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Causes of Deforestation

Forests in Assam are dwindling and the main reasons attributed to the gradual depletion of forests in Assam are:

The hills and plateau of the two districts Karbi Along and N.C. Hills are populated by hill tribes having their own cultural life style intertwined with forests, wildlife
and jhum (Shifting) cultivation. This particular process involves 'slash' and 'burn' of forest area and natural vegetation. Original jhum cultivation had a long jhum
cycle of about 20-25 years, which was allowed to elapse before the same plot of land was cultivated. In this process, the forest cover remained intact. But the
increase in population demanded more cultivable land, thus shortening the period to about 4-5 years. This greatly effected the vegetation of the area, as well as
the total environment.
A study using satellite mapping of forest degradation due to shifting cultivation in the hill districts of N. C. hills and Karbi Anglong district, carried out at the Assam
Remote Sensing Application Centre, shows that out of 423885 hectares of land under Jhum cultivation in Karbi Anglong district, 6844 hectares, became degraded
forest land. Similarly out of 292309 hectares in N.C. hills, 7938 hectares are degraded. The study further shows that indiscriminate felling of tries primarily for
shifting cultivation in these two districts is causing certain serious environmental problems like loss of soil fertility, soil erosion, floods and siltation in the plains.
Open rearing of domestic animals also contributes towards damage of the environment.
Particularly in Karbi-Along district, from where the bamboo, required as the raw materials for the Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad, is procured. As a result it loses its
capacity for growth and a large areas in Karbi Anglong have undergone the evil process of deforestation.
In other parts of Assam also, setting up of saw mills, veneer mills and plywood factories has caused rapid depletion of large forest areas, particularly during the
last three decades. The data from National Remote Sensing Agency shows that within a period, of seven years (1975-82) about 64 million hectares of forest areas
were depleted in the entire north east region.
The growth of tea industry has caused depletion of a large forest area. The present spate of growth of small tea gardens, many forest covers have to give way to
tea plantation, thus causing further shrinkage in the total forest area.
Forests and grasslands have had to be shrunk by the expansion on settled agricultural practice.
The link between human poverty and environmental degradation is also one of the important factor behind deforestation. Lack of alternative livelihood for some
and greed on the part of unscrupulous traders has led to gradual denudation of the forest resources.
Another poverty environment link is seen in the destruction of forest for collection of firewood. The demand for firewood being high, its supply is going on through
illegal route. Even large trees are cut deep inside the forest, split into small pieces and supplied as firewood.
Population pressure has led to encroachment of the forestland. Since the coming of the immigrants and their settlement in the forests, the process of capturing
vote banks has been going on and the result is the gradual destruction of the forest land.
Forest land becomes the first choice for rehabilitation of people affected by various natural calamities - thereby adds to further reduction.
Use of the forest as a major revenue earner has also contributed much to the depletion of forests.
Much destruction of forest occurs also due to building of roads, opening up new industrial towns, construction of communication towers and electrical lines.
In illegally procuring coal from Karbi Anglong district, much forest is destroyed.
For obtaining limestone from Karbi Anglong district for use in the cement factory at Bokajan, often large tracts of forests are destroyed in blasting. Another
privately owned cement factory, due to start operation soon, is going to add to the depletion of forest.
Further, the reserved forests along Assam's border with Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh were the worst victims of encroachment and about 12% of
reserved forests are under border encroachment. This takes place because, with the developmental activities in the plains people who used to live in hilly areas
came down to set up habitation .in the reserved forests in these areas to enjoy the benefits of development.

Effects of deforestation on Environment

The shrinkage of forest cover has effected the climate of Assam adversely. The rainfall has become erratic, the temperatures have risen and in many places, the
sign of desertification has set in.
Because of the loss of water retention capacity of the soil, rain in the upper reaches of the rivers have led to heavy soil erosion, leading to siltation of the river
beds thereby causing flash floods. Such floods destroy more forest, creating a vicious cycle, and destroying a large number of varieties of precious flora and
fauna, including medicinal plants.
The consequent floods carry any fertile top soil to fertilise the flooded land, by depositing only sand and silt destroy the quality of the soil.
The River Kakodonga passing through the Doyang Reserve Forest began to play havoc on the rice cultivation in the Ghilahdari Mouza in Golaghat district. The
flood was caused due to heavy deforestation of the Doyang forests. In 1984-85, in a bid to stop flooding, water hyacinth was spread along the river. As a result
within a few years the water-flow was greatly reduced. The net result is severe drought, affecting as many as nearby 7000 bighas of paddy field.

There have been widespread reports of herds of wild elephants coming inside human habitation in search of food, and damaging paddy fields and properties,
trampling huts and even killing people. Lack of food in their natural habitat must have driven the pachyderms to human locality. Unless the depletion of forest
area is checked, this problem will grow in future, and ultimately it will cause extinction of this great wild specie

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