Unsustainable resource management practices are often induced by population pressures and poverty. People affected by desertification often need to draw on their limited assets in order to survive, which accentuates their poverty. This constitutes a vicious cycle linking deteriorating natural resources to deteriorating livelihoods as people need to encroach further on fragile soils, sparse vegetation and limited water resources to meet their basic needs for food, shelter and livelihood.
As per the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India published by the Space Application Centre in 2007, about 32.07 % of the land is undergoing various forms of degradation and 25% of the geographical area is affected by desertification. About 69% of the country’s lands are drylands and degradation of these lands has severe implications for the livelihood and food security of millions. The first Desertification Status Mapping was carried out by the Space Application Centre (SAC) in 2007. The current report-cum-atlas "Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India (Based on IRS AWiFS data of 2011-13 and 2003-05 time frames)" is the second assessment giving national level spatial information on various land degradation processes and their severity of the degraded land of the country.