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The pressure on agricultural land increases not only due to the limited availability but also by deterioration of quality of agricultural land. Soil erosion, water¬logging, salinisation and alkalinisation of land lead to land degradation. Though all degraded land may not be wasteland, but unchecked process of degradation may lead to the conversion to wasteland. There are two processes that induce land degradation. These are natural and created by human beings. National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) has classified wastelands by using remote sensing techniques and it is possible to categorizes these wastelands according to the processes that have created them. Some degradation which is caused by natural agents cannot be stopped altogether, but the degraded land can be revived through reclamation processes.
Land degradation like gullied/ ravenous land, desertic or coastal sands, barren rocky areas, steep sloping land, and glacial areas are primarily caused by natural agents. There are other type of degraded land such as waterlogged and marshy areas, land affected by salinity and alkalinity and land with or without scrub, which have largely been caused by natural as well as human factors. There are some other types of wastelands such as degraded shifting cultivation area, degraded land under plantation crops, degraded forests, degraded pastures, and mining and industrial wastelands, are caused by human actions.
Land degradation caused by human activities can be controlled by regulating and improving land use practices. Shifting agriculture and open grazing causes a large area of land to be degraded, therefore shifting cultivation and open grazing should be strictly banned. Regulations on use of fertilizers and other chemicals on the agricultural land should be strengthened. Mining activities, deforestation all leads to land degradation, therefore government needs to put strict checks on these practices. The best way to put a check on the land degradation and land revival is by educating the inhabitants of the area and having community based programmes aimed at checking land degradation and reviving the degraded land. Under the various schemes of governments, and aid of NGOs the community is organized in such a way to use sustainable and organic agricultural practices.
Common property resource is revitalized, and its use is promoted. Planting patches of fodder grass so as to limit open grazing is a crucial step to curtail land degradation. Social fencing of the land leads to feeling of responsibility among the people and therefore protection of land. Therefore community participation with public- government participation is. the best method to contain land degradation. The best example from India for.revival of degraded land is of the Jhabua district in the westernmost agro-climatic zone of Madhya Pradesh.