A study on land degradation in the upper catchment of river Tons, a tributary of Yamuna river, in Uttarkashi district of the Uttarakhand state, was carried out using on-screen visual interpretation of IRS LISS-III + PAN merged data. The study area, which is largely mountainous, includes Govind Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park.

The most common causes of migration in the Mesoamerican countries (the region stretching from southern Mexico to Costa Rica) are confl ict and the degradation of the natural environment. In this article we consider both situations and the effect on the region of La Mosquitia in north-east Honduras.

The capacities of developing countries to increase food production for its people and alleviate rural poverty is largely threatened by hungry and thirsty lands which shows clear evidence of advanced and continuing degradation seriously affecting its productive resource base.

Land and water are the main natural resources vital for agricultural production system. About one-third of cultivated land is irrigated and remaining 85 million ha is under rainfed cultivation in the country. Also about 146 million ha is degraded land needing reclamation/management for optimal productive use. The increasing human population is the main cause for reduced availability of land.

The term, 'environment', has many connotations. In this paper, by 'environment' we mean the natural environment, which encompasses all the biotic and abiotic elements that form our surroundings, that is, the air, the land, the water, the forests, the seas.