Afforestation

noun (uncountable)

/ˌæf.ɒr.ɪˈsteɪ.ʃən/

The process of establishing a forest on land that has not been forested previously or for a very long time, typically through deliberate planting of trees. In India, afforestation is a key instrument under the National Forest Policy, 1988, and operationalised through programmes such as the Green India Mission (GIM), which targets 5 million hectares of degraded land. It is distinct from reforestation, which restores forest on recently deforested land.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

India's Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) mobilises funds collected from industries diverting forest land, directing them towards large-scale afforestation in degraded catchment areas.

Synonyms

tree plantingforestationrevegetationregreeningsilviculture

Antonyms

deforestationforest clearancefellingdenudation

🌱 Word Family

afforest (verb), afforested (adjective), deforestation (noun), reforestation (noun), forester (noun)

🔡 Root

Latin ad- = to, towards; forestis = outside (woodland); suffix -ation = process

📜 Etymology

Formed in the 19th century from the prefix af- (assimilated form of Latin ad-) and forestation, itself derived from Medieval Latin forestare (to plant with trees). The word entered English policy vocabulary during British colonial forestry debates of the 1880s, when sustained-yield management was debated in India under Dietrich Brandis.

🧠 Memory Hook

Think AF-forest-ation: you are adding (AF = ad = to) a forest where none existed. If you plant trees on a barren plateau, you are afforesting it — not re-foresting it.

🌿 Environment & Ecology 📖 Seen in: Ecology Fundamentals — Ecosystems, Foo...

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