to check the degradation process is caring for natural resources; land, soil, water and vegetation. Remote sensing satellite images with a range of sensors and resolutions provide technical solutions to identify and interpret the status of natural resources. This is an era of space technology and we should educate our generation and future of this nation more about this technology.