Why cannot deforestation be called only a natural process?

Correct answer: Because human and colonial activities played a major role

The direct answer is A: human and colonial activities played a major role. Deforestation means the reduction or removal of forests, and in this chapter it was strongly connected with decisions made by people and governments. Colonial authorities cleared forests or allowed them to be cleared for cultivation, collection of land revenue, railway construction, shipbuilding, timber trade and plantations. The reasoning is: people had economic and political aims → they organised or encouraged tree cutting → forest land was converted to farms, transport routes or commercial plantations. Option A is correct because it recognises these human choices and colonial policies. Option B is wrong because trees do not cut themselves; cutting requires human action or a human-made process. Option C is wrong because rain does not cut all forests, and it cannot explain commercial clearing. Option D is wrong because wind neither built railways nor explains the organised use of timber. Natural events can affect vegetation in some situations, but they do not make this historical process only natural. Exam cue: when you see ‘only natural’, check whether human economic decisions are being ignored.