2

Shri Bhagirathi Behera, IFS

Director, Centre for Environmental Studies

From the Director’s Desk...Dissemination of information on various issues related to environment of the State is the

main objective of establishment of our ENVIS Centre. In this issue we have focused on"Dynamics of Wastelands in Orissa". I hope the information will be useful. I appreciate theefforts of our ENVIS team for collecting information and publication of this issue.

My special thanks to P.Mishra, Scientist; B.Tripathy, Scientist and A.K.Mohapatra, IFS, Chief Executive,ORSAC, for their contribution and involvement in bringing out this Newsletter.

DYNAMICS OF WASTELANDS IN ORISSA STATE - ANAPPROACH THROUGH SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING

P.Mishra, B.Tripathy, and A.K.Mohapatra, ORSAC, Bhubaneswar

Optimal management of natural resources inthe wake of ever increasing demand for food, fueland fodder pose complex problems for the country'sgrowth and development. Strategies for solving suchcomplex issues lie in understanding the potential ofland and water resources, designing appropriate plansto circumvent them, while meeting the basic needsof the nation.

India occupies 2.4% of global geographicalarea, shares 16% of human population and 15% oflivestock population. Further the country has 0.5%of the worlds grazing land but has over 18% of world'scattle Population. The tremendous pressure on landhas led to conversion of forestlands into urban andindustrial uses. In this context, our state orissa whileoccupying 4.7% of the country's geographical areasupports 3.57% of the nation's population. Over theyears, the state's landmass has also suffered fromdifferent type of degradation caused by biotic andabiotic processes.

This scenario has necessitated properdemarcation of productive and non-productive lands.

Particularly the wastelands that could be treated andreclaimed for productive use.

Information on wastelands with respect to theirnature, magnitude of degradation, extent, spatialdistribution and temporal behavior is a pre-requisitefor development and implementation of plans forrehabilitation.

Presently, the integrated use of moderntechnologies like satellite remote sensing, Geographicinformation system (GIS), Global Positioning System(GPS) coupled with selective field observationsprovide us authentic, unbiased and periodicInformation on wastelands of our country as well asof our state.

Definition of WastelandThe term wasteland means low quality land from

agricultural point of view, often referred to asdegraded land. Local village revenue maps as well asthe agricultural statistics define wasteland asuncultivated, non-forested land, which is further,divided into cultivable and un-cultivable wastelands.

ABSTRACTApplications of satellite remote sensing have proved to be successful in mapping and characterizing the wastelands

and prioritizing them for reclamation in our country. Since the year 1986,at the instance of Ministry of RuralDevelopment ,Govt. of India, spatio-temporal assessment of wastelands across the country has been taken up in alarger scale by Space applications organizations to serve as a useful database for implementing various wastelandsdevelopment schemes.Orissa Space Applications Centre(ORSAC) has been carrying out the exercises on spatio-temporal database generation on wastelands for entire Orissa state. These exercises have resulted that the extent ofwastelands in Orissa state has come down from 21,342 sq.km to 15,570 sq.km during a time period of 1986-2009.

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Historically, the term "wasteland" in India was simply referred to uncultivated land (including forests).Subsequently, the definition of "wasteland" was narrowed down to uncultivated non-forested land. Around theterm of last century, most of the fertile non-forested lands have been brought under cultivation and the termwasteland was applied to land that was biologically unproductive as a result of either natural factors (e.g., aridclimate, mountainous topography) or because of human impact (e.g., overgrazing, cultivation of marginal lands,irrigation, etc.

The term "degraded land" is frequently used to refer to the areas that have been degraded from earlierbetter condition. The multiple meaning of the term wasteland can have numerous ramifications within anypolicy designed to "rehabilitate wastelands". Wastelands has been defined as "degraded lands that can bebrought under vegetation cover' with reasonable effort and which is currently under-utilized and which isdeteriorating due to lack of appropriate water and soil management or an account of natural causes" (NationalWastelands Development Board, 1986).

Wasteland classification scheme(Adopted by Department of Land resources, Ministry of rural development, Govt. of India, 2010)

Wastelands Category Gullied/Ravinous land Medium ravine Deep/very deep ravine Scrubland (Land with or without Scrub) (Land with dense Scrub) (Land with open Scrub) Waterlogged and marshy land Permanent Seasonal Land affected by salinity/alkalinity Moderate Strong Shifting cultivation Current Jhum Abandoned Jhum Scrub Forest (Under utilized notified forest land) Scrub dominated Agricultural land inside notified forest land Degraded pastures/grazing land Degraded land under plantation crops Sands (coastal, desert, reverine) Sands - coastal sand Sands - desert sand Semi-stabilized to stabilized (> 40m) dune Semi-stabilized to stabilized moderately high (15 -40m) dune Sands - Riverine Mining/Industrial wastelands Mining wastelands Industrial wastelands Barren rocky area Snow cover and/or glacial area

A 1 2

B 3 4

C 5 6

D 7 8

E 9 10

F 11 12 13 14

G 15 16 17 18 19

H 20 21 22 23

S.No.

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Classification of WastelandsWasteland refers to degraded lands that are

currently underutilized and are deteriorating for lackof appropriate soil and water management or onaccount of natural causes. Wastelands developnaturally or due to influence of environment,chemical and physical properties of the soil ormanagement constraints. The different categories ofwastelands are described hereunder:1) Gullied and/or Ravinous Land

Gully is a narrow channel when surface waterflow increases in response to clearing and excessiveuse of land. Other factors that play a role in gullyinitiation are the type of landscape, geology, rainfall,soil texture, hill slope length and seasonal climaticextremes. The intricate network of gullies is referredto as ravines. Two categories of ravines viz., mediumravines and deep ravines can be delineated based ontheir depth.Medium Ravines: These are the ravines with a depthof gullies ranging between 2.5 and 5 meters. Generally,these are seen confined to the head region of thestream close to agricultural land.Deep Ravines: The depth of ravines is more than 5meters. Deep ravines, generally, occur along the higherorder stream areas that are close to the main river.2) Scrubland

This is the land, which is generally prone todeterioration due to erosion. Such lands generallyoccupy topographically high locations, excludinghilly/mountainous terrain. Based on the presence ofvegetation cover, two sub-classes can be delineatedi.e. land with dense scrub and land with open scrub.Land with dense scrub

These areas have shallow and skeletal soils, attimes chemically degraded extremes of slope, severelyeroded and are subjected to excessive aridity withscrub dominating the landscape. They have a tendencyfor intermixing with croplands.Land with open scrub

This category is same as mentioned in the earliercategory except that it has sparse vegetative cover oris devoid of scrub and has thin soil cover.

3) Waterlogged / Marshy land

Waterlogged land is that low lying land wherethe water table is at/or near the surface and the waterstands for most parts of year. Depending on durationof water logging, two sub-classes viz., permanentlywaterlogged and seasonally waterlogged areas can bedelineated.

Permanent: Permanently waterlogged areas are thosewhere the water logging conditions prevail duringmost parts of the year. These areas are mostly locatedin low-lying areas, with impervious substratum alongthe canals/ riverbanks, coastal inlands, etc.

Seasonal : Seasonally waterlogged areas are thosewhere the water logging condition prevails usuallyduring the monsoon period. These lands are mostlylocated in plain areas associated with the drainagecongestion. Use of multi-season satellite data enablesdelineation of this category.

4) Land affected by salinity/alkalinity

Land affected by salinity/alkalinity has excesssoluble salts (saline) or high exchangeable sodium.Salinity is caused due to capillary movement of water,during extreme weather conditions leaving saltencrustation on the surface. Alkali soils haveexchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) values of 15or more, which is generally considered as the limitbetween normal and alkali soils. The predominantsalts in alkali soils are carbonates and bicarbonatesof sodium.

Considering the degree of salinity and oralkalinity, the following two sub-classes viz.,moderately saline / alkali and strongly saline / alkaliareas could be delineated.

Moderately Saline/Alkali land: These are the areaslocated in the fluvial plains with the degree of salinity(ECe) ranging from 8 to 30 (ds/m), pH between 9.0-9.8 and the exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP)values ranging between 15-40.

Strongly Saline/Alkali land : These are the saltaffected land with Ece values greater than 30 dS/m,pH values more than 9.8 and ESP values of >40.

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5) Shifting Cultivation areas

Shifting cultivation is a traditional practice ofgrowing crops on forested/ vegetated hill slope bythe slash and burn method.

Current: The areas that are used for cultivation bythe slash and burn practices and are clearly perceptibleon the satellite image in pre-burnt / post-burntconditions.

Abandoned: Are those areas that were earlier undershifting cultivation but subsequently left idle for morethan one year but less than five years, thereby givinga scope for the regeneration of secondary vegetationsuch as bamboo or grasses.

6) Scrub Forest

Two sub-classes viz., scrub dominateddegraded forest land and agriculture land insidenotified forest area have been delineated.

Scrub dominated: Land as notified under the forestact and those lands with various types of forest coverwith less than 20% of vegetative cover, are classifiedas degraded forest. These lands are generally confinedto the fringe areas of notified forest.

Agricultural land inside notified forest land: Thiscategory refers to land that have been notified underthe forest act, in which agriculture is being practiced,(except for the de-notified forest areas)

7) Degraded Pastures / grazing land

These are the lands in non-forest areas that areeither under permanent pastures or meadows, whichhave degraded due to lack of proper soil and waterconservation and drainage development measures.

8) Degraded land under plantation crop

These are the degraded lands that have beenbrought under plantation crops after reclamation, andare located outside the notified forest areas.

9) Sand (Coastal / desert / riverine)

This category refers to land with accumulationof sand, in coastal, riverine or inland areas. Generally,these lands vary in size; occur in various shapes withcontiguous or linear pattern. These lands are mostlyfound in deserts, riverbeds and along the shores.

Coastal Sand

Coastal sands are the sands that are accumulatedas a strip along the sea coast due to action of sea water.These are not being used for any purpose like recreation.

Desertic Sand

Desertic sands are those confined to aridenvironment where the rainfall is scanty. These landsare characterized by accumulation of sand in the formof varying size of sand dunes and height that havedeveloped as a result of transportation of soil throughaeolian processes. The following two categories ofdesert sands (dunes) can be mapped based on theirvertical approximate heights.

Semi-stabilized to stabilized dunes with >40m height

Semi-stabilized to stabilized moderately high duneswith heights ranging between 15 and 40 m.

Riverine Sand

Riverine sands are those that are accumulatedin the floodplain of the river as sheets, or sandbars. Italso includes inland sand which was accumulatedalong the abandoned river courses or by reworkingof sand deposits by wind action leading to longstretches of sand dunes or sand cover areas noticedin Indo-Gangetic alluvial plains.

10) Mining / Industrial Wastelands

Mine dumps: are those lands where waste debris isaccumulated after extraction of minerals. Included inthis category is the mine / quarry areas subject toremoval of different earth material (both surface andsub-surface) by manual and mechanized operations.Large scale quarrying and mechanical operation resultin creation of mine dumps. It includes surface rocksand stone quarries, sand and gravel pits; soilexcavation for brick kilns, etc.

Industrial: These are the areas of stockpile of storagedump of industrial raw material or slag/effluents orwaste material or quarried/mixed debris from earth’ssurface.

11) Barren Rocky area

These are rock exposures of varying lithologyoften barren and devoid of soil and vegetative cover.

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They occur amidst hill-forests as openings or asisolated exposures on plateau and plains. Barren rockyareas occur on steep isolated hillocks/hill slopes,crests, plateau and eroded plains associated withbarren and exposed rocky/stony wastes, lateritic out-crops, mining and quarrying sites. The category alsoincludes steep sloping areas devoid of vegetationcover.

Use of Remote Sensing in Wasteland informationgeneration

The estimates on wastelands/ degraded lands/soil degradation are available from various Nationaland State organizations. The area statistics of degradedlands / wastelands reported by these organizationsvary from 187.7 M ha (Sehgal and Abool. 1994) to63.85 M ha (Ministry of Rural development and Dept.of Space 2000). These variations are essentiallybecause of the differences in objectives, classdefinitions, approach/methodology, Scale ofmapping, etc. However in view of the need forharmonized databases on wastelands in Macro andMicro level planning for various watersheddevelopment activities, objective allocation offinancial resources and to ensure uniformity ofdatabases across various Govt. Departments,harmonization exercises have been taken up betweenIndian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) andNational Remote Sensing Center of Dept. of space.

National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC) ofDept. of space has initially demonstrated the potentialof Satellite Remote Sensing in Wasteland mapping in1984-85 with the use of American Remote SensingSatellite LANDSAT-MSS imageries. The databasethus generated in 1: 1 million scale for the wholecountry indicated that 53.30 Mha corresponding to16.40% of the geographical area of the country waslying wasted. Realizing the need to rehabilitate theselands, the National Wastelands Development Boardwas established in 1986 with the objective of bringing5 Mha of land every year under fuel wood and fodderplantations.

Since 1986, at the instance of Ministry of Ruraldevelopment, Spatio-temporal assessment ofWastelands across the country has been taken up on

larger scale i.e. 1: 50,000 scale by Dept, of space toserve as a useful database for implementing variousWastelands Development Schemes.

Orissa Space Applications Center (ORSAC) hasbeen taking a leading role in Wastelands mapping ofOrissa state under the aegis of Dept. of Space (DOS).ORSAC has become a partner organization with DOSin completing and compiling spatio-temporal databaseof Orissa state under different projects like

National Wastelands Inventory Projects (NWIP- 2000)National Wastelands Updation Projects (NWUP- 2003)National Wastelands Monitoring Project (NWMP- 2006)National Wastelands Change Analysis Project(NWCAP – 2010)

SPATIO-TEMPORAL INFORMATION ONWASTELANDS OF ORISSA STATE

1. Gullied and/or Ravinous Land

2. Upland with or without Scrub

3. Waterlogged and Marshy Land

4. Land Affected by salinity/alkalinity Coastal/inland

5. Shifting Cultivation Area

6. Under utilized/Degraded notified Forest Land

7. Degraded Pastures/Grazing Land

8. Degraded Land under Plantation crop

9. Sands-Inland/Coastal

10. Mining/Industrial Wastelands

11. Barren Rocky/Stony Waste/Sheet Rock Area

12. Steep Sloping Area

13. Snow Covered and/or Glacial Area

14. Total Wastelands

15. Total Geographical Area

16. Percentage of total Geographical Area.

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Recently ORSAC is also mapping the wastelands of the state from Multiseason satellite image pertainingto the year 2008 - 09 to asses the change in spatial distribution of wastelands during the period 2005 / 06 and2008 / 09 . The analysis indicates a decrease of 0.15 % in wasteland coverage in the state. The following tableillustrates district wise spatial distribution of waste lands in Orissa.

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DISTRICT AREA (in sq.km)

ANGUL 673.45

BALASORE 94.68

BARGARH 452.96

BHADRAK 19.87

BOLANGIR 530.17

BOUDH 351.43

CUTTACK 337.31

DEOGARH 305.76

DHENKANAL 356.79

GAJAPATI 1132.18

GANJAM 1114.52

JAGATSINGHPUR 30.34

JAJPUR 241.68

JHARSUGUDA 221.47

KALAHANDI 878.05

KENDRAPARA 57.44

KEONJHAR 648.82

KHORDHA 474.39

KORAPUT 1236.18

MALKANGIRI 1285.22

MAYURBHANJ 450.19

NABARANGPUR 858.71

NAYAGARH 939.75

NUAPARA 489.55

KANDHAMAL 1079.03

PURI 186.61

RAYAGADA 654.85

SAMBALPUR 556.36

SONEPUR 273.46

SUNDARGARH 520.38

16415.58TOTAL

DISTRICT WISE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF WASTE LAND OF ORISSA-2008-09

The temporal information on spatial distribution of wastelands in orissa state as a whole can be ascertainedfrom the following table

YEAR AREA OF ( % to total geographical area ofinsq.km the state

1986-2000 21342 13.71

2003 18952.75 12.17

2005-06 16648.27 10.69

2008-09 16415.58 10.54

WASTELANDS

The satellite image indicates that Koraput district has the maximum and Bhadrak district has the minimumdistribution of wastelands in Orissa in the year 2008-09.REFERENCES

Wasteland atlas of India, 2000; Wasteland atlas of India, 2005; Wasteland atlas of India, 2010(Published by Ministry of Rural Development &Deptt of Space, Govt of India)

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Disclaimer :The views expressed by the writers do not necessarily reflect the views of either Centre for

Environmental Studies or The Editor.

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