Land Degradation Neutrality for Africa – A Case of Niger Republic
Keywords:
Ecosystem Biodiversity, Land Degradation Neutrality, Great Green Wall, Sahel Regions, Sustainable Land ManagementAbstract
Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), which promotes a dynamic balance between land rehabilitation and deterioration, has emerged as a key idea in environmental sustainability. This guarantees that productive land resources do not experience a net loss. Land degradation is one of the primary issues that Sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations are dealing with. Many animals, habitats, and locations in the Sahelian areas have suffered due to this act of land degradation (LD). The Sahel is among the most climate-sensitive regions in the world because of changes in land use and land cover (LULC). The Niger Republic is in the middle of the Sahel. This nation has faced several challenges in accomplishing the primary Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study's main objective is to give readers a comprehensive understanding of the causes, effects, and techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of different mitigation initiatives to assist the Niger Republic in meeting its LDN and SDG objectives. This investigation used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. Through the use of the search engines Scopus, Academic.edu, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar, we thoroughly examined, screened, and assessed published publications from 2008 to 2024. According to the historical assessment, salinization, overgrazing, deforestation, drought, and soil erosion are the primary causes of LD. On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that socioeconomic determinants include poverty, land tenure rights, population pressure, and economic instability. These variables affect natural biodiversity, the human population, and climate change. Lastly, the research evaluates mitigation techniques and discusses institutional policies for sustainable land management (SLM) and suitable farming practices.
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