Deforestation a cause of concernby Dharmendra Kapri | 28-02-2017 04:17 |
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India had abundant forests in ancient times. Ashoka's stones edicts prescribed tree planting. Increase in population, lack of foresight and indiscriminate felling have greatly reduced the forests. According to the Central Forestry Commission (1980), forests in India covered about 75 million hectares. This area formed about 23% of the total land area. The "state of the report 1991" showed only 19.49% of land area under forests in India. However, remote sensing surveys have shown that is is only 14%. As per the India's national forest policy, 33% of the total land area should be under forests. Hence, our achievement in the past 70 years of independence is far below expectation. Forests are classified into various types on the basis of geographic location, edaphic and climatic factors, and composition of species. Sixteen forest types are recognized in India. Three types, namely, tropical dry deciduous(38.7%), tropical moist deciduous(30.9%), and tropical thorn(6.9%), form the bulk if our forests ( about 75% of total forests). Extensive sal and teak plantations also exist(13%). Coniferous forests cover about 6.3% area. About 96% of forests are state owned in our country. Deforestation means clearing of forests land for use by man. Deforestation is a serious threat to the quality of life, national economy and future of environment. It is the direct outcome of the spread of agriculture, for which forest is converted into farmland.
In the world, forests have dwindled from about 7,000 million hectares in 1900 to 2890 million hectares in 1975, and were estimated to be reduced to only 2370 million hectares by the most productive forest types in the world, have decreased from 1600 million hectares to 938 million hectares. Cause of Deforestation- Forest wealth suffers loss in many ways- Population Explosion- Man has mercilessly cleared large areas of forests to reclaim land for housing, agriculture, factories, roads and rail tracks. Increased demand for timber, fuel wood, wooden crates and paper has also contributed to the large scale felling of trees. Industries, mining and quarrying have seriously affected the forests. Fires- Fire is the worst enemy of the forests. It destroys the full-grown trees, young trees of future forests, seeds and even humus. Animal life is also lost and there is a danger to human life too in a forest fire. Pests- Many kinds of insects are frets pests. They destroy trees by eating up leaves, boring into shoots and spreading diseases. It difficult to spray on extensive forest, but biological control is possible. Grazing and Gnawing Mammal- These animals first eat or trample the young plants, then destroy the leaves on the lower branches of tall trees, and finally damage their trunks and roots. Weather- Storm and snow damage the forests, these natural forces are beyond the human power to control. Dams- Barriers constructed across the streams to form water reservoirs for generating power or preventing floods submerge and kill large tracts of forests. Jhuming (Shifting Cultivation)- In certain parts of India, forests are burnt, ash is mixed with soil and crops are sown in the cleared land. |
