Environmental Science presentation on causes and impacts of deforestation and dam-building.

1. C A U S E S O F D E F O R E S T A T I O N
A N D I M P A C T S O F M I N I N G &
D A M - B U I L D I N G
B Y A N A N Y A S R I V A S T A V A

2. Contents
Forests - A Natural Resource
What is deforestation?
What are its causes?
What are its consequences?
What is the way out?
Art of Deforestation
D E F O R E S T A T I O N
What is dam-building and why
do we do it?
Positive Impacts
Negative Impacts
How do we control it?
D A M - B U I L D I N G
What is mining and why do we do
it?
Positive Impacts
Negative Impacts
How do we control it?
M I N I N G
Case Study - Tehri Dam, Uttrakhand

3. Forests -
A
Natural
Resource
W H Y A R E F O R E S T S S I G N I F I C A N T ?
Forests are one of the most important natural resource that we
have. They have economic, ecological, and socio-cultural
significance. They produce commercial goods, regulate
ecological-cycles, and are home to a variety of flora and fauna.
However, they are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Let's
talk about their significance in more depth.

4. produce oxygen
conservation of soil
regulate water cycle
Socio-Cultural Uses
Attached social, cultural, and spiritual
value of indigenous tribes; religious and
ritualistic significance
Environmental Uses
absorb pollutants
act as carbon sink
habitat for wildlife
Commercial Uses
timber
pulpwood
food
fodder
rubber &
gum
fibres
medicines
minerals
USES OF FORESTS

5. What is Deforestation?
Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land use such as arable land, urban use, logged area
or wasteland. Common examples of deforestation include the conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or land of
urban use, clearing the land for agriculture or grazing, using the timber for fuel, construction or manufacturing.

6. DirectCauses Indirect
Causes
Colonialism
Exploitation by industrialized countries
The debt burden
Overpopulation and poverty
Transmigration and colonisation schemes
Land rights, land tenure and inequitable land
distribution and resources
Economic causes - development/land
conversion value, fiscal policies, markets and
consumerism
Undervaluing the forest
Corruption and political cause
Population Expansion
Expansion of farming land and plantations
Logging
Fuelwood Gathering
Overgrazing
Fires
Developmental Processes - Mining and Dam-
building
Urbanization
Wars and role of the military
Tourism
Causes of Deforestation

7. Direct Causes
More population results in more demand for resources and
infrastructure. Thus, forest land gets cleared for activities such
as mining, dam-building, human settlements, and commercial
goods. Trees are heavily destructed due to demand of wood,
such as, the demand for plywood for packing tea in Assam while
fir tree wood is exploited greatly for packing apples in J&K.
P O P U L A T I O N E X P L O S I O N
Deforestation is not just about cutting down trees. It's also
about degradation of forests. Sometimes forest face pest attacks,
which degrade the quality of forests by eating up leaves, boring
into shoots, and spreading diseases.
P E S T A T T A C K S

8. Direct Causes
Due to population explosion, there are growing food needs,
leading to the expansion of farming land. 60% of the
deforestation happens due to agricultural settlements. Apart from
this, annually 5 lakh hectares of forests are cut down due to slash
and burn agriculture. Tree crops and rubber are the main cause
of deforestation in countries like Indonesia.
E X P A N S I O N O F F A R M I N G L A N D S A N D
P L A N T A T I O N S
Expanding populations require space to establish
infrastructures, and for this forests are cleared. Tropical
forests are a major target for oil exploitation, logging
concessions or hydropower dam construction which
inevitably conveys the expansion of the road network and the
construction of roads in pristine areas.
U R B A N I Z A T I O N

9. Direct Causes
Logging Industry is fuelled by the demand for disposable
products. 11 million acres of trees are cut annually due to
commercial and property industries. Logging also paves way
for more damage as the farmers follow the logging roads for
cultivation. Fuelwood Harvesting is often concentrated in
tropical dry forests and degraded forest areas. It is a major
contributor to logging and deforestation.
L O G G I N G
These can be natural as well as human induced. They destroy
healthy trees, kill and destroy seeds and humus. Moreover, they
adversely impact the flora and fauna of the forest.
F O R E S T F I R E S

10. Direct Causes
People share land but try to raise more and more animals for
themselves. This results in a larger amount of animals than what
the land can support. Due to this, forest soil is affected because of
overgrazing by these animals. This in turn leads the soil to lose its
porosity, increases soil erosion, and leads to desertification
reduced productivity of the area.
O V E R G R A Z I N G
Forests are often located in areas ideally suited for dam-building
that is river embankments, and in areas prone to mining, that is
mineral rich areas. Due to this, these forests become subject to
deforestation whenever there is any development project started in
that area. Also, mining promotes development booms which
attracts population and therefore consequent deforestation.
M I N I N G A N D D A M - B U I L D I N G

11. Indirect Causes
The wealthy countries have already exhausted their natural
resources in excessive development. This has led them to rely on
poorer countries for natural resources. This puts pressure on the
forests of the poorer countries and destroys them.
E X P L O I T A T I O N B Y I N D U S T R I A L I Z E D
C O U N T R I E S
Before the coming of colonial powers, the third world countries
had their own system of land management and/or ownership in
place. But colonialism turned these self-sufficient economies into
zones of agriculture export production resulting in deforestation.
C O L O N I A L I S M
People may have to move to the forest frontiers voluntarily as well
as involuntarily. This leads to the extension of forest frontiers and
more and more deforestation.
T R A N S M I G R A T I O N

12. Indirect Causes
Settlers of the forest frontiers often have absence of property
rights and are displaced by those who gain tenure over the land
they occupy. Thus, they have to clear more land for their survival.
L A N D R I G H T S
The relationship between development and deforestation is complex
and dynamic. Global economic factors such as a country's foreign debt,
expanding global markets for rainforest timber and pulpwood, or low
domestic costs of land, labour, and fuel can encourage deforestation
over more sustainable land use.
E C O N O M I C C A U S E S A N D D E V E L O P M E N T
Forest Crime and Corruption are another major cause. Illegal
forest practices may include the approval of illegal contracts with
private enterprises by forestry officers, illegal sale of harvesting
permits, under-declaring volumes cut in the public forest, under-
pricing of wood in concessions, etc.
C O R R U P T I O N A N D P O L I T I C S

13. Causes of
deforestation
35-45%
15-20%
10-15%
5%
Cattle Pasture
Small-holder Agriculture
Large Scale Agriculture
Logging
Other
20-25%

14. Consequences
D E S T R U C T I O N
O F W I L D L I F E
A N D T H E I R
H A B I T A T ; L O S S
O F
B I O D I V E R S I T Y
C A R B O N C Y C L E ,
H Y D R O L O G I C A L
C Y C L E , A N D
O T H E R
M A T E R I A L
C Y C L E S G E T
D I S T U R B E D
I N C R E A S E D
S O I L E R O S I O N
A N D L O S S O F
V E G E T A T I O N
C O V E R
D I S E A S E S F R O M
T H E P O L L U T I O N
D U E T O W O O D
B U R N I N G A N D
R E D U C T I O N I N
C A R B O N
F I X A T I O N

15. Consequences
S C A R C I T Y O F
F U E L W O O D
A F F E C T O N
T R I B A L S A N D
I N D I G E N O U S
C O M M U N I T I E S
L A N D S L I D E S I N
H I L L Y A R E A S

16. Reduce Meat
Consumption
Sustainable
Management of
forests
Increase in
area of
forest
plantation
S O L U T I O N S
Consume
Less
Reliable
mechanism of
information base
Ecofriendly
transportation
Use, Use,
Use
Aforestation
and
Reforestation
Knowledge to
Farming
Communities
Reduce
Population
Growth
Agroforestry
and Social
Forestry
Fight Forest
Fires
Participatory
Forest
Management and
rights
Fight Illegal
Logging
Educate
local
communities

17. Art of Deforestation

18. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat, 1884
Before After

19. Olive Trees with Yellow Sky and Sun, Vincent Van Gogh, 1889
Before After

20. The Hay Wain, John Constable, 1821
Before After

21. What is dam-
building?
A T T H E R O O T O F I T
Dams are massive barriers built across rivers
and streams to limit and utilize the flow of
water for human purposes like Irrigation,
Hydropower, Water-supply, Flood Control,
Navigation, Fishing and Recreation.

22. Cause of dam-building
The primary purpose of dams is for storage and safe
retention of water in large quantity which is
subsequently released to achieve various purposes
such as irrigation, hydropower, recreation, water
supply, flood prevention etc.

23. Positive Impacts
F L O O D C O N T R O L
Dams catch extra water so that it
doesn’t run wild downstream.
W A T E R F O R D R I N K I N G
Water in dams is fresh, therefore, can be used
for drinking water in nearby cities and towns.
H Y D R O E L E C T R I C
P O W E R
Made through the water that passes
through a dam.
T R A N S P O R T A T I O N
Dams facilitate water transportation.
I R R I G A T I O N
Dams provide water for irrigation so
that farmers can use it to grow crops.
R E C R E A T I O N
Reservoirs of dams are used for
recreational activities like fishing,
boating, swimming, etc.

24. Negative Impacts:
on environment
- Sedimentation - Sediments that build up in the reservoir reduce
the space available for storing water. Too much sediment leads to
the change in the natural balance of river downstream.
- Composition - Temperature of water, salt, and oxygen
distribution changes.
- Floods and Earthquakes - The water regime may change and
unexpected floods may occur damaging the vegetation and
natural structures in river banks. There may be increases in
earthquakes.
- Erosion - With the development of the many dams, erosion of
the surrounding land has been noticed.

25. Negative Impacts:
on environment
- Geographical Changes - Microclimatic and regional climatic
changes related to air moisture, percentage, temperature, etc, may
occur, and changes in the region topography caused by the stagnant,
big scaled mass of water may occur.
- Global Warming - Production of methane leads to climate change
and global warming.
- Agriculture - Water-soil-nutrient relations change. Farming land
gets deprived of silt and nutrients.
- Diseases - Dams may increase water sourced illnesses like malaria,
cholera, etc.

26. Negative Impacts:
on environment
- Water Quality - Changes in the water quality as a result
of drainage water returning from irrigation. The quality of
water may also deteriorate when it is stored in a reservoir.
- Evaporation - The rise in evaporation losses may be
expected as a result of the increase in the water surface area.
Reservoirs are also a haven for invasive plant species, and
weed-covered reservoir banks can lead to
evapotranspiration.
- Watertable - Riverbed deepening lowers groundwater
tables along a river, lowering the water table.

27. Negative Impacts:
on Biodiversity
- Fish Migration - Many fish species rely on the ability to move about
freely in a river and dams obstruct this migration of fish.
- Reproduction beds of fish are destroyed - As the transfer of sediments is
avoided, the egg lying zone of the fish living in the stream ecosystem is
restricted, too.
- Injury to aquatic animals - The aquatic animals can get injured or even
die while passing through the floodgates, turbines and pumps of the high
bodied dams.
- Passing ways of territorial animals are obstructed - Normal passing ways
of territorial animals are hindered since the dam works as a barrier.
- Transfer of food and increasing salt density - Over-transfer of food and
the increase in salt density can raise water lichens and may change water
living species.

28. Negative Impacts:
on Biodiversity
- Discharge of Toxic Matter - Discharge of toxic matters and their
condensation in the food chain may affect sensitive animals
immediately.
- Snuffing out species - Dams can snuff out animals other than
aquatic ones also.
A huge wall in the
middle of my
house? That's
fishy!

29. Negative Impacts: on
Forests and tribals
- Killing of forests - Flooding around the dams kills trees and other plant life and
increases carbon emission.
- Drowned Vegetation - Releases methane and increases emissions.
- Deforestation - Dams destruct hectares of forests and sometimes, trees are not even
properly logged and are left to rot.
- Farmers, to sustain themselves, do more deforestation when they are displaced.
- Tribal are displaced. Indigenous peoples, tribal people, ethnic minorities and poor
communities have little capacity of being heard by the wider national com­
munity.
- The social, political, and economic institutions of the tribal are destructed. The
displacement has a negative affect on their psychology.
- Basic human rights are violated and they face different types of repression, ranging
from physical and legal threats to mass murders.

31. Proper study
of area before
construction.
New Dam Sites
S O L U T I O N S
Fish
Passages
Relocation of
Endangered
Species
Monuments of
religious and
historical
significance should
be shifted
Giving voice to
tribals
Educate
local
communities

32. What is Mining?
A T T H E R O O T O F I T
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other
geological materials from the Earth.
Four main mining methods:
- Underground Mining - more expensive and used to reach
deeper deposits
- Surface Mining - used for more shallow and less valuable
deposits
- Placer mining - used to shift out valuable metals from
sediments in river channels, beach sands, etc.
-In-situ mining - used in mining uranium

33. Causes of mining
Population growth
Income growth
Increasing demand for resources
Single source of income
Advancements in technology
Importance for industrial processes
Lack in substitutability
Economic factor for countries
Increase in resource prices
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

34. Positive Impacts
E M P L O Y M E N T
Provides job opportunities and
livelihood
E C O N O M Y
Uplifts the economy of the country
R A W M A T E R I A L
Provides raw material of building and construction

35. Negative Impacts:
on environment
- Air Pollution - During smelting, enormous quantities of air pollutants get
released and damage the vegetation nearby as well as cause diseases because of
suspended particulate matter (SPM), SOx, soot, arsenic particles, cadmium,
lead etc.
- Surface Water Pollution - Acid mine drainage often contaminates nearby
streams and lakes. Heavy metal pollution of water bodies near the mining
areas is a common feature causing health hazards.
- Groundwater Contamination - Mining disturbs natural hydrological
processes and pollutes the groundwater. Some heavy metals also get leached
into the groundwater and contaminate it posing health hazards.
- Devegetation and defacing of landscape: The topsoil, as well as the
vegetation, are removed from the mining area to get access to the deposit.
Huge quantities of debris and tailings along with big scars and disruptions
spoil the aesthetic value of the region and make it prone to soil erosion.

36. Negative Impacts:
on environment
- Subsidence of land: This is mainly associated with underground mining. Subsidence
of mining areas often results in tilting of buildings, cracks in houses, buckling of
roads, bending of rail tracks and leaking of gas from cracked pipelines leading to
serious disasters.
- Occupational health hazards: Most of the miners suffer from various respiratory
and skin diseases due to constant exposure to the suspended particulate matter and
toxic substances.
- Child Labour and their health at stake.
- Mining results in wastage of land as it neither remain suitable for industrial use nor
agricultural purposes.
- Mining directly results in the loss of landscape and beauty of the surrounding.
- Since we are at the top of the food chain, we will also be adversely affected by the
adverse effects of mining on animals and plants since we are likely to consume them in
the later stages of the food cycle.

37. Negative Impacts:
on Biodiversity
- Major habitat modifications occur due to mining
- It directly affects the ecosystem and its stability as many species are killed due
to toxicity of water and soil and loss of habitat.
- Destruction or drastic modification of the original site and anthropogenic
substances release can have a major impact on biodiversity in the area.
- Soil texture and water content can be greatly modified in disturbed sites,
leading to plants community changes in the area.
- Microorganisms are extremely sensitive to environmental modification, such as
modified pH, temperature changes or chemical concentrations due to their size.
- There are also some adverse effects of mining on aquatic life. Since many
harmful by-products of mining often reach water bodies due to inappropriate
disposal by mining companies, all kinds of water animals will suffer from toxic
compounds.
- We are adversely affected because we are at the top of the food chain!

38. Negative Impacts:
on Forest and
tribals
- The major consequences of mining are deforestation which results
in the loss of flora and fauna.
- With open cast mining the overburden, which may be covered in
forest, must be removed before the mining can commence.
Although the deforestation due to mining may be small compared to
the total amount it may lead to species extinction if there is a high
level of local endemism.
- And exactly like the case of dam-building, tribals have to bear the
brunts here. Out of the top mineral producing districts in the
country, almost half of the districts are predominantly tribal-
dominated. These forests where development projects are planned
can displace thousands of tribal people who lose their homes when
these plans are executed.

39. Reduce
consumption
Convince others
S O L U T I O N S
Reuse and
recycle
Government
regulations
Education
Nature
reserves

40. Case Study
In the memory of Sundarlal Bahuguna
The tragic story of Tehri

41. Tehri Dam
Tehri Dam is a multi-purpose rock and earth-fill embankment dam
on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India. It is the
largest dam of India and is a part of the Tehri Dam & Hydro Power
Project. The project was intended to provide irrigation in 2.70 lakh
hectares in the command area of Lower Ganga, Parallel Lower
Ganga, Madhya Ganga Stage - I and Agra Canal system. It stabilizes
irrigation in 6.04 lakh hectares in the existing command. Besides
providing much-needed power to the Northern Grid and irrigation
benefits to command areas, the project also supplies drinking water to
Delhi and UP.
However, The Tehri dam project infringed all the procedural norms
that were underwritten by the government having been turned down
by its appointed environment clearance committees. This dam is
located in a high seismic zone and poses threats to all those living
downstream. Also, its active project life is much shorter than officially
claimed, due to the high rates of siltation of Himalayan rivers.

42. This project engulfed valuable forest and farming land and displaces people
and tribal in over 100 villages, as also Tehri town. It is estimated that an
earthquake from the gap could easily destroy the dam and kill up to 500,000
people. Furthermore damming the river would be a humiliation to the
sacredness of the Bhagirathi in Himalayan culture.
In protest, Sundarlal Bahuguna (of the Chipko Andolan movement) moved
to the edge of the river in a home that would be flooded by the dam. In 1995,
He went on a 49 day long hunger strike to rally protesters against the
construction of the dam. He ended the strike only on the request of Prime
Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and when PM Gowda promised to set up a
special committee so as to take in consideration the potential consequences
of the dam. However, discontended by the committee, Bahuguna went on
another fast, this time for 74 days.
Tehri Dam
Sundarlal Bahuguna
(9 January 1927 – 21 May 2021)

43. Tehri Dam
Subsequently, there were other protests and dharnas by people and some organisations.
On 31st March 2001, many activists protested against the government’s failure of
relocating displaced people and tribal. They began a sit-in at the main site of
construction and were successful in halting it for 3 weeks.
On 22 April, the High Court announced that the project should continue, and so police
detained fifty campaigners from the sit-in, and protesters were dispersed among
different prisons.
On 15 October 2001, the national forest licensed clearing on land that had been
protecting since the Chipko movement in the Haridwar forest. Locals protested this
decision in the streets of the submergence area in Tehri, which would soon be flooded.
In March 2002, the appointed committee declared that construction as safe and gave it
a green flag.
By 2004, Phase I of construction was completed and large sections of Tehri were
underwater.
Sadly enough, Sunderlal Bahuguna’s original home was submerged and he relocated to
a new residence. Since then, several ecological disasters regarding the dam devastated
Tehri.

44. O, city!
Leaving behind their homes,
Their soil, and bales of straw
Fleeing the roof over their heads, they
often ask:
O, city!
Are you ever wrenched by the very roots
In the name of so-called progress?

45. Thank you!
By Ananya Srivastava