How have human activities affected the depletion of, flora and fauna? Explain three points.

Human activities have affected the depletion of flora and fauna in many ways as given below:
(i) During the colonial period expansion of the railways, agriculture, commercial and scientific forestry and mining activities were responsible for depletion of forests. Even after independence between 1951 and 1980,26,200 sq km of forest area was converted into agricultural land.
(ii) Large-scale development projects such as Narmada Sagar project in Madhya Pradesh are responsible for the depletion of forests. Since 1951, over 5000 sq km area of forest was cleared for river valley projects.
(iii) Mining is another factor for depletion of forests. The dolomite mining in West Bengal has threatened the Buxa Tiger Reserve. It has disturbed the natural habitat of many species and blocked the migration route of several others, including the great Indian elephant.
(iv) Over utilisation of vegetation and wildlife has also depleted the forests.