Soil Law and Governance in India (International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy)

This curated book addresses, in the scholarly realm, the problems of soil degradation and provides some practical solutions for them to save soil life. It comprises ten specially invited chapters that address the global soil framework, soil challenges in India, existing policy, law and institutional framework as well as other perspectives. Soil is our biological capital. The soil health is critical for survival of the humans (and other life forms) since almost 95% of our food comes from it. It also has significant potential as a sink for carbon through sequestering. Excessive and inappropriate land use leads to various forms of land degradation that becomes contributing factor for hunger, migration and even wars. There are several multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) including UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) that hold relevance for addressing the global soil problematique. The UNCCD Strategic Framework (2018-2030) has declared desertification/land degradation and drought (DLDD) as “challenges of a global dimension”. As a result, sustainable soil management (SSM) has emerged as an important goal for attaining Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDGs 2030). In the backdrop of these globally ordained processes, India appears to be seriously pursuing the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) target within the framework of the UNCCD. As a corollary, India has set an ambitious goal of halting any further land degradation by 2030 and rehabilitate at least 30 million hectares of degraded wasteland, forest land and agricultural land. This ideational effort by eminent legal scholars, soil scientists and practitioners aim to promote concerted teaching and research in the field of soil law and governance in the University Faculties of Law, National Law Schools, Institutions of Eminence and other legal and scientific bodies. The ‘seeds sown’ in the soil of knowledge through this effort will, hopefully, provide an impetus for more in-depth research concerning soil law and governance in India and beyond. Preface Soil Degradation Challenge LDN and the UNCCD Process Soil Management in India Contents Editor and Contributors About the Editor Contributors Part I: Global Framework Land-Soil Sustainability: India’s International Obligations 1 Introduction 2 Soil Degradation Challenge 3 Constitutional Framework and International Obligations 4 India’s Treaty Obligations: Land-Soil Sustainability 4.1 Obligations Under UNFCCC and Soil Sustainability 4.2 Obligations Under CBD and Soil Sustainability 4.3 Obligations Under UNCCD and Soil Sustainability 4.4 New Delhi Declaration 5 Other Initiatives for Soil Sustainability 5.1 The Bonn Challenge and India 5.2 National Innovations on Carbon Resilient Agriculture 5.3 National Agro-Forestry Policy 6 A Way Forward 7 Conclusion References Part II: Soil Degradation in India Soil Degradation in India: Challenge and Response 1 Introduction 2 The Challenges 3 Loss of Crop Productivity 4 Problem Soils 4.1 Sodic Soils 4.2 Soil Property Change: Agroforestry in Sodic Soils 5 Saline Soils 5.1 Inland Saline Soils 5.2 Delta Region 5.3 Coastal Belt 5.4 Saline Vertisols 5.5 Acid soils 5.6 Ravine Land 6 Impact of Climate Change on Land Resource 7 Monitoring and Evaluation 8 Responses 8.1 Management Strategies for Top Soil 9 Initiatives for Land Management 10 Programmes and Projects 11 Land Degradation and SDGs 12 Land Degradation Neutrality 13 Emerging Challenges 14 A Way Forward 15 Conclusion References Combating Soil Degradation: Some Policy Perspectives 1 Introduction 2 State of Soil Degradation 3 Constitutional Provisions 4 Soil Protection Policy 5 Role of Local Institutions 6 Efforts to Re-Generate of Degraded Lands 7 Conclusion References Part III: Existing Legal Framework Protection and Conservation of Soil: A Legal Perspective 1 Introduction 2 Need for Soil Conservation in India 3 State Action in Preservation of Soil 3.1 Central Laws, Policies and Schemes 3.2 State Laws, Policies and Schemes 4 GM Crops: Impact on Soil 5 A Way Forward 6 Conclusion References Agriculture Policy, Law and Institutions: Relevance for Soil Degradation 1 Introduction 2 Agricultural Practices and Soil Degradation 2.1 Soil Structure and Its Relevance for Agriculture 3 Soil Protection: Agricultural Policies and Institutions 3.1 Soil Degradation in India: Areas of Concern 3.1.1 Insufficient Coverage of Government Initiatives 3.1.2 Soil Contamination Due to Industrial Activities 3.1.3 Lack of Crop Management, Shift Cultivation etc. Proper Use of Resources and Implementation of Watershed Management at Village Level Categorization of Farmers on the Base of Principle of Equity 3.2 Agriculture Policy: Vision 2020 3.3 NITI Aayog Report: Demand & Supply Projections 3.4 Soil Health Management: National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture 3.5 Draft National Soil and Land Use Policy 2018 3.6 Soil Health: New Policy Initiatives for Farmers Welfare 4 Agricultural Laws and Its Impact on Soil Management 4.1 Land Tenure Laws and Soil Conservation 4.2 Large Scale Agriculture Investments: Effect on Soil 4.3 Agricultural Laws Relating to Fertilizers and Pesticides 4.4 Genetically Modified Organisms Crops and Soil Health 4.5 Phyto-sanitary Laws and Soil Conservation 5 Conclusion References Forest Policy, Law and Institutions: Relevance for Soil Degradation 1 Introduction 2 Constitutional Governance Over Forests 3 Soil in Forest Policies, Laws and Institutions 3.1 Forest Policy of 1894 3.2 Land Preservation Act 1900 (Punjab) 3.3 Forest Act of 1927 3.4 Forest Policy of 1952 3.5 Five Year Plans 3.6 Forest Conservation Act 1980 3.7 The Environment Protection Act 1986 3.8 The National Forest Policy 1988 3.9 PESA 1996 and FRA 2006 3.10 The National Environment Policy 2006 3.11 The National Forest Policy 2018 (Draft) 3.12 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change 4 Protection of Soil: Roles of the Supreme Court of India and the National Green Tribunal 4.1 The Supreme Court of India 4.2 The National Green Tribunal 5 Conclusion References Role of Women in Sustainable Soil Management: Some Legal Reflections 1 Introduction 2 Soil Health and Women: An Overview 2.1 Role of Women in SSM 3 Legal Mechanisms 3.1 Legal Framework in India 3.1.1 Land Rights 3.2 Protection of the Farmers’ Rights 3.3 Labour Laws 3.4 Violence Against Women 3.5 Climate Change and the Protection of Natural Resources 3.6 Soil Management and Soil Health Card 4 Some Legal Challenges 5 Conclusion References Role of Community in the Sustainable Soil Management: A Legal Perspective 1 Introduction 2 Sustainable Soil Management 3 SSM and SDGs 4 SSM: International Dimension 5 SSM: National Approach 6 SSM: Role of the Judiciary 7 SSM: The Role of the Community 8 Conclusion References Part IV: Perspectives Land Use Planning as a Necessity 1 Introduction 2 Growing Land Requirement 3 Trends and Issues of Adverse Land Use Change in India 3.1 Conversion of Agriculture Land into Non-Agriculture Purposes 3.2 Privatisation and Distribution of Government Owned Lands/Wastelands and Common Property Resources 4 India Needs to Have a Land-Use Policy 4.1 Political and Economic Forces Towards Land Use 5 Land Use Policy: History and the Current System of Planning 5.1 The Current System of Planning 5.2 Steps Taken towards having a Land Use Policy 5.3 Quality of Land and the Concept of Land Degradation Neutrality 6 Way Forward 6.1 Possible Land-Use Planning Approaches 7 Conclusion References Soil Protection Through Watershed Development: A Grassroots Perspective 1 Introduction 2 Soils, People and Watersheds: Reversing Soil Degradation 3 Rain, Landscapes and Watershed Development 4 The Community, Sustainability and Equity 5 Community-led Watershed Development: Impacts and Benefits 6 Going to Scale: From One to the Many 6.1 Indo-German Watershed Development Program (IGWDP) 6.2 Key Innovations of the IGWDP 6.3 Impacts at Scale 6.4 Scalar Impact 7 Conclusion References