All about India

Due to population growth and the undying need for more land to be cleared, much of the green areas of India have been degraded. Due to the loss of forest and tree cover by deforestation, erosion by surface water run-off and winds occur at a high rate in India, especially in hilly areas. The growth of agriculture has also led to unsustainable grazing of grassy areas. The excessive use of irrigation, in many cases without proper drainage, leads to leaching of sodium and potassium salts, improper use of agricultural chemicals leads to accumulation of toxic chemicals in the soil, diversion of animal wastes for domestic fuel leads to reduction in soil nitrogen and organic matter (Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forrests, 2006).