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Soil and Water Conservation and Sustainable Development

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Clean Water and Sanitation

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

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Soil and water resources are very closely linked, as a result there are strong connections among measures for soil and water conservation (SWC). However, variation exists depending on the prevailing agroecology and the purpose of conservation. When soil and water resources are treated together, they take elements from each other. Hence, SWC refers to the practices of halting degradation, the rehabilitation and restorations of degraded soils and water, and their optimal use. It incorporates technical measures and approaches used to maintain or enhance the productive capacity of land and/or water in areas affected by or prone to degradation by different agents. SWC practices include measures aimed to prevent and mitigate erosion; to reduce compaction, salinity and contamination of soils; to rehabilitate and restore degraded soils; to conserve or safely drain soil water, and to maintain or improve soil fertility (Blanco and Lal 2008; WOCAT 2007).

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub funded by the UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) [grant number: ES/S008179/1] and Water and Land Resource Centre of Addis Ababa University. The authors would also like to thank the numerous colleagues who have contributed inputs and comments in the development of this entry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water and Land Resource Centre, Addis Ababa University and College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Amare Bantider

  2. International Water Management Institute, Nile Basin and East African Office (EANBO), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Amare Haileslassie

  3. Water and Land Resource Centre, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Tena Alamirew & Gete Zeleke

Authors
  1. Amare Bantider
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  2. Amare Haileslassie
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  3. Tena Alamirew
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  4. Gete Zeleke
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amare Bantider .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Center for Neuroscience & Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Amanda Lange Salvia

  5. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. Technology, Innovation, Sociey, The Hague University of Applied Science, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Karel F. Mulder

  2. Technology, Policy & Management, Delft University of Technologu, Delft, Netherlands

    Karel F. Mulder

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Bantider, A., Haileslassie, A., Alamirew, T., Zeleke, G. (2021). Soil and Water Conservation and Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Wall, T. (eds) Clean Water and Sanitation. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70061-8_138-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70061-8_138-1

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