Deforestation And Environmental Degradation: A Study With Special Reference To Northern And Northeast Mountain Regions Of India

Deforestation is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental degradation is driven by emissions of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and by deforestation. This paper aims to achieve two main objectives. Firstly, it seeks to assess the extent of deforestation in the Northern and Northeastern regions of India. Secondly, it aims to analyze the environmental degradation resulting from deforestation across various regions of India, with a particular focus on the Northern and Northeastern areas. The study relies on secondary data collected from multiple sources, covering the period from 2001 to 2020 for empirical validation. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is employed to measure environmental degradation. The paper utilizes the least square dummy variable (LSDV) model to test the existence of an inverted U-shaped EKC in different regions of India. The empirical findings confirm an inverted U-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) in the Northern and Northeastern regions of India, indicating that environmental degradation is occurring due to deforestation.