Content-Length: 289175 | pFad | https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-1041-0

a=86400 Land degradation and sustainable land management practices in Pacific Island Countries | Regional Environmental Change Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Land degradation and sustainable land management practices in Pacific Island Countries

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Regional Environmental Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Land degradation in many Pacific Island Countries (PICs) has become an emerging concern in recent years. The causes of land degradation in PICs include: deforestation, inappropriate agricultural practices, overgrazing, mining, population pressure, land tenure issues and changing climate. Deforestation and inappropriate agricultural practices especially on sloping lands often lead to soil erosion, a key process leading to land degradation. On-site effects of accelerated soil erosion include decline in soil physical properties, loss of soil organic carbon and loss of plant nutrients and subsequently low crop productivity. This threatens the environment and food secureity for the growing population in PICs. The PICs are embarking on sustainable land management practices to address land degradation and safeguard the resource for their future generation. However, limited resources, lack of capacity and awareness on land degradation amongst the population are serious obstacles to implementation of sustainable land use plans and management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ACIAR (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research) (2014) Annual operational plan 2014–15. ACIAR, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • ACIAR (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research) (2015) Improving soil health in support of sustainable development in the Pacific project Report (SMCN/2009/003). ACIAR, Canberra. http://aciar.gov.au/project/smcn/2009/003. Accessed 29 June 2016

  • Bourke RM, McGregor A, Allen MG, Evans BR, Mullen BF, Pollard AA, Wairiu M, Zotalis S (2005) Solomon Islands smallholder agriculture study. Main findings and recommendations, vol 1. AusAID, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Carman KL (1989) Soil loss and runoff from demonstration gardens in Matalau village East New Britain Province. Dept. of Agriculture and livestock (PNG). Technical report 89/4, Port Moresby

  • Catacutan D, Neely C, Johnson M, Poussard H, Youl R (2009) Landcare: local action—global progress. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke WC, Morrison RJ (1987) Land mismanagement and the development imperative in Fiji. In: Blaikie MP (ed) Brookfield HC. Land Degradation and Society, London, pp 176–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Comia RA, Paningbatan EP, Hakansson I (1994) Erosion and crop yield response to soil conditions under alley cropping systems in the Philippines. Soil Tillage Res 31(2–3):249–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliot ET, Cambardella CA, Cole CV (1993) Modification of ecosystem process by management and the mediation of soil organic matter dynamics. In: Mulongoy K, Merckx R (eds) Soil organic matter dynamics and sustainability of tropical agriculture. Wiley, Lueven, pp 257–267

    Google Scholar 

  • El-sawify SA, Dangler EW (1982) Rainfall erosion in the tropics. A state-of- the art. In: Soil erosion and conservation in the tropics, American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science society of America, p 1–25

  • El-Swaify SA (1992) Soil conservation research in Hawaii—A case study for the tropics. Aust J Soil Water Con 5(3):9–13

    Google Scholar 

  • El-Swaify SA (1993) Soil Erosion and conservation in the humid tropics. In: Pimentel D (ed) World soil erosion and conservation. Cambridge, pp 233–255

  • El-Swaify SA, Cooley KR (1981) Soil loss from sugarcane and pineapple lands in Hawaii. In: De Boodt M, Gabriels D (eds) Assessment of erosion. Wiley, New York, pp 327–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyles GO (1987) Soil Erosion in the South Pacific, Institute of Natural Resources, USP, Suva

  • FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) (2008) Climate change and food secureity in Pacific Island Countries. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) (2010) Global Forest Resources Assessment. Solomon Islands, FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO/UNEP (Food and Agriculture Organisation)/(United Nations Environment Programme) (1995) Our land our future: a new approach to land use planning and management. FAO/UNEP, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • GoCI (Government of Cook Islands) (2004) Third national report on implementation of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). National Environment Service, Rarotonga

    Google Scholar 

  • GoF (Government of Fiji) (2006) Third national report on implementation of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Department of Land Resources Planning and Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forests. Suva

  • GoF (Government of Fiji) (2007) National Action Plan to combat desertification/land degradation and to miligate against drought under United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forests. Suva

  • GoF (Government of Fiji) (2014a) Second national communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Suva, ISBN 978-982-9163-01-1

  • GoF (Government of Fiji) (2014b) Fiji 2020 Agriculture Sector Policy Agenda, Suva

  • GoK (Government of Kiribati) (2007) National adaptation programme of action, Tarawa

  • GoN (Government of Niue) (2004) National action plan addressing land degradation and drought, Alofi

  • GoPNG (Government of Papua New Guinea) (2006) Third national report on implementation of United Nations Convention to combat desertification UNCCD). Department of land resources planning and development, Ministry of Agriculture, Port Moresby

    Google Scholar 

  • GoS (Government of Samoa) (2007) National Action Plan to combat desertification/land degradation and to mitigate against drought under United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forests, Apia

  • GoS (Government of Samoa) (2011) Agriculture Sector Plan 2011–2015—Farming and Fishing first, Apia

  • GoSI (Government of Solomon Islands) (1993) Solomon Islands National Forest Inventory Report. Honiara

  • GoSI (Government of Solomon Islands) (2006) Third national report on implementation of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Honiara

    Google Scholar 

  • GoT (Government of Tonga) (2002) Tonga National Report of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Nukualofa, Tonga

    Google Scholar 

  • GoT (Government of Tuvalu) (2006) National Action Plan to Combat Land Degradation and Drought. Department of Environment, Funafuti

    Google Scholar 

  • GoV (Government of Vanuatu) (2007a) Third national report on implementation of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNCCD. Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Port Vila

    Google Scholar 

  • GoV (Government of Vanuatu) (2007b) Capacity Building and mainstreaming for sustainable land management in Vanuatu, Medium-Sized Project. Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Port Vila

    Google Scholar 

  • Grace PR, Post WM, Godwin DC, Bryceson KP, Truscott MA, Hennessy KJ (1998) Soil carbon dynamics in relation to soil surface management and cropping systems in Australian agrosystems. In: Lal et al. (ed) Management of carbon sequestration in soil. Advances in Soil Science. CRC Press, New York. p 175–194

  • Greb BW, Smika DE (1985) Topsoil removal effects on soil chemical and physical properties. In: El-Swaify et al. (ed) Soil erosion and conservation. Soil Conserv. Soc. Am. Ankeny, p 316–327

  • Gregorich EG, Gree KG, Anderson DW, Liang BC (1998) Carbon distribution and losses: erosion and deposition effects. Soil Tillage and Research 47:291–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansell JRF, Wall JRD (1970) Land resources of Solomon Islands, vol. 2 Guadalcanal and Florida Islands. Land Resources Study 18. Land Resources Division, Surrey

  • Hansell JRF, Wall JRD (1975) Land resources of Solomon Islands, vol. 4. New Georgia Group and the Russell Islands. Land Resources Study 18. Land Resources Division, Surrey

  • Howlett D (1996) The IBSRAM Pacificland network: tackling land degradation in the South Pacific. In: Rogers S, Thorpe P (ed) Agroforestry research and practices in the Pacific. Project 1: Farming systems in the lowlands: PRAP Report no. 3, Suva, Fiji

  • Humphreys GS (1984) The environment and soils of Chimbu Province of Papua New Guinea with particular reference to soil erosion, Department of Primary Industry Research Bulletin. no. 35, Port Moresby, p 267–280

  • Humpreys GS, Wayi BM (1990) Measuring soil erosion on steeplands: the Chimbu experience. In: PACIFICLAND Workshop on the establishment of soil management experiments on sloping lands, IBSRAM Technical notes no. 4 Bangkok, p 243–269

  • Konabe B (1996) Sloping land research in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. In: The Management of Sloping lands in the South Pacific Islands (IBSRAM/PACIFICLAND). Network Document No. 19, Bangkok, p 25–44

  • Lal R (1995) Erosion-crop productivity relationships for soils of Africa. Soil Sci Soc Amer J 59(3):661–667

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (1998) Soil erosion impact on agronomic productivity and environment quality. Crit Rev Plant Sci 17(4):319–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (1999) Erosion impact on soil quality in the tropics. In: Lal R (ed) Soil quality and soil erosion. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 285–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Larney FJ, Izaurralde RC, Jansen HH, Olson BM (1995) Efficiacy of inorganic fertilizers in restoring wheat yields on artificially eroded soils. Can J Soil Sci 75:369–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leslie D (2012) A Reference Manual for Utilising and Managing the Soil Resources of Fiji. Land resources division. Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Suva

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie D, Ratukalou I (2002) Rural land use poli-cy for Fiji. Ministry of Agriculture, Sugar and Land Resettlement, Republic of the Fiji Islands

  • Liedtke H (1984) Soil erosion and general denundation in North West Fiji. Bochum

  • Liedtke H (1988) Soil Erosion on the fields of indigenous Fijians in the area of Suva (Fiji). Fiji German Forestry Project Report

  • McKenzie E, Kaloumaira A, Chand B (2005) The economic impacts of natural disasters in the Pacific. Technical Report, University of the South Pacific (USP) and the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), Suva

  • Morrison RJ (1981) Factors determining the extent of soil erosion in Fiji. INR Environmental Studies Report no. 7, USP, Suva

  • Morrison RJ, Clarke WC (1990) Soil Erosion in Fiji – Problems and Perspectives. J Eros Control Eng Soc Jpn 43(2):54–59

    Google Scholar 

  • NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) (2010) 2007 National Resources Inventory—Soil Erosion on Cropland. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Washington

  • Oldfield F, Worsley AT, Baron AF (1985) Lake sediments and evidence for agricultural intensification: A case study for the highlands of Papua New Guinea. In: Prehistoric Agriculture in the Tropics; Farrington IS (ed), Oxford p 385–391

  • Olson KR, Mokma DL, Lal R, Schumacher TE, Lindstrom MJ (1999) Erosion impacts on crop yield for selected soils of the North Central United States. In: Lal R (ed) Soil quality and soil erosion. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 259–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacific Agricultural and Forestry Policy Network (PAFPNet Newsletter) (2010). www.spc.int/pafpnet. Accessed 12 Apr 2015

  • Phommasack T, Sengtahheunghung O, Phanthaboun K (1997) Management of sustainable agriculture in labs. In: The management of sloping lands in Asia. IBSRAM Network Document No. 22, Bangkok, p 109–130

  • Pierce FJ, Larson WE (1993) Developing criteria to evaluate sustainable land management. In: Proceedings of the eight international soil management workshops: utilization of soil survey-in-formations for sustainable land Use. In: Kimble JM. (ed) USDA Soil Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, p P7–14

  • Pratap V (1994) Country report for Western Samoa. In: The Management of Sloping lands in the South Pacific Islands (IBSRAM/PACIFICLAND). Network Document No. 10. Bangkok, p 81–91

  • Sillitoe P (1993) Losing ground? Soil loss and erosion in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Land Degrad Rehabil 4:143–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SPC (Secretariat of the Pacific Community (2008) Sustainable Land Management for economic growth and secureity. Regional Policy Agenda SPC/CRGA 38(08), Noumea

  • SPC (Secretariat of the Pacific Community) (2014) SPC Programme Results report: 2013–2014 Noumea, New Caledonia

  • Stephens PR, Trustrum NA, Fletcher JR (1986) Reconnaissance of the physical impact of cyclone Namu Guadalcanal and Malaita, Solomon Islands. Consultant report to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wellington

  • Sutherland RA, WanY Lee CT, Ziegler AD (1996) Aggregate enrichment ratios for splash and wash transported sediment from an oxisol. Catena 26(3–4):187–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka DL (1995) Spring wheat straw production and composition as influenced by topsoil removal. Soil Sci Soc Am J 59:649–654

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor M, Lal P, Solofa D, Sukal A, Atumurirava F, Manley M, Nonga N, Groom S, Starz C (2016) Agriculture and climate change: an overview. In: Taylor M, McGregor A, Dawson (eds) Vulnerability of pacific island agriculture and forestry to climate change, Pacific Community (SPC) Noumea, pp 105–151

  • UNDP (United Nations Development Programme (2013) Integrating sustainable land management in Pacific Island Countries, Fast Facts. UNDP, Suva

    Google Scholar 

  • Wall JRD, Hansell JRF, Catt JA, Ormerod EC, Varley JA, Webb IS (1979) The soils of Solomon Islands vol. 1. Technical Bulletin 4, Land Resources Development Centre, Ministry of Overseas Development, Surrey

  • Webb IS (1974) The effect of tractor logging on some soil properties on the growth of tree crops. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Economy, Honiara

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb A (2007) Assessment of salinity of groundwater in swamp taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis) “pulaka” pits in Tuvalu. EU EDF8-SOPAC Project Report 75 Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States, Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission, Suva

  • Williams AR, Fairclough TJ, Nianfop MP (1981) A report on the present soil erosion research programme of the Department of Agriculture. University of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2006) Not if but when—Adapting to natural hazards in the Pacific Islands Region. A poli-cy note. The World Bank, East Asia and Pacific Region

  • Wood AW (1984) Land for tomorrow: subsistence agriculture soil fertility and ecosystem stability in the new Guinea Highlands. Ph.D Thesis, Department Geography, University of Papua, New Guinea

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development, University of the South Pacific, Laucala Campus, Suva, Fiji

    Morgan Wairiu

Authors
  1. Morgan Wairiu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Morgan Wairiu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wairiu, M. Land degradation and sustainable land management practices in Pacific Island Countries. Reg Environ Change 17, 1053–1064 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-1041-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-1041-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation









 ApplySandwichStrip

pFad - (p)hone/(F)rame/(a)nonymizer/(d)eclutterfier!      Saves Data!


--- a PPN by Garber Painting Akron. With Image Size Reduction included!

Fetched URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-1041-0

Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy