Deforestation Complet

8/19/2019 Deforestation Complet

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DeforestationWhat is Deforestation?

Deforestation is when humans remove or clear large areas of forest lands and related ecosystems

for non-forest use. Including clearing for farming purposes, ranching and urban use. Therefore

that means in these cases, trees are never re-planted.

Forests are cut down for many reasons, but most of them are related to money or to peoples

need to provide for their families. The biggest driver of deforestation is agriculture. Farmers cut

forests to provide more room for planting crops or gra!ing livestoc". #ften many small farmers

will each clear a few acres to feed their families by cutting down trees and burning them in a

process "nown as $slash and burn% agriculture.

&ince the industrial age, about half of world's original forests have been destroyed and

millions of animals and living things have been endangered. Despite the improvements in

education, information and general awareness of the importance of forests, deforestation has not

reduced much, and there are still many more communities and individuals who still destroy

forest lands for personal gains.


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(auses #f Deforestation

)griculture

)griculture is the direct driver of roughly *+ percent of tropical deforestation, while logging is

the biggest single driver of forest degradation. Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation

notes that industrial activities are the principal driver of deforestation and degradation

worldwide, but subsistence agriculture and fuelwood consumption remains an important direct

driver of deforestation, especially in )frica.


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Drivers vary on a regional scale. For eample, cattle ranching and large-scale agriculture are

maor drivers of deforestation in atin )merica, whereas palm oil development, intensive

agriculture, and pulp and paper plantations are principal drivers in Indonesia.

)gricultural activities

)gricultural activities are one of the maor factors affecting deforestation. Due to overgrowing

demand for food products, huge amount of tress are fell down to grow crops and for cattle

ga!ing.


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Deforestation for oil palm plantations in /orneo

(ommercial )griculture

(ombine harvesters in formation harvest soybeans in 0ato 1rosso state in western /ra!il.

&oybean is one of several cash crops grown on a commercial scale to satisfy international

mar"ets which are increasingly important drivers of deforestation, accounting for 2*3 of forest

loss in atin )merica and about 4+3 worldwide. (ommercial agriculture is the largest driver of

deforestation, involving forest clearing for cropland, pasture and tree plantation.

It has been forecast that sugarcane and soya alone

will be responsible for a 5+ million hectare epansion of agricultural land in /ra!il over the net

4+ years, more than twice the si!e of 6ungary.

0ining

0ining is the etraction 7removal8 of minerals and metals from earth. 0anganese, tantalum,

cassiterite , copper, tin, nic"el, bauite aluminium ore, iron ore, gold, silver, and diamonds are

ust some eamples of what is mined.

9eople mine because mining is a money ma"ing business. :ot only do mining companies

prosper, but governments also ma"e money from revenues. Wor"ers also receive income and

benefits. #il and coal mining re;uire considerable amount of forest land.


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)part from this, roads and highways have to be built to ma"e way for truc"s and other

e;uipment. The waste that comes out from mining pollutes the environment and effects the

nearby species. The minerals and metals used are used for very valuable commodities. For

eample, manganese is a "ey component of low-cost stainless steel. It is also used to de-color

glass 7removing greenish hues8, but in higher concentrations, it actually ma"es lavender-colored

glass. Tantalum is used in cell phones, pagers, and lap-tops. (ooper and tin are used to ma"e

pipes, coo"ware, etc. )nd gold, silver, and diamonds are used to ma"e ewellery.

arge scale mining versus small scale mining<

= arge scale mining usually involves a company with many employees. The company mines at

one or two large sites and usually stays until the mineral or metal is completely ecavated. )n

eample of a large scale mine is the &erra 9elada mine in /ra!il which yielded 5>,+++ tons of

gold from >*+ to >*2 and employed @+,+++ wor"ers 7Aricher, >>B8.

= &mall scale mining usually involves a small group of nomadic men. They travel together and

loo" for sites which they thin" will yield gold or another valuable metal or mineral. &mall scale

mining occurs in places such as &uriname, 1uyana, (entral )frica, and many other places


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around the world. &ome researchers believe that small scale mining is more harmful to the

environment and causes more social problems than large scale mining. This will become

apparent later in the lesson.

6ow does mining affect the

environment?

0ining is generally very destructive to the environment. It is one of the main causes of

deforestation. In order to mine, trees and vegetation are cleared and burned. With the ground

completely bare, large scale mining operations use huge bulldo!ers and ecavators to etract the

metals and minerals from the soil. In order to amalgamate 7cluster8 the etractions, they use

chemicals such as cyanide, mercury, or methylmercury. These chemicals go through tailings

7pipes8 and are often discharged into rivers, streams, bays, and oceans. This pollution

contaminates all living organisms within the body of water and ultimately the people who

depend on the fish for their main source of protein and their economic livelihood.


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This chart represents remaining

forest cover due to the mining concessions.

The eact effects of bauite mining are related to

the site. It almost always involves some habitat destruction, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity.

umbering


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ogging occurs for many economical reasons, such as< agriculture 7planting crops8, cattle-

ranching, mining, oil and gas etraction, development, and subsistence-farming.

The logs, or wood, are also used to ma"e homes, furniture, paper, pencils, wood-chips for

pac"aging products, fuel for coo"ing and providing heat for homes.

(auses of the logging


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Fire

Indians from the ingu :ational 9ar" in /ra!il inspect the smoldering remains of forest land

near their reserve. Forest fires release greenhouse gases li"e carbon dioide and clouds of soot

that can disrupt normal rainfall patterns, although natural fires have always played a part

regenerating forest soils and vegetation and rarely result in permanent deforestation of an area.

6owever, the spread of agriculture, poor logging practices, and urban epansion ma"e forests

more vulnerable to uncontrolled fires that result in forest degradation. )n analysis of the drivers

of deforestation and forest degradation in ++ countries published in 5+5 by academics from

Gapan, the :etherlands, the H&, Indonesia and :orway estimates that uncontrolled fires were

responsible for about >3 of total forest degradation between 5+++ and 5++.

ess rain, higher temps


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0any climate models predict an increase in temperature and less precipitation for the )ma!on in

the coming years. /ut most do not account for the compounding effects of fire, which are already

causing forest diebac", noted /alch.

Those omissions could lead scientists to underestimate the amount of carbon released by dying

trees and plants, and a less accurate picture of forest health, according to the study's lead author,

9aulo 0onteiro /rando. Cmissions are so significant that researchers fear the )ma!on could flip,

becoming a net carbon emitter instead of a carbon sin". /ig trees dying means more leaves on

the ground and less canopy cover, and those are among the ingredients necessary for a high-

intensity fire, /rando said. The more intense the fire, the more carbon that will be released. We

may be missing huge amounts of carbon going into the atmosphere with these forest fires. $)

5++B drought in the south eastern )ma!on created conditions for intense wildfires that burned

more forest than the amount of land deforested in the past four years, the scientists noted. &till

'huge potential' /rando pointed out that while )ma!on deforestation remains high, it has dropped

significantly in the past few years.


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/ut in places where forests are degraded and fragmented, especially areas adacent to agricultural

frontiers, drought and fire can have powerful conse;uences. Jeducing deforestation and the

accidental spread of land management fires, along with more effective firefighting, are among

the strategies.


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(onse;uences #f Deforestation

Flora and Fauna

Flowers and animalsK we can't live without them. The flora of the earth produce the oygen that

is breathed by the fauna and in turn, the fauna ehale the carbon dioide that the flora need to

live. #ne cannot live without the other, and humans cannot live without eitherK hence their

importance.Flora and fauna are the plant and animal life of a region in a period of time. That may

sound simple, but the ecosystem created by the interdependence of these two life forms is not

simple at all. In fact, humans cannot breathe unless both flora and fauna survive and thrive on the

earth.


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The )ma!on rainforest once gave us 5+3 of our oygen supply. )s their destruction has

progressed, so has the incidence of respiratory illness around the world. &ome of our most

effective drugs come from rainforest plants. Destruction of these plants, and their habitats, will

not only affect our health, but our very lives.

1lobal trade has introduced species to areas outside of their natural habitat, where there are no

predatory species to control their destructive habits.


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Fire ants were brought to the Hnited &tates in a cargo ship. They have caused the death of

livestoc", people, and many native species of ants and insects.ou need loo" no further than

Florida to see the importance of native flora and fauna on the local ecosystems.

9lants li"e Aud!u, /ra!ilian 9epper, )ustralian 9ine, and (hinese Tallow were brought in from

other countries to the Hnited &tates and have invaded and destroyed entire habitats of native

flora. The Cverglades is being destroyed by 0alaleuca, which was seeded by airplanes to dry up

the Cverglades and allow sugar cane to be planted after the (uban embargo.

The introduction of non-native brown anoles and (uban tree frogs into Florida has nearly

caused the etinction of native li!ard and toad species, which are their prey. Iguanas and other

large li!ard species, as well as large sna"es such as boas and pythons, are invading the

Cverglades and other ecologically sensitive areas. In fact, Florida and its port cities have

introduced and become invaded by more invasive non-native species than any other state in the

H.&. Imports of salmonid eggs into Gapan have caused outbrea"s of disease into several of their

native fish species, causing great economic and ecological losses.


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The list goes on indefinitely. The Hniversity of )ri!ona site tells a shoc"ing tale of the ecological

and economic cost of invasive flora and fauna to the H.&. alone every year.

&oil Crosion

Tree roots anchor the soil. Without trees, the soil is free to wash or blow away, which can lead to

vegetation growth problems. The WWF states that scientists estimate that a third of the worlds

arable land has been lost to deforestation since >2+. )fter a clear cutting, cash crops li"e coffee,

soy and palm oil are planted. 9lanting these types of trees can cause further soil erosion because

their roots cannot hold onto the soil. The situation in 6aiti compared to the Dominican Jepublic

is a great eample of the important role forests play in the water cycle, Daley said. /oth


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countries share the same island, but 6aiti has much less forest cover than the Dominican

Jepublic. )s a result, 6aiti has endured more etreme soil erosion, flooding and landslide issues.

ife ;uality< &oil erosion can also lead to silt entering the la"es, streams and other water

sources. This can decrease local water ;uality and contribute to poor health in populations in the

area.


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)fter heavy tropical rains fall on cleared forest lands, the run-off carries soil into local cree"s and

rivers. The rivers carry the eroded soils downstream, causing significant problems. 6ydroelectric

proects and irrigation infrastructure lose productivity from siltation, while industrial installations

suspend operations due to lac" of water. &iltation also raises river beds, increasing the severity of

floods, and creates shoals and sandbars that ma"e river navigation far more troublesome. The

increased sediment load of rivers smothers fish eggs, causing lower hatch rates. )s the suspended

particles reach the ocean, the water becomes cloudy, causing regional declines in coral reefs, and

affecting coastal fisheries. The loss of coral reefs worldwide, often labeled the rainforests of the

sea, is especially distressing to scientists because of their tremendous diversity and the important

services they provide. (oastal fisheries are affected not ust by the loss of coral reefs and their

communities, but by the damage inflicted on mangrove forests by heavy siltation.

/esides damaging the fisheries industry, deforestation-induced erosion can undermine roads and

highways that cross through the forest.


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Crosion is etremely costly for developing countries. /esides the damage to infrastructure,

fisheries, and property, erosion of precious topsoils costs tens of billions of dollars worldwide

each year. For eample, in the late >*+s the Indonesian island of Gava was losing BB+ million

metric tons of topsoil every year at an estimated cost of .@ million tons of rice, enough to fulfill

the needs of .@-@ million people.


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Flooding Decline In Hnderground Water

Water recycling is the movement of rain from the forest

to land masses further inland. When rain falls on forests the water is intercepted by the forest

canopy. &ome of this intercepted water is returned to the atmosphere by evaporation and

transpiration 7release of water vapour into the atmosphere through stomata on tree leaves8 while

the rest is returned to the ocean as river runoff. In a healthy forest about three fourth of the

intercepted water is returned to the atmosphere as moisture laden air masses which move inland,

cool and are converted to rain. and cleared by deforestation returns only about one fourth of the

rain water to the atmosphere. This air mass has less moisture and delivers less rain further inland.

Deforestation inhibits water recycling and converts inland forest to dry land and potential waste

land.

&evere flooding is a result of deforestation because removal of the forest leaves little vegetative

cover to hold heavy rains. The inability of land void of forest to hold heavy rain water will also

trigger mudslides li"e the ones that have occurred in recent years in (alifornia, (hina and other

parts of the world. &evere flooding and mudslides are etremely costly because they devastate

homes and communities. The ecess water from land cleared of forest becomes runoff water and

enters the ocean instead of seeping downward into the soil to recharge a;uifers. );uifer


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depletion is already becoming a serious problem in certain areas of the planet and as the human

population continues to grow so will the demand for fresh water.


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0easures Hsed To Jeduce The Impact #f

Deforestation

(aribbean Territory


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(orporations L 0ar"ets If corporations have the ability to destroy the world's intact forests, they

also have the power to help save them.

(ompanies can ma"e an impact by introducing !ero-deforestation policies that re;uire suppliers

to produce commodities such as timber, beef, soy, palm oil and paper fiber in a way that has a

minimal impact on natural forests and the climate. (ompanies can also introduce paper

procurement policies that set ambitious targets to maimi!e use of postconsumer recycled wood,

pulp, paper and fiber in their products.

5. &ustainable consumer options

Cven you as an individual can ma"e a difference in saving forests by setting the best eample. It

is a crucial part of the solution to ending worldwide deforestation. )s a consumer, you have the

power to put pressure on companies that have bad environmental practices. /y buying recycled

or certified wood products, only supporting brands with !ero deforestation policies, and getting

others to do the same you send a message to companies to embrace !ero deforestation policies.

M. 9olitics

In order to achieve !ero deforestation by 5+5+ we need ambitious and science-based domestic

and international forest policies from our government.

We use laws li"e the Wilderness )ct, acey )ct and the Joadless Jule to protect forests and

stop illegal wood products from entering the mar"etplace.

The caribbean community must also urgently commit to mechanisms that reduce greenhouse gas

emissions from deforestation in tropical forest developing nations. Forests for (limate is a


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landmar" proposal for an (aribbean funding mechanism to protect tropical forests. Developing

(aribbean countries with tropical forests would ma"e commitments to protecting their forests

and in echange would have the opportunity to receive funding for capacity-building efforts and

for national-level reductions in deforestation emissions. This would provide a strong incentive

for developing countries to continually improve their forest protection programs.


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(onclusion

Thus, deforestation is an important issue to be discussed. It has adverse effects on each living

beings' life. Deforestation has become a huge concern in today's life as there has been a rise in

the decline of forests. Trees are cut down in order to manufacture paper products as well as for

livestoc" farming and so on.

In order to feed the ever increasing population of the Carth, trees and forests are converted to

farm lands. This has become a threat to the world and it has been seen that rates of decline in the

forests are increasing at a rapid rate. This has led the planet to warm up and leading to high

temperatures. This cycle would continue for the following years to come unless necessary steps

are ta"en to prevent deforestation. Deforestation has caused fewer trees to grow. It has also gone

a long way in eliminating valuable ecosystems in the planet.

If maor steps towards afforestation are not ta"en, then even the great adaptability of human

beings may not be enough to cope up with the harsh climate of the future. Deforestation does

have solutions. It's ust that the people must step forward. The safe "eeping of our precious

planet lies with each and every member of its human population. We are the ones accountable for

our actions even though it is ourselves we are accountable too.


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/ibliography

• http5-deforestation.html

• http


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Documents

Deforestation Complet