Dear Editor,
Today, destruction of forests has increased along with the population growth. People do not know that the trees are our life-givers. From trees, we get oxygen. With trees and forests, we meet many of our needs. At the same time, forests bring rains. But due to the population explosion, humans are indiscriminately harvesting forests for their needs. That is why the existence of forests today is in danger. Consequently, human life is also in danger.
According to an estimate, 11 million hectares of forests are harvested in the world per year. In India alone, one million hectare of forest is being cut down. The pressure of urbanization, the growing population, and the craving for rapid development have deprived us of green cover.
Trees are cut illegally in forests. On the one hand, the government is spending crores of rupees for environmental protection, and on the other, the wood mafias have no qualms in denuding the forests of the tree cover. The mafias have been cutting trees and transporting wood with a vengeance.
Deforestation results in soil, water and air erosion, which results in the loss of (estimated) more than 16,400 crore trees each year. Deforestation adversely affects the productivity of the land. It causes several ill-effects.
Today, forests are being cut indiscriminately, resulting in seasonal changes, increase in soil heat, and ozone layer depletion. Our development process has displaced thousands of people from water, forests and lands. Protecting the forests in this critical situation should not only be our duty but our religion.
Let us all take a pledge to stop the indiscriminate harvesting of trees and make invaluable contributions in saving the forests. If in reality we have to protect the heritage of the forests for the coming generations, then we will have to develop a thinking to save the forests for life, not to just derive benefits from them. We will have to learn how to respect the forests and change our ways of thinking.
Sincerely,
Dokum Taku (Sangno),
Volunteer,
Green Pioneers/The East Kameng Eco-Adventurers