Discuss the socio-economic consequences of soil degradation.
There are more than 20 million km2 of degraded land worldwide (2015). Overgrazing and agricultural mismanagement affect more than 12 million km2 and 20% of the world's pasture and rangelands have been damaged. The situation is most severe in Africa and Asia, where education and technology in this field is not as enhanced.Firstly, the removal of vegetation and topsoil results in lack of farm productivity because the land is degraded and farmers cannot grow their plants. As a result of that, it leads to rural unemployment, which may potentially increase the crime rates, but also increase the migration rates as people need to look for other jobs to sustain themselves. If people fail to do so - look for another job or migrate due to some circumstances - then it leads to hunger, death and malnutrition of millions of people around the globe.
