Land Degradation, Less Favored Lands and the Rural Poor: A Spatial and Economic Analysis.

Background

Previous studies have examined the differing economic consequences of land degradation for various groups of people, finding that the rural poor of less developed countries rely on some of the most marginal, degraded land. Yet, these studes seignificantly differ in their use of key spatial land and population indicators and the spatially referenced data generated are inadequate for cross-country economic analysis of the impact of land degradation on global poverty. This study aims to rectify these shortcomings. 

Goals & Approach

The three main objectives of the study are: to determine the spatial distribution of global rural populations on less favoured agricultural land and in less favoured agricultural areas from 2000–2010; to determine the spatial distribution of global rural populations on degrading and improving agricultural land from 2000–2010; to analyse how these spatial distributions affect poverty in developing countries. This report focuses on using GIS analysis to compare movement of rural populations with land degradation.

Reported Takeaways

The study found that there has been an increase of the rural poor relying on less favored agricultural lands with limited market access yet there is also an encouraging trend in the increasing population in developing countries on improving agricultural land. These results confirm the need to couple poverty reduction initiatives will largescale land improvement and management programs.