Question

Explain why European foresters regarded the practice of shifting cultivation as harmful to the forests.

Answer 1

(i) European foresters needed forests for timber production. They felt that land which was used for shifting cultivation every few years could not grow trees for railway timber.
(ii) When a forest was burnt, there was the added danger of the flames spreading and burning valuable timber.
(iii) Shifting cultivation also made it difficult for the government to calculate taxes. Therefore, the government decided to ban shifting cultivation. As a result, many communities were forcibly displaced from their homes in the forests.