Why has the land under forest not increased much since 1960 to 1961?
Answers
Explanation:
Land resources in India are primarily divided into agricultural land, forest land, land meant for pasture and grazing, land for other non-agricultural use and waste land. Waste land includes rocky, arid and desert areas. Land is also used for other non-agricultural purposes such as housing, roads and industry.
According to the data for 2002-03, about 54% of the total land area is cultivable or fallow, 22.5% is covered by forests and 3.5% is used for grazing. The rest is waste land, with traces of miscellaneous cultivation. The improper use of forest land has degraded the available land area, and has made conservation of forests difficult. Human activities such as deforestation, mining and quarrying have contributed to the slow growth rate of forests.
Thus, land under forest has increased by only about 4% since 1960-61.