Deforestation is a major global problem with serious consequences to the planet. These consequences have a negative effect on the climate, biodiversity, the atmosphere and threatens the cultural and physical survival of life. Deforestation is the permanent destruction of indigenous forests and woodlands. It has resulted in the reduction of indigenous forests to four-fifths of their pre-agricultural area, so that now indigenous forests cover only 21% of the earth's land surface. The world Resources Institute regards deforestation as one of the worlds most pressing land use problem. It is now so bad that every minute an area of forest equal to 20 football fields is lost.
Rainforests cover less than
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Logging tropical hardwoods like teak, mahogany, rosewood and other timber for furniture, building materials, charcoal and other wood products is big business and creates big profits. Several species of tropical hardwoods are imported by developed counties, including America, just to build coffins which are then buried or burned. The demand, extraction and consumption of tropical hardwoods has been so massive that some countries which have been traditional exporters of tropical hardwoods are now importing the wood because they have already exhausted their supply by destroying their native rainforests in slash and burn operations. It is anticipated that The Philippines, Malaysia, The Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Thailand will all run out of rainforest hardwood for export within the next five years.
In addition to logging for exportation, rainforest wood stays in developing countries for fuel wood and charcoal. One single steel plant in Brazil making steel for Japanese cars needs millions of tons of wood each year to produce charcoal that can be used in the manufacture of steel. Then there is the paper industry. A pulpwood project in the Brazilian Amazon consists of a Japanese power plant and pulp mill. To set up this single plant operation, 5,600 square miles of Amazon Rainforest was burned to the ground and replanted
Brazil’s rainforests and America’s rainforests are great examples of the negative effect that deforestation has on these specific areas. One of the rising challenges in our rapidly growing world is the destruction of rainforests and how it is slowly ruining the world that we live in. Deforestation has a lot of destructive impacts on the environment that is surrounding us, one of the most important being its effect on the climate. The fast rise in the world’s population, calling for high demand of resources, is only hastening the effects of deforestation, which can hopefully be put an end to through the enforcement of a handful of simple, key, and sustainable solutions.
However, due to more people searching for plots there is greater pressure on the amount of available land. The logging industry is responsible for a relatively small level of deforestation, accounting for 3% in Brazil. Consequently, all these activity contribute together to the rapid loss of what is left of the rainforest and a large proportion of the world’s biodiversity. All of the resources that the rainforest provides could be lost in the next 40 years.
Deforestation is defined as: “the clearing of virgin forests, or intentional destruction or removal of trees and other vegetation for agricultural, commercial, housing, or firewood use without replanting and without allowing time for the forest to regenerate itself” (SCRIBD). Deforestation has been a problem in Latin America since the early 1900s and the severity of the dilemma is increasing rapidly. Deforestation not only has consequences for the environment, but also, the indigenous people and the national economy. The logging industry in Latin America is often exploited by multinational companies that are not properly regulated. The land that has provided a home and cultivated indigenous development for centuries is being dissipated rapidly. Due to an exponentially growing global population, there is an increased demand for low priced goods--like timber, crops, and meat. Many Latin American countries value revenue from selling these goods over the health of their local ecosystems. The crisis of deforestation and habitat loss is shifting from a local to global problem. As deforestation continues, global warming escalates worldwide, impacting every country and person. About 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from tropical deforestation, which is more than from all the world’s cars, trucks and buses combined (Schwartzman). Puerto Rico and Brazil provide contrasting examples of the impact of deforestation. Puerto Rico had an economic and environmental shift
Australia Environmental problems- In Australia there’s several different factors that contribute to the economic downfall. Deforestation, and overfishing are two of the factors. Deforestation is default that affects so many areas around the world. 18 million acres of forest are lost each year because of deforestation.
The Amazon Rainforest is a mighty jungle filled with an array of exotic species of wood, like mahogany, and rich natural resources such as gold, copper, tin, and nickel. Naturally, people want to make a profit, but the rainforest’s trees stand in the way. Logging is the main source of deforestation. Every year, millions of trees are cut down to be made into timber. Many times, these logging operations are illegal. These operations will keep exploiting the Amazon for its exotic timber, not caring that many of these species of plants are either rare, or help support rare species and ecosystems. Mining also creates deforestation, but not as severely as logging. Trees are cut down to make way for mining operations that dig for non renewable resources like copper and gold. Trees are also used as charcoal to help produce pig iron. A third cause of deforestation is agriculture. Cattle ranches and soy plantations are created where the Amazon Rainforest once stood. As people expand their farms, they must cut down the areas they now use for farming. Trees are also cut to make space for animal pens. Governments also contribute to the deforestation problem by building roads and creating infrastructure. Although these roads help with communication and navigation, they cut through the rainforest, and often help illegal loggers create new roads from their operations in the jungle to these roads that connect with civilization. All of these factors have helped cut down the Amazon Rainforest. In the past
Deforestation is a concerning issue that has come about within the past decade that hasn’t been getting much attention. Deforestation is defined as the clearing or removal of a forest or group of trees where the land is not used for forest use afterwards. The land could be used for urbanization, farms, ranches, extra land, or anything that the country needs that piece of land for. Deforestation has become more common and the industry for it has increased rapidly. Although so many people have increased the amount of deforestation, they don’t realize the effects that it can bring upon the world and its environment. Deforestation not only affects the United States, but effects countries all over the world in multiple ways. Each way that
The aim of this is to bring wealth to the area by using its natural
The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is facing high rate of deforestation along with the consequences. In fact, the rate of deforestation has increased by 29% from 2015. The deforestation is done illegally and the Brazilian government has made efforts to minimize the deforestation. An area the size of California has been cleared in the past half century and the government The Amazon Rain forest is responsible for eliminating around 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide. This yearly absorption helps eliminate greenhouse gases and when it is not absorbed it adds to climate change.
Timber harvesting is a major reason for the destruction of the forests. Trees are used for building houses, making furniture, and providing pulp for paper products, such as newspapers and magazines.
Rainforest are being depleted at alarming rates for a number of reasons. A number of raw materials can be obtained from these regions, including oil, rubber, spices, and hardwoods, just to name a few. Industry from all over the world is obtaining these resources without regard for the adverse effects to the environment that will result. Vast areas are being burned and used as farm land. The remaining ash serves as a good fertilizer for the crops for two or three years, and then another patch must be cleared. As populations increase in some regions, rainforest is burned or cleared for development. Trees are cleared by cattle farmers for pasture. The grass is eliminated , the soil is washed away, and only a hard crust remains, leaving an area that probably won’t flourish again for many years.
Advocates for the preservation of these forests state that deforestation has devastating consequences including social conflict, extinction of plants and animals, and dangerous climate changes, and that local deforestation in these forests are causing damages that aren’t just local, but global. While opponents claim that tropical forests are destined to diminish as it is necessary for the growing human population to clear the natural landscape to make room for farms and pastures, to harvest timber for construction and fuel, to build roads and urban areas and to develop the economies of the often poor countries that surround the equator.
Deforestation has been a problem for the region of the Amazon Rainforest for many years. Demand for the wood from Amazon trees is consistently high. The wood of the Amazon is harvested through the process of logging. This is most certainly not a sustainable practice. The amount of trees cut down each year is much higher than the amount of trees that are replanted annually. Many plant and animal species that only exist in this unique environment are becoming extinct due to deforestation. While this is a serious problem for the region, there is a much larger problem with global consequences that results from deforestation. As an extremely large amount of photosynthetic organisms (the trees) are destroyed in one small area, the CO2 that would
One of the major causes of rainforest destruction is logging. While logging can be carried out in a manner that reduces damage to the environment, most logging in large rainforests can be very destructive and harmful. Rainforests that once grew over 14 % of the land on Earth now cover only 6 %. These forests produce vital oxygen and provide homes for wildlife and humans. More than half of the Earth’s rainforests have already been lost forever due to the insatiable human demand for wood and arable land.
Deforestation is the cutting down of a large area of trees and the destruction of forests by people. Forests are what we call an exhaustible resource, one which can be used up if it is not used carefully. Over the last few decades, deforestation has threatened the rainforests with total extinction. To understand why deforestation is such an important issue, you first have to understand why trees matter. Trees improve in many ways the life of all species, including the human race.
The necessity for fuel wood is critical in developing countries that spend most of their income to obtain it. The solution for solving fuel wood problems could be solved by applying woodlots to agroforestry systems and managing them on a rotational basis. Multiple benefits are accomplished by integrating this technology approach. Nyadzi et al. states “Growing of trees as woodlots on farms for five to seven years in rotation with crops was considered as a potential technology to overcome the shortage of wood, which is a common problem to many parts of sub-Saharan Africa” (2003 P; 253). The authors claim that the medium term rotational woodlots would have the potential to meet the wood needs for domestic and industrial while reducing the amount of deforestation that is