Why is shifting cultivation bad?

Shifting cultivation, better known as slash and burn agriculture, is bad for the environment as it accelerates deforestation, burning down forests to make way for farmlands.

In addition, by burning the forests, shifting cultivation robbed the soil of its nutrients, rendering it infertile in the process. Thus due to these reasons, the practice of shifting cultivation was prohibited by the Indian government.

For more relevant articles refer to the links given below:

• UPSC Environment and Ecology Questions
• Conservation of Biodiversity
• UPSC Environment and Ecology