Sustainable Land Resources Management: A Basis for Agricultural Production and Rural Livelihood

Land degradation undermines the normal functioning of agroecosystems by disrupting the biological cycles and risking the livelihood of rural people. It poses a downward spiral of declining agricultural productivity and a threat to subsistence. Poor agricultural practices, population pressure, overgrazing and deforestation are the major factors for the degradation of land resources. Land degradation if remained unabated, transformation of agriculture and sustaining rural livelihood will be a major challenge. Mitigating the causes and reversing the negative impacts of land degradation requires the implementation of sustainable land management(SLM). The book provides the success of SLM practices of a case of a farming community in Ethiopia. The analysis of biophysical and socio economic surveys sheds new light on the effectiveness of SLM in enhancing productivity and sustaining livelihood. The book is useful especially to professionals and researchers working in the fields of agriculture, development agents and expertise who work with communities, and to anyone working in the fields of natural resource management.