Assessment of the Existing Land Conservation Techniques in the Peri Urban Area of Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of the existing land conservation techniques in the peri-urban area of Kaduna metropolis with the aim of ascertain-ing if the existing conservation methods have helped to alleviate land degradation, and provide sustainable land use. Random sampling method was used to collect data from field observation, measurement and semi-structured interviews, which are analysed using descriptive statistics. The results revealed that there exist local conservation techniques along with the modern ones, some are physical and oth-ers are biological methods, even though techniques such as agroforestry, which is known to be the best method of farming is present but is yet to take root in the area. Some of these conservation methods are not standardized neither are they imple-mented in a scientific manner to ensure effectiveness and efficiency without causing further damage to the land, and there may be no end to land degradation in Kaduna if the current approaches to conservation are not improved on. It is suggested that improved water management, improved farming techniques, economic empower-ment and education of the land users be employed in refining existing techniques, through which poor management practices such as bush burning, mono-cropping and overgrazing will be avoided while farmers may easily embrace new practices such as agroforestry, which provides farmers with income and food all year round as well as protect the environment from further degradation. Mariko (1991) stated that the Earth is humanity's life support system and any society must find a way to use its resources in an intelligent, economical and rational way. In turn, it is also important to enrich the land whose resources are not inexhaustible. However, in order to manage and use the products and by-products of the land and the natural environment in a rational way, the soil must be worked intelligently as its fertile surface is exhaustible. Mortimore (1998) noted that conservation has different meanings to different people. For some, it implies the exclusion of humans from protected natural reserves and to others it entails the protection of threatened species or habitats in ecosystems that are already occupied or exploited by human populations. The United Nations (1994) consider land conservation those activities that are part of the integrated development of land in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas for sustainable development and which are aimed at the prevention and/or reduction of land degra-dation, the rehabilitation of partly degraded land, and the reclamation of desertified land. The causes of declining biodiversity and land degradation are often multiple and complex and usually involve a combination of human and natural factors. The impacts of land degradation are also multiple in effects and range from natural to socio–economic considerations. From field observation, direct and indirect relation-ships between the state of natural resources (soil, vegetation, water, and ecosystem), the biological diversity at species level (animal, plant and microbial species) and the ecosystem level (habitats, interactions, and functions) and the management of those resources have been discovered. The management practices directly or indirectly affect the capacity of land users to conserve and sustain resources. It also provides goods and ecological services such as timber, herbs and eco-tourism. The assess-ment and monitoring of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, therefore, require an integrated suite of biological and socio-economic indicators. There are three major principles and direction of strategy for combating land degradation (Hamorouni et al., 2001). First is the sustainable use of water, soil and vegetation resources by ensuring their protection and conservation, and at the same time stimulating proper social and economic development. Second, ensuring land development by encouraging livestock farming and regeneration of natural vegetation coupled with a better use of soil and water resources. The third is the integration of farmers into all development and protection actions, by providing them with logistical support, efficient advice and enabling them to pass from unre-liable types of agriculture to more regular ones while ensuring a reliable source of subsistence. From these principles, various studies summarized the technical measures for land degradation as follows: soil and water conservation (Ben Hassine et al., 1998; Ogunwole et al., 2002), water collection and saving (Adewumi and Kolawole, 2002), sand invasion control, regeneration of forest and reforestation of bare land (IRA, 1991), development and rehabilitation of small irrigated areas, combating soil salinization, the re-use of drainage water in agriculture, re-use of treated waste