Lesson 46: Soil Conservation
In this lesson,
we will look at how soil conservation can be practiced at an individual level
as well as the government policies that can help to maintain soil.
Soil conservation must be practiced at 2 levels - the individual stakeholder
and public policy. Individual stakeholders can make a difference where they
live. Public policy affects nations and international trade and commerce.
The Niger area is a very hot region of Africa with little rainfall. The area
had intense soil erosion while also being heavily populated. The UN sponsored
the Keita project in Niger to combat the effects of soil erosion. More than 18
million trees were planted and check dams were put up to stop rainwater sheet
erosion and to provide soil and moisture to crops. A lot of the work was done
by local women who were paid with food. The Keita project was a success, as the
area went from being a desert-like environment to a flourishing environment
with crops that provide both food and income for the local people. The local
people also have ownership of their land, which is important for stewardship of
local resources.
Individual landowners are subject to public policies,
which affect soil conservation.
Government policy includes:
- subsidies
- sustainable agriculture
- farm legislation
- conservation Programs
Initially, farm policy in
the United States was only focused on increasing production. The government
supports agriculture with numerous programs including large subsidies. However,
when this goal was achieved with high yields and surpluses, the government
continued to subsidize due to farm lobbyists who wanted to keep prices at the
same level. However, subsidies encourage use of pesticides and fertilizers and
undercut soil conservation goals.
The government has set up a program to study sustainable agriculture methods.
Unfortunately, federal legislation such as the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act in 2002 and the Farm Bill of 2008 vetoed by President Bush but
passed by Congress, has continued to support farm subsidies that benefit only
the largest farms at the cost of soil conservation. To stop erosion, Congress
passed the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in 1985 where erodible cropland
could be saved as a conservation reserve of forest and grass. Individual
farmers are paid annually for land placed in the reserve. In 2008, the
Conservation Stewardship Program was passed to encourage farmers to voluntarily
practice stewardships over their own lands with incentives to conserve soil and
water. Public policy that encourages farmers to practice stewardship and
conservation and to use sustainable practices still need to be developed and
passed.