Deforestation and its Effects
- Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stands of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use.
Reasons
- This happens for many reasons like intensive agriculture, urbanization, construction of dams, roads, buildings and industries, hydroelectric projects, forest fires, and construction of mountain and forest roads.
- It is a threat to the economy, quality of life and future of the environment.
- India is losing about 1.5 million hectares of forest cover every year.
Effects of Deforestation
- Deforestation gives rise to ecological problems like floods, drought, soil erosion, loss of wildlife, extinction of species, imbalance of biogeochemical cycles, alteration of climatic conditions and desertification.