One area in which these two countries may find common ground is the environmental degradation in their shared desert border region. Desertification, a process of gradual land degradation afflicting many arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas around the world, can lead to environmental deterioration, natural resources depletion, agricultural losses or food shortages, and substantial hardships for affected populations. In South Asia, this phenomenon already impacts drought-prone sub-humid regions across India and Pakistan, including the shared Thar Desert. In response, the two countries have individually taken substantial strides to combat desertification risks. But more direct collaboration between Delhi and Islamabad could help preserve natural resources and protect agricultural lands threatened by encroaching deserts.
Desertification can have both natural and manmade causes, including changes in rainfall frequency; reduction in vegetal cover; improper agricultural management practices; overexploitation of natural resources; inapt use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; extensive cultivation of a given area without allowing soils an adequate recovery period; and tourism in ecologically sensitive areas. Such factors have placed unprecedented strains on ecosystems, accelerating desertification the world over. In India and Pakistan, rapid population growth and the attendant spike in food demand have placed immense pressure on cultivable lands, resulting in the decreased soil fertility, forest clearance, and livestock overgrazing.
According to India's National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, of the country's total 329 million hectares of land, 120.4 million hectares are in deteriorated condition, with 81.45 million hectares affected by desertification. Left unchecked, increased desertification across India in the coming years could trigger migration within the country, as farmers and others find themselves displaced from the areas where they traditionally earned their livelihoods. Recognizing the need to protect the land and livelihoods of vulnerable populations, the Indian government is implementing some twenty-two programs around the country, including the "Mission for Green India" under its National Action Plan on Climate Change.
In Pakistan, meanwhile, at least 400,000 hectares of land are taken out of production every year due to soil degradation, loss of fertility, and desertification. Given that Pakistan's arable lands have never been exceedingly fertile, the country's need for soil replenishment and land regeneration is paramount. Analysts suggest that if Pakistan does not return to intensive small-scale organic farming, the country's agricultural future could be threatened by advancing deserts on the peripheries of the Indus basin. The government has already passed a series of strategic initiatives to counter desertification, such as the National Conservation Strategy and the National Master Agriculture Research Plan. Working alongside the United Nations Development Program, Pakistan's Environmental Minister has also launched the Sustainable Land Management to Combat Desertification in Pakistan project, and the nation is beginning to implement improved water conservation measures and more efficient irrigation techniques.
Given that the two countries have independently sought ways of preventing desertification-driven deterioration of their arable land, a bilateral effort to safeguard their natural resources might be considered as a confidence-building measure. One potentially promising setting for collaboration could be the Thar Desert, a large arid region forming a natural boundary along the border between India and Pakistan. Read the full report here.
Source: Stimson.
