Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
solubilization of the soil’s native nutrient reserves, apart from biological nitrogen
fixation from atmosphere.
With high reliance on machineries, fertilizers, and other agrochemicals in the
post green revolution era, most of the farmers have neglected the significance
of livestock in Indian agriculture. Unlike in temperate climates that favour the
accumulation of organic matter in the soil due to low decomposition rates, Indian
soils need frequent replenishment of organic matter through the incorporation
of crop residues and cattle manure. The high decomposition rates under high
temperatures and intensive tillage necessitate regular addition of crop residues
with animal excreta to maintain the soil microbial diversity.
Hence, cropping systems need to be redesigned to preserve soil health through
a shift from the existing exploitative mode to a conservative mode. Without
understanding and considering the soil’s true nature as an ecosystem, continuous
mono cropping on the same soil, relying mostly on inorganic fertilizer additions
- as done in industrial manufacturing in style and scale - has led to a decline in
its productive potential. Such practices lead to the continuous emergence of new
nutrient deficiencies, in spite of the addition of newer fertilizers.
The addition of nutrients through organic inputs is therefore imperative for
maintaining the sustainability of the system (IISS, 2011).
4. SOIL AND LAND DEGRADATION
“The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
Soil is a part of the land, thus any deterioration in its quality, mass, or volume
either singly or in combination, also results in the deterioration of the land.
Land degradation means reduction or loss of biological or economic productivity
and complexity of rain-fed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest,
and woodlands, resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of
processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation
patterns, such as:
• Soil erosion caused by wind and/or water;
Annexures
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