Why Deforestation was encouraged by British?
Answers
(i) Increase in population, leading to growth in demand for food, and extension of land under cultivation at the expense of forests.
(ii) Large areas of forests were also cleared to make way for plantation crops
Answer:
1.Need For Commercial Crops
2.Unproductive Forests
3.Disappearing Forests In England
4.Introduction Of Railways
5.Plantation
6.Commercial Forestry
Explanation:
1. Need for commercial crops:-
Commercial crop is an agricultural crop which is grown for sale to return a profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm.
The Britishers directly encouraged the production of commercial crops like jute, sugarcane, cotton, tea, wheat etc. They encouraged their production because some of these were required as raw material and cereals were required to feed the growing urban population of Europe. Britishers encouraged the production of cotton, as it was the basic raw material used by the cotton textiles industry of England.
2. Unproductive Forests:-
In the early 19th century, the colonial government thought that forests were unproductive. They were considered wilderness, that had to be brought under the cultivation so that the land could yield agricultural products and revenue and enhance the income of the state. So between 1880 and 1920, cultivated area rose by 6.7 million hectares.
3. Disappearing Forests in England:-
As the cultivated area in England was also on increase, the forest started disappearing. By the early 19th century there was a shortage of oak trees. The tree was a basic input for the ship industry. This created a problem of timber supply for the Royal Navy. By the 1820’s, search parties were sent to explore the forest resources of India. Within a decade, trees were felled on a massive scale and vast quantities of timber were exported from India.
4. Introduction of Railways:-
The forest started disappearing after the introduction of Railways due to the following reasons:-
•To lay railway lines, sleepers were essential. Each mile of railway track required more than 1800 sleepers.
•Wood was being used as a fuel to run the locomotives.
•The forests were also cleared to lay the tracks.
From the 1860’s the railway network expanded rapidly. As the railway tracks spread throughout India a larger number of trees were felled. As early as 1859'sin the Madras Presidency alone, 35,000 trees are being cut annually for sleepers. The Government gave out contracts to individuals to supply the required quantities. These contractors began cutting trees indiscriminately. Forest around the railway tracks started disappearing fast.
5. Plantation:-
Large areas of forests were also cleared to make way for plantation crops like tea, coffee, rubber and cinchona. Large areas of forest were cleared for planting these crops.
6. Commercial Forestry:-
There was a time when the colonial rulers thought that the forest were unproductive but later on the British realized that the forest were one of the major natural resource. The British needed forests in order to build ships and railways. The British were worried that the use of the forest by local people and the reckless felling of trees by the traders would destroy the forest.