Q.What is 'deforestation'?

The Government of India introduced Joint Forest Management (JFM), under which local communities participate with the Forest Department in protecting and managing forest lands, in return for a share of the forest produce/benefits.

Traditional forest management largely excluded local communities, which often led to conflict and unsustainable use of forest resources. To address this, the Government of India introduced the concept of Joint Forest Management (JFM). Under JFM, village-level institutions (Forest Protection Committees) work in partnership with the State Forest Department: the community helps guard, regenerate and sustainably manage the nearby forest, and in return shares in the benefits — such as non-timber forest produce, and a share of the revenue from timber harv …

Deforestation - the large-scale removal of forests/trees - disturbs the ecological balance and causes several harmful effects, one prominent one being soil erosion.

When forests are cleared, the roots of trees and plants that normally bind and hold the soil together are removed, exposing the topsoil directly to wind and rain. This leads to rapid soil erosion, loss of fertile topsoil, and can eventually cause desertification. (Other ill effects of deforestation include loss of biodiversity/habitat, disruption of the local water cycle and reduced rainfall, and increased atmospheric CO2 contrib …

Deforestation = permanent clearing of forests, usually for human land use.

Deforestation refers to the extensive and often permanent removal of trees and forest cover from a region, driven by activities such as converting land for agriculture or plantations, logging for timber, mining, and urban/industrial expansion, typically without compensatory reforestation. Its consequences include loss of biodiversity and wildlife habitat, soil erosion and reduced soil fertility, disruption of the local and regional water cycle (reduced rainfall, lowered water tables), increased atmospheric CO2 (since forests are major ca …