DEFORESTATION : CAUSES

& CONCEQUENCES

By – Sahit Devgan
 DEFORESTATION
• Deforestation can be defined as the large-scale removal of trees from forests or other lands for
the facilitation of human activities.
• Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use.
• Forests cover approximately 31% of the total land surface of the Earth. Between the years 2000
and 2012, over 568 million acres of forest have been claimed by deforestation. Approximately 9
million acres of tropical forest were cut down in the year 2018. The Amazon rainforest, which is
the source of 20% of the world’s oxygen supply, loses approximately 1.32 acres of its area every
minute due to deforestation.
• Indian forests comprise only 0.50 per cent of the world forest area. India is losing about 1.5
million hectares of forest cover each year.
 CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
• Large-scale deforestation is caused by a combination of causes, including negligent forest
management and a lack of environmental rules. Deforestation, both naturally occurring and
caused by humans, is a persistent problem in many countries.
• Deforestation causes can either be natural or man-made:
1. Man-made Causes: Logging, Agricultural activities, mining, urbanization, timber production,
overgrazing.
2. Natural Causes: Hurricanes, flames, parasites, and floods are examples of natural disasters.
 1.LOGGING

 
• Illegal logging is highly frequent, and it destroys the livelihoods of people who rely on forests for their living.
• Paper, matchsticks, and furniture are all wood-based sectors that require a significant amount of wood
supplies. Wood is the most often used fuel, and as a result, enormous amounts of trees are cut down for fuel
supply.
• There are numerous methods of logging, but the most dangerous is known as “clean cutting.” This occurs
when a forest area is fully deforested, leaving no living trees in the region .
 2. AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES

• Deforestation is largely caused by the conversion of forests to agricultural land. Many trees are cut down for
agriculture and livestock grazing due to the ever-increasing demand for food products.
• The type of agriculture to be looked at is slash-and-burn farming. One of the problems with slash and burn is
that flames that are started on purpose can spread accidentally throughout the forest. 
• The large-scale slash-and-burn agriculture can have disastrous impacts on the area’s biodiversity. Many
animal habitats are lost in the fire because significant sections of land are burned.
• As a result, animals are pushed out of the forest, reducing biodiversity and increasing the number of
endangered and extinct species.
 3. MINING
• One of the primary causes of deforestation is mining. Soil erosion, sinkhole formation, biodiversity loss, and
chemical contamination of soil, groundwater, and surface water are all examples of mining’s environmental
impact.
• Oil and coal extraction both necessitate the deforestation of a significant quantity of forest area.
• Mining waste pollutes the ecosystem and has a negative impact on surrounding animals.
 4. TIMBER PRODUCTION
• The production of timber is one of the leading causes of deforestation. As a result of the high demand for
timber, deforestation is on the rise.
• It is a raw material that is utilized in the production of paper as well as building.
• Every year, over 380,000 hectares of forest are cut down to supply the enormous global demand for wood
and wood products, accounting for almost 60% of forest degradation.
• These degraded woods are significantly more vulnerable to conversion for other land uses like mining,
agriculture, and settlement.
 5. URBANIZATION
• As the world’s population expands, so do people’s wants, which leads to more deforestation. 
• The rise of cities necessitates the demand for more land for housing and settlements, which has a
direct impact on forests.
• Forests have shrunk significantly in order to meet demands such as road construction, housing
development, mineral extraction, and industry expansion.
 6. FIREWOOD COLLECTION
• The majority of rural population and a large number of people living in small towns and cities of
developing countries, the only fuel is wood which is burned to cook food and to provide heat in
chilly winters.
• Firewood collection contributes much to the depletion of tree cover, especially in localities which
are lightly wooded.
• Denser forests usually produce a lot of combustible material in the form of dead twigs, leaves etc.
There is hardly any need of cutting down live trees in densely wooded localities.
 7. NATURAL CAUSES

• Every year, we lose many trees due to forest fires in various parts of the world. Forests that have been
damaged by logging and disease, as well as those that have been fragmented by deforestation, are more
vulnerable to fire.
• Hurricanes inflict forest destruction in two ways: high winds that topple trees and heavy rains that produce
floods.
• Trees can also be damaged by high winds, which can cause them to shatter, twist, and bend, as well as
wounds and root damage.
• Floods also swipe off shrubs and trees, leading to deforestation.
 CONSEQUENCES OF DEFORESTATION
• Forests don’t just provide home to millions of wild animal and plant species but their ability to capture
greenhouse gas emissions makes the earth livable for us all. When humans harm forests for short-term
economic gains, we harm our species’ chances for survival in the long-term.
• People who live near forests suffer the most immediate impacts of deforestation. These marginalized and
vulnerable communities depend on forests for their livelihoods, as forested land provides resources like
fertile soil for food and clean, fresh water for drinking.
 1. FOOD INSECURITY

• People living nearby forests harvest food and medicine

directly from plant species in the forest or cultivate crops in
the fertile soil.
• Because of deforestation, these communities lose resources
to cultivate the food they need to survive, pushing them into
food insecurity.
• This process destroys the biodiversity and fertility of the
land, making it unsustainable for feeding populations in the
long-term.
 2. SOIL EROSSION

• The roots of trees stabilize soil and keep it in place.

Removing trees loosens the soil and leaves it exposed to
damaging rains and wind.
• Removing trees on a mass scale through deforestation
significantly speeds up soil erosion.
• Developing countries pay an especially harsh price for soil
erosion, especially when they lose topsoil, the nutrient-rich
layer of soil that is essential for growing crops.
 3. CLIMATE CHANGE

• Trees balance the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) levels as the

gas cycles through the atmosphere and into the oceans, soil,
and other living organisms.
• Cutting down trees releases their stored CO2 back into the
atmosphere. And, when we don’t replant the fallen trees, we
lose out on their continued removal of excess carbon from
the atmosphere.
• This leads to the excess carbon emissions that contribute to
the greenhouse effect and accelerate climate change.
 4. HABITAT LOSS

• The earth has lost an estimated 80 million hectares of forest

since 1990, as industries clear forested land for farming,
grazing, mining, drilling, and urbanization.
• This number doesn’t just represent fallen trees but it
represents the decimation of millions of animals’ habitats.
• Habitat loss is among the greatest dangers to plant and
animal species worldwide. When animals lose their habitats,
they lose the shelter they need for continued survival.
 5. WILDLIFE EXTINCTION

• Rainforests are home to an estimated 50% of life on land.

Forests offer habitat to 80% of the world’s amphibious
species, 75% of bird species, and 68% of mammal species.
• The habitat loss associated with deforestation doesn’t kill
animals directly, instead their populations die out slowly as
“their breeding rates fall and competition for food becomes
even more intense.”
 6. HUMAN HEALTH

• When humans destroy their forest habitats, animals and insects

seek shelter in the populous villages surrounding forests which
leads to an unprecedented amount of contact between humans
and wildlife that’s not only unnatural but dangerous.
• This is because animals can spread pathogens to humans. These
pathogens cause illnesses known as zoonotic diseases.
• Mosquitos spread malaria to humans, and mosquito populations
flourish when biodiversity drops. The outbreaks of ebola in
Central and West Africa to the recent loss of forests. Scientists
have also hypothesized that the virus that causes COVID-19
jumped from animals to humans.
 CASE STUDIES

Desertification in hilly regions of the Himalayas

Deforestation in Himalayas, involving clearance of natural forests and plantation of monocultures like Pinus
roxburghi, Eucalyptus camadulensis etc. have upset the ecosystem by changing various soil (edaphic) and
biological properties. Nutrient cycling has become poor, original rich germplasm is lost and the area is invaded
by exotic weeds. These areas are not able to recover and are losing their fertility. The entire west Khasi hill
district of Meghalaya in North-east Himalayas, Ladakh and parts of Kumaon and Garhwal are now facing the
serious problemof desertification.
 • Disappearing Tea gardens in Chhota Nagpur

This hilly region used to be a good forested area towards the turn of the century and used to receive fairly
frequent afternoon showers favouring tea plantations. Following the destruction of forests, rainfall declined in
Chhota Nagpur to such an extent that tea -gardens also disappeared from the region.
 • Waning Rainfall in Udhagamandalam (Ooty)

The sub normal rainfall during 1965-84 at Ooty in Nilgiri mountains has been found to be closely associated
with declining forest cover in this region in the past 20 years. The rainfall pattern was found to fluctuate with
wooded land area in the hills. When the Nilgiri mountains had luxuriant forest cover annual rainfall used to be
much higher.