Evolving concepts and opportunities in soil conservation

The terrestrial landscape has changed considerably compared to that of the early 20th century when soil conservation was first institutionalized. Large portions of the land are already intensively managed, and the remainder is increasingly receiving human interventions. Previous work on soil conservation focused attention on technological innovations, particularly control and mitigation of soil erosion. However, land degradation has continued and actually accelerated in many parts of the world, due mainly to demands for continued economic development, using technologies that are highly exploitive. In many cases, this has been facilitated by highly inadequate and unsympathetic institutional, legislative, and policy environments. The paper discusses some of the new driving forces, new international programs, and new potential partners in soil conservation. Increasingly, international efforts to mitigate land degradation are shifting from studies of the biophysical processes to improving the global, national and local enabling policy environment, as well as mainstreaming of soil conservation into national and regional policies and programs. Also, increased emphasis is placed on economic instruments and international markets, such as carbon trading, and incorporation of non-market values in ecosystem investment, such as payment for ecosystem services, certification schemes, etc. The paper discusses some of the opportunities for soil conservation that accrue from these new driving forces