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Degrading land has a direct impact on crop productivity, food security and agro-economic output and further, increases greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbates climate change and alters the geophysical characteristics of land. Due to demographic pressures and increasing demand for land-based goods and services, land degradation is of a major concern in India, especially its impact on agriculture and food systems, on which the Indian economy is heavily dependent. One of the major high value agro-industrial sectors under threat from land degradation and climate change is the tea industry. Given the immense importance of the tea industry to regional economies of India, namely that of Assam and West Bengal, and its implications on livelihoods and the well-being of thousands, the purpose of this study was to understand the extent of the impact to which soil erosion and the gradual change in climatic parameters have had on the production of tea, with focus on the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. The assessment seeks to add to understanding in the subject area, as limited studies have been carried out to quantify the impacts of soil erosion and climate variability to tea production at large, and in particular to tea growing regions of India.
Findings indicate that there is an increasing trend in the mean annual precipitation, minimum temperature and relative humidity in the Darjeeling district and a decreasing trend in the maximum temperature. Further, utilizing the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RULSE) with GIS and remote sensing techniques, the findings indicate increasing trends in both the mean annual rate and areas under soil erosion in the Darjeeling (and Kalimpong) districts and its tea plantation areas. As a result, there are considerable implications on the profitability of the tea business in Darjeeling and the socioeconomic well-being of thousands associated with the tea industry therein.
Keywords: Soil erosion, land degradation, climate variability and change, RUSLE, tea production, land-water-food nexus
