Vetiver Grass A Thin Green Line Against Erosion (1993) / Chapter Skim
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3 Conclusions
3 Conclusions
Pages 49-58
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From page 49... ...
In global terms, erosion is continually increasing. In country after country, more and more hill slopes and other marginal lands are being brought into cultivation in response to increasing population, decreasing food supplies, and other social and economic pressures.
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From page 50... ...
Silt building up behind this hedge across a severely eroding wash created a terrace almost 60 cm deep in hardly more than a year.
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From page 51... ...
To the casual observer, it may seem implausible that a hedge of grass only one plant wide could block the movement of soil under torrential tropical rainfall. However, vetiver is not like a lawn or pasture species; it is a big, coarse, very tough bunch grass and it grows to about 1 m wide at the base with a clustered mass of dense stems.
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From page 52... ...
VETIVER BRINGS NEW ADVANTAGES If erosion is to be controlled across the globe, it is vital that it be done in ways that appeal directly, and obviously, to the farmers' immediate self-interests. Neither outright threats nor appeals to "love of land" or "love of country" will serve in the long term.
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From page 53... ...
· It does not require foreign exchange or expensive equipment. · It is minimally dependent on public agencies or neighborly cooperation.
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From page 54... ...
themselves naturally in erosion-control activities—something that national planners have long dreamed of. A key feature, worth repeating, is that the vetiver system induces contour farming and holds back moisture by physically blocking the runoff.
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From page 55... ...
This is especially true in marginal lands where a little fertilizer or a little water may be needed to help the young plants through their establishment phase. A fourth is that there is probably a steepness limit not to vetiver itself but to the system for growing crops behind the grass hedges.
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From page 56... ...
Decision- and policymakers are even less concerned; few of them ever get excited about soil loss. Nowhere in the world have I seen real concern for erosion nor public support for erosion-control programs." Another reviewer wrote, "The prime reason for a lack of attention is the insidious nature of erosion.
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From page 57... ...
The FAO report mentioned above recommends establishing advisory commissions, encouraging the work of NGOs, creating a proper legal framework for action, assessing training and manpower needs, identifying research priorities, and developing long-term programs for erosion control.
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From page 58... ...
Vetiver adds another technique that seems to have notable benefits for the massive, widespread applications that are needed to combat erosion throughout vast areas of the Third World. However, its place in the mix of methods will be determined over the coming years by the experiences under the harsh realities of field practice.
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