Why are forests affected by wars

The First World War and the Second World War had a major impact on forests. In India, working plans were abandoned at this time, and the forest department cut trees freely to meet British war needs. In Java, just before the Japanese occupied the region, the Dutch followed ‘a scorched earth’ policy, destroying sawmills, and burning huge piles of giant teak logs so that they would not fall into Japanese hands. The Japanese then exploited the forests recklessly for their own war industries, forcing forest villagers to cut down forests. Many villagers used this opportunity to expand cultivation in the forest. After the war, it was difficult for the Indonesian forest service to get this land back. As in India, people’s need for agricultural land has brought them into conflict with the forest department’s desire to control the land and exclude people from it. Categories • • (31.9k) • (8.8k) • (764k) • (248k) • (2.9k) • (5.2k) • (664) • (121k) • (26.8k) • (26.9k) • (11.1k) • (18.4k) • (36) • (72.1k) • (3.8k) • (19.6k) • (1.4k) • (14.2k) • (12.5k) • (9.3k) • (7.7k) • (3.9k) • (6.7k) • (63.8k) • (26.6k) • (23.7k) • (14.6k) • (25.7k) • (530) • (84) • (766) • (49.1k) • (63.8k) • (1.8k) • (59.3k) • (24.5k)

Forests are affected by wars on account of a variety of reasons. During the World Wars, Britain was ruthless in cutting down forests in India for war needs. To avoid Japan the profits from the forest industry, the Dutch destroyed saw mills and teak logs in Java. This blind destruction and cutting down of forests to fulfill national war requirements affects forests as they get depleted rapidlyand are slow to grow back.

Forests areaffected by wars and this often leads to deforestation. Forests during wars arefreely cut to meet the needs of war. Forests are an important resource andhence during wars they are destroyed by their own country under the 'a scorchedearth policy'. This prevents the enemy from using this resource. Many villagersused this opportunity to expand cultivation in the forest.

There are obvious causes for this – the tremendous destructive power of modern bombs and warfare techniques such as carpet bombing and firebombing, as well as chemical defoliants like Agent Orange – but there are also less obvious, more insidious means by which warfare can destroy nature. The 20th century, with its two world wars, saw perhaps more destruction of European forests than any other period of warfare in history, and the effects of some of the war-driven calamities that befell the forests of Europe are still being felt today. Artillery-damaged trees during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. Europe’s forests were already in a bad state at the beginning of the 20th century, long before the first stirrings of what would become the First World War. Since medieval times, the forests of Europe had been extensively logged as the population of the continent continuously grew. Trees were needed not only for fuel and the construction of towns and villages, as they had been for thousands of years, but also for industry from the 19th century onward. This industry included war-related items, in which trees were used to construct everything from ammo crates to carts and wagons to fortifications, among other items. The Battle of the Somme 1916. The badly shelled main road to Bapaume through Pozieres, showing a communication trench and broken trees From 1914-1918, Europe experienced destruction on a vast and unprecedented scale. The battles of the Western Front, involving millions of...

The First World War and the Second World War had a major impact on forests. In India, working plans were abandoned at this time, and the forest department cut trees freely to meet British war needs. In Java, just before the Japanese occupied the region, the Dutch followed ‘a scorched earth’ policy, destroying sawmills, and burning huge piles of giant teak logs so that they would not fall into Japanese hands. The Japanese then exploited the forests recklessly for their own war industries, forcing forest villagers to cut down forests. Many villagers used this opportunity to expand cultivation in the forest. After the war, it was difficult for the Indonesian forest service to get this land back. As in India, people’s need for agricultural land has brought them into conflict with the forest department’s desire to control the land and exclude people from it. Categories • • (31.9k) • (8.8k) • (764k) • (248k) • (2.9k) • (5.2k) • (664) • (121k) • (26.8k) • (26.9k) • (11.1k) • (18.4k) • (36) • (72.1k) • (3.8k) • (19.6k) • (1.4k) • (14.2k) • (12.5k) • (9.3k) • (7.7k) • (3.9k) • (6.7k) • (63.8k) • (26.6k) • (23.7k) • (14.6k) • (25.7k) • (530) • (84) • (766) • (49.1k) • (63.8k) • (1.8k) • (59.3k) • (24.5k)

There are obvious causes for this – the tremendous destructive power of modern bombs and warfare techniques such as carpet bombing and firebombing, as well as chemical defoliants like Agent Orange – but there are also less obvious, more insidious means by which warfare can destroy nature. The 20th century, with its two world wars, saw perhaps more destruction of European forests than any other period of warfare in history, and the effects of some of the war-driven calamities that befell the forests of Europe are still being felt today. Artillery-damaged trees during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. Europe’s forests were already in a bad state at the beginning of the 20th century, long before the first stirrings of what would become the First World War. Since medieval times, the forests of Europe had been extensively logged as the population of the continent continuously grew. Trees were needed not only for fuel and the construction of towns and villages, as they had been for thousands of years, but also for industry from the 19th century onward. This industry included war-related items, in which trees were used to construct everything from ammo crates to carts and wagons to fortifications, among other items. The Battle of the Somme 1916. The badly shelled main road to Bapaume through Pozieres, showing a communication trench and broken trees From 1914-1918, Europe experienced destruction on a vast and unprecedented scale. The battles of the Western Front, involving millions of...

• • NCERT: Text Format • • • • • • • • • • • • • Rationalised NCERT • • • • • • • • • • • • • Old NCERT (2015) • • • • • • • • • • • • • Lab Manuals & Kits • • e-Books for UPSC • • Android App • • NCERT Books • • • • • • • • • H. C. Verma • • • Lakhmir Singh • • • • • • • • • R. D. Sharma • • • • • • • • R. S. Aggarwal • • • • • • • All in One • • • • • • • • • Evergreen Science • • • Together with Science • • • Xam Idea 10 th Science • • Classroom Courses • • • • • • • UPSC Exams • • Teaching • • Banking • • • Hair Accessories • Jewellery • Stationery • Lunch Boxes • • Explore Store The Allies would not have been successful in the First World War and the Second World War if they had not been able to exploit the resources and people of their colonies. Both the World Wars had a devastating effect on the forests of India, Indonesia and elsewhere. In India, working plans were abandoned during the War and the forest department cut freely to meet British war needs. In Java, just before the Japanese occupied the region, the Dutch followed ‘a scorched earth’ policy, destroying sawmills and burning huge piles of giant teak logs so that they would not fall into Japanese hands. The Japanese then exploited the forests recklessly for their own war industries forcing forest villagers to cut down forests. Many villagers used this opportunity to expand cultivation in the forest. After the war, it was difficult for the Indonesia forest service to get this land back. As in India, people’s ...

Forests areaffected by wars and this often leads to deforestation. Forests during wars arefreely cut to meet the needs of war. Forests are an important resource andhence during wars they are destroyed by their own country under the 'a scorchedearth policy'. This prevents the enemy from using this resource. Many villagersused this opportunity to expand cultivation in the forest.

Forests are affected by wars on account of a variety of reasons. During the World Wars, Britain was ruthless in cutting down forests in India for war needs. To avoid Japan the profits from the forest industry, the Dutch destroyed saw mills and teak logs in Java. This blind destruction and cutting down of forests to fulfill national war requirements affects forests as they get depleted rapidlyand are slow to grow back.

There are obvious causes for this – the tremendous destructive power of modern bombs and warfare techniques such as carpet bombing and firebombing, as well as chemical defoliants like Agent Orange – but there are also less obvious, more insidious means by which warfare can destroy nature. The 20th century, with its two world wars, saw perhaps more destruction of European forests than any other period of warfare in history, and the effects of some of the war-driven calamities that befell the forests of Europe are still being felt today. Artillery-damaged trees during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. Europe’s forests were already in a bad state at the beginning of the 20th century, long before the first stirrings of what would become the First World War. Since medieval times, the forests of Europe had been extensively logged as the population of the continent continuously grew. Trees were needed not only for fuel and the construction of towns and villages, as they had been for thousands of years, but also for industry from the 19th century onward. This industry included war-related items, in which trees were used to construct everything from ammo crates to carts and wagons to fortifications, among other items. The Battle of the Somme 1916. The badly shelled main road to Bapaume through Pozieres, showing a communication trench and broken trees From 1914-1918, Europe experienced destruction on a vast and unprecedented scale. The battles of the Western Front, involving millions of...