Further, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) defines land degradation as a reduction or loss in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas of the biological or
economic productivity and complexity of rain - fed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including those arising from human activities and habitation patterns, such as: (i) soil erosion caused by wind and / or water; (ii)
deterioration of the physical, chemical, and biological or
economic properties of soil; and (iii) long - term loss of natural vegetation.