Soil erosion in developing countries: A politicoeconomic explanation

Abstract

/ Soil erosion is accelerating in developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It has threatened the livelihood of millions of peasants, for agriculture is their economic mainstay. A probe into the forces causing erosion reveals that the elite's resolve to accumulate ever more wealth and to maintain, consolidate, or expand their sociopolitical power and the necessity of the poor to fulfill their requirements of food, fuelwood, and fodder are the two major factors accelerating soil erosion. Unless the vast masses of poor people are integrated into the national mainstream through the implementation of equitable and redistributive development policies, it is impossible to control the accelerating rate of soil erosion and thus to achieve the objective of sustainable development.

Introducing Cash Crops in Shifting Cultivation Regions – The Experience with Cardamom in Laos

“…Gathering in the forest mainly concerns bamboo sprouts, 'tipti' creepers (Urticaceae, probably Boehmeria malabarica) and wild cardamom (Amomum spp.). Slash-and-burn agriculture has often been considered as a simple and standard technique (Thapa and Weber 1991;Bandy et al 1993), even if it is a myth (Thrupp et al 1997). After interviewing more than 1000 farmers around Phongsaly, we found out that local shifting cultivation is more complex than expected.…”

Future of forest gardens in the Uvan uplands of Sri Lanka

“…Then it will be possible to consider what research is necessary to improve their maintainability. Thapa and Weber (1991) demonstrated how population pressure, poverty, and the skewed distribution of land resources are major causes of soil erosion in developing countries. These factors can also help to explain the demise of forest gardens in the upland districts of Sri Lanka.…”

Soil erosion and soil problems

“…This example illustrates the widespread notion that promoting sustainable land use must go beyond the identification of erosion problems and is entwined in political will. The main cause of soil erosion in less developed countries is, according to Thapa and Weber (1991), the concentration of political and administrative power amongst 61ites. They envisage redistributive development policies as prerequisite for achieving progress towards sustainability.…”