Deforestation, by definition, is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use.
Why is deforestation a problem? There are quite a few reasons why deforestation is not only harmful to native habitats and animals but also harmful to us. Forests are home to seventy percent of the world’s plants and animals, which means loss of forests is a loss of biodiversity. Clearing tropical forests creates over twenty-percent of the world’s greenhouse emissions, this heavily contributes to global warming. The United Nations has claimed that desertification is one of the biggest threats to the world’s ecosystems, this is caused by deforestation. As well, it causes soil erosion. A few enough reasons to help advocate for the halting of deforestation.
What are some of the causes of deforestation? As of right now, four of the most substantial reasons behind deforestation are; conversion of forests, forest fires, illegal and unsustainable logging, and mining. Conversion of forests is the destruction of forestlands to make way for other land uses including plantations, settlements, roads, and infrastructures. Forest fires are a natural part of the cycle of woodlands, however, the vulnerability from deforestation makes the ecosystem much more susceptible to widespread, uncontrollable forest fires. Illegal and unsustainable logging is a multi-million dollar industry where everyone from Indonesia to Brazil wants to get their hands dirty with. Through this they make money from the destruction of forests to the production of furniture, paper, roundwood, and other products. You can read more about it here. Finally, mining is growing due to the rising demand for minerals and their sky-rocketing prices. Mining projects are usually accompanied by roads, railway stations, and power stations.
How can you help in stopping deforestation?
Plant a tree. Anywhere. Plant one in your backyard or contact your community and local parks and see if you’re able to plant trees there.
Use less paper. This goes directly in hand with deforestation. The less demand the less supply. Try getting all of your bills, forms, and school notes in electronic format to help keep your paper-print low. Here is a good article to read if you want to help reduce your paper waste.
With paper you do use, make sure it is recycled so it can be converted and used again! You can even repurpose paper yourself by using newspaper as wrapping paper, or turning your old junk mail into perfect scrapbooking paper.
Do not buy products containing palm oil. Whether it’s palm oil itself or products that contain it like chocolate, shampoo and toothpaste. Here is an article that simply describes the use and alternatives to palm oil.
Raise awareness of the severity of deforestation and support organizations that are helping in the fight against deforestation. Here is an organization to help with that.
Help restore degraded forests. Here is a link to tell Congress to act on deforestation!
Join a community forestry project. A project list by continent, country, project status (past, present and future), the intervention you’d like to participate in and the mechanism behind it. This is just one of few websites that can be helpful in forestry conservation. Checking with your local community and state colleges to see if they have any more information can be a great place to start!
“If trees gave off Wi-Fi we’d be planting them like crazy. Sadly, they only produce the oxygen we breathe.” - Anonymous
Quick Facts:
More than half of the world’s rainforests have been lost since 1960.
We lost a soccer field worth of rainforest every three seconds in 2019.
From 2001 to 2019, Brazil lost over 565,000 square kilometers to deforestation.
At the current rate of deforestation, the world’s rain forests could completely vanish in only 100 years.
Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and Indonesia have lost the most forest coverage, mostly because of urbanization.
An estimated 18 million acres of forest are lost every year.
2,400 trees are cut down every minute.
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National Geographic Society, “Deforestation,” National Geographic Society, July 15, 2019, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/deforestation/.
“We're Losing Earth's Original Wild Forests.,” The world counts, accessed October 2, 2021, https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/forests-and-deserts/why-is-deforestation-a-problem/story.
“Deforestation Causes,” WWF, accessed October 2, 2021, https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/deforestation_causes2/.
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