Deforestation

Deforestation is the process of widespread clearing, removal, or destruction of forests that results in the permanent loss of trees and vegetation cover in that specific area. In this article, you will learn about deforestation, causes and effects of deforestation on environment, afforestation and deforestation, providing key insights for GS Paper-3 Environment & Ecology of UPSC IAS Exam.

Table of Content

• What is Deforestation?
• Major causes of deforestation
• Methodology of deforestation
• Deforestation diagram
• Advantages of deforestation
• What are the consequences of deforestation?
• Deforestation in India
• Government efforts for the control of deforestation
• Deforestation solutions
• Consequences of deforestation 
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

What is Deforestation?

• Deforestation refers to the widespread clearing, removal, or destruction of forests that results in the permanent loss of trees and vegetation cover in that specific area.

Major causes of deforestation:

• Developmental activities: As human societies evolved, the need for various developmental activities arose, such as constructing buildings, roads, industries, schools, hospitals, railways, and irrigation canals.
  • In order to meet the land requirements for these activities, forests were cleared.
  • The biggest driver of deforestation is demand for more land due to growing population.
• Harvesting timber and wood: Wood is used in constructing buildings, manufacturing furniture, and producing other items for human use.
  • Forests provide required wood to meet the demand for timber and firewood for cooking and heating purposes.
• Main causes of deforestation is creation of pastures as forests are cleared to make way for the growth of grasses that are suitable for grazing cattle.
• Deforestation is caused by shifting cultivation which involves clearing forests and burning fallen trees to prepare the land for crop cultivation.
  • Crops are grown on the cleared land for a limited period until the soil’s fertility diminishes.
    • After that the land is left abandoned.
  • Each time, a new area of forest is cleared for cultivation, and this cycle is repeated.
• Urbanisation: The expansion of cities often contributes to the deforestation.
• Natural causes of deforestation: Forest fires, severe droughts, flooding, death and decay of plants, plant disease etc.

Methodology of deforestation:

Advantages of deforestation:

• Deforestation creates more usable land for agricultural activities.
• Deforestation creates income-earning opportunities including creation of jobs.
• Objectives of deforestation also includes creation of tax revenues for government to fund social security schemes.
• Deforestation can stop urban overcrowding issues.
• Deforestation helps in providing many valuable resources demanded by the growing population.

What are the consequences of deforestation?

• Soil erosion: When forests are cleared, rainfall does not occur, leading to soilerosion.
  • The roots of plants help to hold the soil in place and without the protective cover of plants, the topsoil, which is rich in organic matter, gets washed away, resulting in a loss of fertility for the soil.
  • Trees contribute to the formation of rain clouds through transpiration, so deforestation can lead to reduced rainfall.
• Landslides: The soil erosion can trigger landslides in hilly areas as tree roots play a crucial role in holding the soil in position.
• Deforestation leads to Silting: The absence of trees in forests causes sedimentation in rivers and lakes as loose soil is washed away by rainwater and ends up in water bodies.
• Harmful effects of deforestation on wild animals: loss of wildlife habitat as forests serves as home for wild animals which may be endemic to the region.
  • Deforestation leads to the loss of their habitat, making them prone to being endangered or extinction.
• Effects of deforestation on earth: Climate change as trees create a humid environment and absorbs greenhouses gases, thus lowering the temperature of Earth.
  • The loss of trees results in a decrease in humidity.
• Loss of CO2 absorption: Trees act as a sink for CO2 and absorbing many pollutants released by industries.
  • When forests are cleared, this CO2 sink is lost, and CO2 gets accumulated in the environment.
• Pollution: The cutting of trees for furniture or paper production results in pollution from the waste dumped by sawmills and paper mills into water bodies.
• Loss of medicinal and use ful plants: Certain forests contain unique medicinal plants that are lost due to deforestation.
  • Aromatic herbs, rubber trees, and other valuable plants are lost due to deforestation.
• Deforestation effects on humans: Loss of livelihood of Tribals as Tribals have cultural, spiritual and economic ties with the forest, which is lost due to deforestation.
• Desertification: is a systemic phenomenon that results due to excessive felling of trees which results in the loss of soil fertility, high wind velocity, low precipitation, increasing aridity and extremes of temperatures in the affected area.
• Rainfall: Deforestation generally decreases rainfall as trees are main source of water vapours through transpiration, without water vapour cloud formation will not take place leading to decreased rainfall.

Deforestation in India:

• India is among the top 10 countries that has highest percentage of deforestation.
• The largest decline in forest cover is observed in moderately dense forests category.
  • Other categories of forests are: Very dense forests, Open forests and Scrubs.

Government efforts for the control of deforestation:

• National Afforestation Programme (NAP): is a Centrally Sector Scheme for Afforestation and tree plantation and eco-restoration of degraded forests and adjoining areas in the country.
• Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP): aims to restore the ecology by conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water.
• National Bamboo Mission (NBM): aims to develop the complete value chain of Bamboo sector by linking cultivators with consumers.
• Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA): balance’s afforestation and development activities by compensating in terms of money for forest land that is diverted to non-forest uses.
• Green India Mission: aims to protect, restore and enhance India’s diminishing forest cover.
• Biological Diversity Act 2002 has been enacted to conserve biological resources of the country and regulate access to these resources to ensure equitable sharing of benefits.

Deforestation solutions:

• Provide incentives to indigenous people along with proper resources to conserve forests.
• Companies can implement “zero deforestation” policies in their supply chains. 
• Circular economy and sustainable choices can help decrease the demand for forest resources as well as reduce the release of polluting products in the environment.
• Reforestation should be promoted through proper incentives to the forest community.
• Agroforestry and sustainable agriculture can reduce the need for deforestation as they focus on growing crops and trees together.

Conclusion of deforestation:

The absence of plants will disrupt the balance of gases in the atmosphere. This leads to an increase in carbon dioxide levels, resulting in global warming and climate change. It is crucial to implement the required measures for prevention of deforestation. Deforestation results in land degradation as the deforestation may reduce the chances of rainfall leading to severe drought conditions

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