What is Deforestation?
The removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest usage is known as deforestation or forest clearance. Forest areas can be converted to farmland, ranches, or urban usage as part of deforestation. The highest concentration of deforestation is seen in tropical rainforests.
At the moment, forests cover around 31% of the Earth's land surface. This represents a one-third reduction in forest cover compared to what existed prior to the advent of agriculture, with half of the decline occurring in the preceding century. Every year, between 15 million and 18 million hectares of forest are lost, an area the size of Belgium; on average, 2,400 trees are chopped down every minute.
Habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, and aridity have all occurred from tree removal without adequate replanting. Extinction, climate shifts, desertification, and population displacement are all consequences of deforestation, as evidenced by present conditions and the fossil record.
Deforestation also has a detrimental influence on atmospheric carbon dioxide biosequestration, creating negative feedback loops that contribute to global warming. By removing forests for agricultural use and diminishing arable land in general, global warming puts a greater strain on populations seeking food security.
Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
The various causes of deforestation as well as forest degradation are as follows:
Agricultural Activities
Agricultural activities, as mentioned earlier in the overview, are one of the major causes affecting deforestation. Agriculture is responsible for around 80% of deforestation, according to the FAO. A large number of trees are destroyed to produce crops due to the rising need for food, and subsistence agriculture accounts for 33% of agricultural-related deforestation.
Livestock Ranching
Livestock is thought to be responsible for roughly 14% of all deforestation on the planet. To raise animals and generate food, farmers frequently clear land by felling trees and burning them. They continue to utilise the property until the soil has degraded completely, then repeat the procedure on new woods.
It will eventually reforest, although it will take many years to restore to its previous state. Surprisingly, the forest area has decreased by about 40% in the last 40 years, while grassland regions and cattle populations have increased significantly and rapidly.
Illegal Logging
Apart from that, wood-based businesses such as paper, matchsticks, and furniture require a significant quantity of wood supplies. Both directly and indirectly, wood is utilised as a source of energy. As a result, trees are cut down to fulfil the need for resources. Wood is utilised as a fuel in the form of firewood and charcoal. Illegal tree cutting and falling are profitable for some of these businesses.
Urbanization
Furthermore, highways are built to get access to these woods; once again, trees are cut down to make roadways. Overpopulation has a direct impact on forest cover because, as cities grow, more land is required for houses and settlements. As a result, forest land is being recovered.
Desertification of Land
Other causes that lead to deforestation are partly natural and partly human, such as land desertification. It arises as a result of land misuse, which makes it unsuitable for tree development. Many petrochemical businesses dump trash into rivers, causing soil erosion and making it unsuitable for growing plants and trees.
Forest Fires
Forest fires are another good example; hundreds of trees are destroyed each year in various parts of the world due to forest fires. It occurs as a result of extremely hot summers and milder winters. Whether caused by man or nature, forest fires result in significant forest destruction.
Paper
The Environment Paper Network estimates that each year, 640 million trees are thrown away due to paper waste. America, China, Canada, and Japan produce more than half of the world's paper, or 400 million tonnes per year. Recycling may prevent the release of 27.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the environment. When we use recycled paper, we help to ensure that forests remain a healthy ecosystem and wildlife habitat.
Overpopulation
Overpopulation needs additional space for houses and communities. It results in a huge rise in the need for food and farmland in order to grow food and raise livestock. It requires the building of many more roads and highways for transportation and communication, all of which contribute to deforestation.
Logging companies fell trees to make furniture, paper, construction materials, and a variety of other items. Furthermore, deforestation is closely connected to the rising human population. As a result, purchasing from sustainable firms that actively campaign against deforestation has become virtually mandatory.
Effects of Deforestation
The major effects of deforestation are mentioned below:
Environmental Effects
Climate Imbalance and Climate Change
Deforestation has a variety of effects on the climate. Our planet's lungs are forests. Tropical rainforests are highly humid because trees absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen and water vapour into the air. In addition, trees provide shade, which helps keep the soil wet. The absence of trees jeopardises all of them. It causes an imbalance in air temperature, a drier environment, and more difficult biological conditions, all of which contribute to climate change.
Increase in Global Warming
Trees have a significant part in reducing global warming. The trees absorb greenhouse gases, which helps to keep the atmosphere in control. The ratio of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has grown as a result of ongoing deforestation, contributing to our global warming woes.
Increase in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Forests assist in the conversion of carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gas emissions. They become carbon sources after they are cut, burnt, or otherwise eliminated. Deforestation is thought to be responsible for about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions, with 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon released into the atmosphere each year owing to tropical deforestation.
Soil Erosion
Trees are also important for local water cycles because they return water vapour to the atmosphere. Rainwater percolates into the soil, keeping the soil wet. The fertile soil is kept in place by several layers of trees' complex root systems. The ground is immediately exposed to the sun now that the tree cover has been removed, making it dry.
Erosion happens often with the lack of trees, washing the soil into nearby rivers and streams. Nature's water purification plants are forests. Soil erosion exposes soil to pollutants, which leak into the water supply and pollute our drinking water.
Health Effects
Coronavirus Disease 2019
The Coronavirus pandemic, according to the United Nations, World Health Organization, and World Animal Foundation, is connected to environmental damage, including deforestation, habitat loss in general, and wildlife trading. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released two short movies in April 2020 detailing the link between environmental degradation, animal trading, and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a section on its website dedicated to the subject. The World Economic Forum has issued a request for natural recovery to be included in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts, claiming that the epidemic is connected to environmental devastation.
Malaria
Malaria, which claimed the lives of 405,000 people last year, is most likely connected to deforestation. "For unknown causes, the species that survive and become dominant transmit malaria more effectively than the species that were most common in the intact woods." Public health specialists Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein of Harvard Medical School write in their article "Almost wherever malaria is prevalent, this has been observed."
The Rise of Commercial Forestry
The British were concerned that uncontrolled tree chopping and forest usage by local people would damage forests. Brandis, a German specialist summoned by the British government, realised that forest conservation required individuals to be taught in conservation science and the establishment of a suitable system. They were compelled to establish guidelines for the use of forest resources. They believed that limiting grazing and tree felling was necessary to protect forests for wood production. As a result, Brandis assisted in the formulation of the Indian Forest Act of 1865, as well as the establishment of the Indian Forest Service in 1864.
In 1878 and 1927, the Indian Forest Act was modified twice. Village forests protected woods, and reserved forests were the three types of forests identified. The best forests were those that had been cast aside for conservation. Villagers may utilise village woods and protected forests to satisfy their requirements, but they were not authorised to exploit reserved forests. As the woods were placed under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department, new trading opportunities arose, and certain people reaped the rewards. Many individuals began to trade in forest goods, and many villages abandoned their traditional livelihoods. This increase in forest product commerce was witnessed all around the world, not only in India.
As part of deforestation, forest lands might be converted to agriculture, ranching, or urban use. According to the FAO, agriculture is responsible for about 80% of deforestation. Every year, between 15 million and 18 million hectares of forest are destroyed, an area roughly equal to Belgium. Paper, matchsticks, and furniture are all wood-based enterprises that demand a considerable amount of wood materials. Wood is utilised as a fuel in the form of firewood and charcoal. Other factors that contribute to deforestation include both natural and human-made.
Conclusion
Thus, in this article we have covered information about the deforestation as well as commercial forestry. Where at the one hand, decline of forests are seen because of various reasons, on the other hand, the plants as well as trees are planted and grown especially which can be exploited by the users commercially.
FAQs on Deforestation and Rise of Commercial Forestry
1. What is deforestation, and how does it differ from commercial forestry as seen in the CBSE Class 9 syllabus?
Deforestation is the large-scale removal of forests for other land uses, such as agriculture, urban development, or mining, without any intention of replanting. In contrast, commercial forestry is the practice of managing forests specifically to produce timber and other forest products for sale. While it often involves cutting trees, the primary goal is the systematic cultivation and harvesting of commercially valuable species, like teak or sal, often in planned plantations, which was a key policy during the British colonial period.
2. What were the main drivers behind the rise of commercial forestry in India during the colonial era?
The rise of commercial forestry in colonial India was driven by several key imperial needs as per the NCERT curriculum for the 2025-26 session. These include:
- Shipbuilding: The British Royal Navy required a vast and steady supply of durable timber to build and maintain its ships.
- Railway Expansion: The rapid expansion of railways across India created a massive demand for millions of wooden sleepers to lay the tracks.
- Revenue Generation: The colonial government viewed forests as a valuable economic resource and aimed to control and manage them to generate maximum revenue for the state.
- Plantations: Large forest areas were cleared to establish plantations for commercial crops like tea, coffee, and rubber.
3. What are the key environmental consequences of replacing natural forests with commercial plantations?
Replacing natural, diverse forests with commercial plantations has significant environmental consequences. This practice, often a part of 'scientific forestry', leads to the creation of monocultures (planting only one type of tree). This results in a drastic loss of biodiversity because the varied habitats that support different plants, animals, and insects are destroyed. It also increases soil erosion, can disrupt local water cycles, and makes the ecosystem more susceptible to pests and diseases that can wipe out the entire plantation.
4. What is the importance of 'scientific forestry' as a concept in this chapter?
The concept of 'scientific forestry' is important because it represents the colonial government's systematic approach to controlling and exploiting forest resources. Introduced by experts like Dietrich Brandis, it was a system where natural forests were cut down and replaced with single-species plantations grown in straight rows. Its importance lies in understanding how the British justified the takeover of forests, prioritising timber production for imperial needs over the ecological health of the forest and the traditional rights of local communities.
5. How did the colonial Forest Acts change the relationship between people and forests in India?
The colonial Forest Acts fundamentally changed the relationship by transforming forests from a community resource into a state-owned commercial asset. The Indian Forest Act of 1878 divided forests into 'reserved', 'protected', and 'village' categories. By declaring the best forests as 'reserved', the government denied access to local people. Their age-old rights to graze cattle, practise shifting cultivation (jhum), hunt, and collect forest produce were declared illegal. This severed the traditional, symbiotic relationship and led to widespread hardship and conflict.
6. Why were Indian forests considered 'unproductive' by the British before the rise of commercial forestry?
The British considered Indian forests 'unproductive' because their value was measured purely in commercial and strategic terms. A natural, mixed forest with a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and undergrowth did not provide the large, uniform logs required for shipbuilding or railway sleepers. From their perspective, the wilderness needed to be 'tamed' and 'improved' by clearing it and planting commercially valuable species in an organised manner. The ecological value and the resources it provided to local communities were not part of their definition of 'productive'.
7. What is the key difference between shifting cultivation and the plantation agriculture promoted by the British?
The key difference lies in purpose, scale, and ecological impact. Shifting cultivation was a traditional, subsistence-based practice where a small patch of forest was cleared and cultivated for a few years before being left to regenerate naturally. In contrast, plantation agriculture was a large-scale commercial enterprise focused on growing a single cash crop (like tea or coffee) for profit. It involved permanent clearing of vast forest lands, leading to irreversible deforestation and loss of biodiversity, unlike the cyclical and smaller-scale nature of shifting cultivation.
8. How did the expansion of railways directly accelerate deforestation in the 19th century?
The expansion of railways was a major direct cause of accelerated deforestation for two primary reasons. Firstly, locomotives ran on steam, and wood was used as fuel to boil water. Secondly, and more significantly, laying a railway line required a huge number of wooden sleepers to hold the tracks together. It is estimated that for every mile of railway track, between 1,760 and 2,000 sleepers were needed. As the railway network expanded from the 1850s onwards, vast tracts of forest, especially of durable trees like Sal and Teak, were felled to meet this enormous demand.
