1. Overutilisation of forests: In the earlier days, man’s needs were limited. He was dependent on forests only for a few things, although a lot of things can be obtained from forests. Forests are being used to fulfil man’s needs directly and indirectly. We are obtaining wood, barks, leaves, rubber, medicine, dyes, food, fuel, fodder, etc., from forests. 2. Colonial Plans: The greatest damage inflicted on Indian forests was during the colonial period due to the expansion of the railways, agriculture, commercial and scientific forestry and mining activities. 3. Agricultural expansion: Even after independence, agricultural expansion continues to be one of the major causes of depletion. Between 1951 and 1980, according to the Forest Survey of India, over 26,200 sq. km. of forest areas were converted into agricultural lands all over India.