Groundwater depletion has become a serious concern in north-western India, particularly in Punjab and Haryana, largely due to the dominance of paddy cultivation and unsustainable irrigation practices driven by agricultural electricity subsidies. This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of current incentive strategies for crop diversification in this region introduced by the government for the reduction of groundwater over-extraction. Using the plot-level cost of cultivation data for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20, obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture amp; Farmers Welfare, Government of India, we show that the current proposed incentives are inadequate for shifting from water-intensive paddy to less water-intensive crops, mainly due to the higher profitability of paddy cultivation in terms of high yields and lower production costs as compared to other crops. We find that the average proportion of area under paddy that would shift to less water-intensive maize or cotton in Punjab with the current policy would be about 17–20 percent, which is 33 percent lower than the 30 percent target area set by the government. The area that would shift to non-paddy crops in Haryana would be about 11–16 percent, which is even lower. Our results show that the cash incentives required for crop diversification could be as high as 2.5 times the amount offered under the current scheme in order to shift to even the most profitable non-paddy crop. Our study highlights challenges in the implementation of the crop diversification scheme and propose alternatives.

Study Region: Shilansha is a watershed located in the Upper Bilate River of the Rift Valley Lake Basin in southern Ethiopia. The region experiences extreme soil water-erosion among the greatest rates globally at 498 tons ha- 1 yr- 1 leading to large quantities of sediment accumulation in Lake Abaya. Study Focus: Surface runoff, soil water-erosion, and sediment loads in the region vary with agricultural seasons and rainfall intensities but are often poorly quantified in modeling studies. This study assessed these effects using the event-based physically based distributed open-source Limburg Soil Water Erosion Model (OpenLISEM), incorporating local field data and multi-sensor satellite data processed with machine learning techniques. New Hydrological Insights: During the fallow season, simulated surface runoff and total soil loss were 9.7 % and 47 % larger than the growing season and 0.9 % and 42 % larger than the harvest season, respectively. Compared to moderate intensity, an 87 % increase in high rainfall intensity increased surface runoff by 159 % and soil loss by 295 %, while a 45 % decrease in low rainfall intensity reduced surface runoff by 49 % and soil loss by 85 %. High rainfall intensity had a greater impact when combined with fallow season land cover, while effects were smallest when low rainfall intensity combined with growing season land cover. A calibrated model parameter set for a particular season resulted in deteriorated model performance when applied to other seasons. These findings offer insights on the importance of considering seasonal changes in land cover and rainfall intensity when developing soil and water conservation strategies.

Since its introduction at the 2015 UN Convention to Combat Desertification Conference, the concept of land degradation neutrality (LDN) has guided countries’ efforts to restore land for sustainable socio-economic and environmental benefits. LDN aims to balance reductions in land quality with initiatives to rehabilitate degraded land. However, due to budget constraints, it is not feasible to address all degraded land, necessitating strategic decisions about where to invest resources. This study, using Ethiopia as a case study, aimed to: (i) assess the long-term (1995 - 2024) land degradation trends, (ii) identify areas of net land loss or gain, (iii) prioritize regions and actions for addressing LDN, and (iv) evaluate the impact of Ethiopia’s landscape management initiatives on LDN. The analysis of LULC changes and the observed landscape transformation across diverse agroecological zones yielded mixed results. While some areas, such as the dry Kolla and dry Weyna Dega regions, showed improvement, others, including the dry Dega and der Berha zones, experienced continued degradation. These variations affected the three main objectives of LDN: healthy ecosystems, food security, and human well-being. The ongoing landscape transformation, driven by LULC changes, underscores the need for more comprehensive strategies to mitigate further degradation and restore affected lands. Our findings regarding LDN trajectories, such as a 6 % reduction in degraded land between 2010 and 2024, suggest that national LDN implementation, through diverse Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices, is essential for achieving the country’s LDN goals. However, LDN outcomes varied across Ethiopia’s agroecological zones, influenced by differences in environmental conditions, land use practices, and socio-economic factors. This highlights the necessity for tailored solutions, an understanding of varying restoration potentials, targeted resource allocations, and a focus on prioritizing the most vulnerable areas. Additionally, documenting both the successes and challenges of Ethiopia’s restoration efforts, enhancing the effectiveness of its landscape management initiatives, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of its SLM practices are critical for achieving LDN.