deforestation

Deforestation

     Deforestation, in strict sense of the term, refers to the transfer of

forest land to non-forest uses and includes all land where the forest cover

has been stripped off and the land converted to such uses as permanent

cultivation, shifting cultivation, human settlements, mining, reservoirs

etc. Deforestation continues to threaten and erode the area under forest

cover in several countries of the World.

The underlying causes of deforestation are rooted in a complex web of

social, economic and institutional problems. They include:

(i) The combined effects of poverty, skewed land distribution, and

rising population pressure

(ii) Increased demand for tropical timber and Agricultural

products, and

(iii) International debt obligations, which can lead developing

countries to accelerate the pace of forest exploitation in order

to earn needed foreign exchange

The forest area in India has shrunk from 33% in 1947 to 22.6 % at

present. As per the recommended norm of the National Forest Policy

1988, about 33% of the geographical area should be under the forest

cover, which comes to about 110 million ha compared to 68.83 million

ha presently under the forest cover in India

Deforestation, together with over grazing, is modifying the climate, and

accelerating the erosion of  biodiversity, which in turn posing the threat

to ecological sustainability and food security .

           India has established an organization called the National

Afforestation and Ecodevelopment Board (NAEB) in 1992 to take up

afforestation programmes and bring back the productivity from the

degraded forestlands.

Deforestation is the process of clearing large areas of 

forest across the earth and involves the cutting 

down, burning, and damaging of forests