rural

• Land degradation means a loss in quality of the land surface and in semi-arid regions this is usually related to a loss of vegetation and soil
• Land degradation is usually related to a change in climate and or an increase in population leading to urbanization
• A greater population to feed can lead to overgrazing and over cultivation particularly when cash crops are introduced, taking the land above its carrying capacity leading to a loss of nutrients in the soil
• Deforestation usually related to a need for firewood for cooking also exposes the soil to erosion
• Combined with increased wind rainfall intensity and intense sunshine, this loss of nutrients and cover leads to the soil erosion associated with land degradation
• Without trees and soil to hold in any moisture, rainfall levels can decrease leading to desertification, an expansion of desert regions
• Impacts of land degradation in semi-arid regions

  • Soil loss due to rain splash and wind erosion, producing scars on the landscape like rills and gullies
  • Vegetation loss reducing moisture held in the landscape and causing expansion of deserts
  • Lower crop yields, leading to starvation and malnutrition
  • Conflict and migration of people, putting pressure on other areas
• Specific examples of land degradation impacts

  • Expansion of the Sahara desert by 10% in the last century
  • 35% of child deaths in the Sahel region related to malnutrition
  • Over 1.5 million internally displaced people in the Sahel
• Improved farming techniques to reduce impact of land degradation

  1. Dégradés (stone lines) to trap soil

  2. Jiko stoves to reduce firewood demand

  3. Great Green Wall tree planting initiative
• Evaluation of land degradation solutions

  • Dégradés are easily shared, have low cost, and help remove stones from land
  • Jiko stoves develop new industry and reduce health issues
  • Great Green Wall is a large, costly project but employs many, especially women
• The Cairngorms National Park has a variety of different landowners with different agendas and ways of making a living, making managing conflicts of interest challenging
• In the Cairngorms, where there is a conflict between economic and environmental development, the latter will always take precedence under the Sandford Principle
• Deer management conflict in the Cairngorms


  • Landowners benefiting from deer stalking want higher numbers, while those focused on conservation want lower numbers
  • Deer roam across different landowners' land, causing problems
• Strategies to manage deer conflicts in the Cairngorms

  1. Raising awareness

  2. Habitat creation

  3. Specific examples of strategies
• Evaluation of deer management strategies in the Cairngorms

  • Positives and negatives of the different strategies
• Other conflicts in the Cairngorms include between anglers and paddlers on the River Spey, and between tourism impacts (e.g. footpath erosion) and protecting the fragile ecosystem
• There is a need to balance protecting the landscape from damage and putting too much unnatural infrastructure into the wild spaces in the Cairngorms