Deforestation

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION

CONTENTS;

1.   INTRODUCTION-WHAT IS DEFORESTATION?
2. CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
3. EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION
4. THOUGHT-PROVOKING QUESTIONS
5. OUR MESSAGE TO YOU
6. THE SORROWFUL LAMENT OF A TREELESS WORLD- A POEM
7. CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION- WHAT IS DEFORESTATION?

Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. An estimated 18 million acres which is7.3 million hectares of forest, are cut every year. About half of the world's tropical forests have been cleared. NASA predicts that if current deforestation levels proceed, the world's rainforests may be completely in as little as 100 years. The country with the most deforestation is Indonesia. Since the last century, Indonesia has lost at least 15.79 million hectares of forest land.

CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION

  Agricultural Activities: Agricultural activities is a major factors causing deforestation. Due to overgrowing demand for food products, a tremendous number of trees are felled to grow crops. It is also done to facilitate cattle grazing.

Logging: Wood based industries also need a substantial amount of wood supply. Wood is used extensively for all our needs and purposes in todays’ world. Therefore many trees are felled in large amounts for supplies. Firewood and charcoal are examples of wood being used as fuel. Some industries also thrive on illegal wood cutting and felling of trees, which has led to vanishing forests and wildlife.

Urbanization: The steadily growing population requires more homes and housing. Overpopulation directly affects forest covers, as with the expansion of cities more land is needed to establish housing and settlements. Therefore, construction of roads and buildings has also led to deforestation in recent times.

Desertification of land: Some other factors that lead to deforestation are part natural and part anthropogenic. It occurs due to land abuse by humans making it unfit for natural growth of trees. Many petrochemical industries release their waste into rivers which results in soil erosion. This hinders with the growth of plants and trees

Mining: Oil and coal mining require considerable amount of forest land. Apart from this, roads and highways have to be built to make way for trucks and other equipment. The waste that comes out from mining pollutes the environment and affects the nearby species.

Forest Fires: Countless number of trees are lost each year due to forest fires in various corners of the world. Fires, whether caused by man or nature results in huge loss of forest cover.

EFFECTS OF  DEFORESTATION

SOIL EROSION DESTRUCTION:
Tree roots anchor the soil. Without trees, rain washes down the soil surfaces and erosion takes place. which can lead to vegetation growth problems. Soils are exposed to the sun’s heat. Soil moisture is dried up, nutrients evaporate and bacteria that help break down organic matter are affected. Soils never get their full potential back.

WATER CYCLE When forests are destroyed, the atmosphere, water bodies and the water table are all affected. Trees are important to the water cycle. They absorb rainfall, retain water in their roots and produce water vapour that is released into the atmosphere. When trees are cut down, this process is broken. The atmosphere and water bodies begin to dry out. The watershed potential is compromised and less water will run through the rivers. Smaller lakes and streams that take water from these larger water bodies dry up. In the Amazon, more than half the water in the ecosystem is held within the plants Trees also lessen the pollution in water, by stopping polluted runoff.

LOSS OF BIDIVERSITY
Seventy percent of the world’s plants and animals live in forests and are losing their habitats to deforestation. Loss of habitat can lead to . Thus, many wonderful species of plants and animals have been lost, and many others remain endangered. It also has negative consequences for medicinal research and local populations who rely on the animals and plants in the forests for hunting and medicine. Many beautiful creatures, both plants and animals have vanished from the face of the earth

CLIMATE CHANGE
Plants absorb Carbon Dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere and uses it for photosynthesis. In return, it gives off Oxygen. Destroying the forests means CO2 will remain in the atmosphere and in addition, destroyed vegetation will give off more CO2 stored in them as they decompose. If greenhouse gases are in large enough quantity, they can force climate change. Cool climates may get a lot hotter and hot places may get a lot cooler.
Carbon isn't the only greenhouse gas that is affected by deforestation. Water vapour is also considered a greenhouse gas. Even this slight change in vapour flows can disrupt natural weather patterns and change current climate models.

LIFE QUALITY
Soil erosion can also lead to silt entering the lakes, streams and other water sources. This can decrease local water quality and contribute to poor health in populations in the area.

THOUGHT- PROVOKING QUESTIONS:

1)      Who benefits from this deforestation? How do they benefit?
2)      Are the trees being replanted? What types of trees? Is the forest being replanted as a diverse ecosystem, as a monoculture with very little diversity or something else?
3)      What are some alternatives to deforestation?
4)      Ask your inner mind about such damage done to the environment, and considering such damages, think of various ways that you can save your world, starting from your very own heart.
5)      Even though governmental organizations have taken a few steps to prevent deforestation, we don’t find many changes. Why is it so?

OUR MESSAGE TO YOU

•      An estimated 13 million hectares of forests were lost each year between 2000 and 2010 due to deforestation.* In tropical rainforests particularly, deforestation continues to be an urgent environmental issue that jeopardizes people’s livelihoods, threatens species, and intensifies global warming. Forests make a vital contribution to humanity, but their full potential will only be realized if we halt deforestation and forest degradation.

•      Forests impact our daily lives in more ways than we can imagine. Just think of how forests have affected your life today: Have you had your breakfast? Read a newspaper? Switched on a light? Travelled to work in a bus or car? Made a shopping list? Got a parking ticket? Blown your nose into a tissue? All these activities directly or indirectly involve forests. Some are easy to figure out – fruits, paper and wood come from trees. Others are less obvious – by-products that go into everyday items like medicines, cosmetics and detergents.

From the air we breathe to the wood we love, human beings are heavily dependent on forests and the products and services they provide. Forests provide habitats to diverse animal species; they form the source of livelihood for many different human settlements; they offer watershed protection, timber and non-timber products, and various recreational options; they prevent soil erosion, help in maintaining the water cycle, and check global warming by using carbon dioxide in photosynthesis.

Yet we are losing forests. Over the past 50 years, about half the world's original forest cover has been lost, mainly because of unsystematic use of its resources. When we take away the forest, it is not just the trees that go. The entire ecosystem begins to fall apart, with dire consequences for all of us.

•      What can we do?

•      Current deforestation trends point toward catastrophic and irreversible losses of biodiversity and runaway climate change. With better governance and smarter land use, it would be possible to meet global demand for food and forest products without any further loss of forests between now and 2030, but urgent action is needed. Actions to tackle deforestation will require new policies and laws, better implementation of existing laws, tough crackdowns on corruption, and economic opportunities for local communities, whether they be the 300 million people living in forests and the more than 1 billion directly dependent on forests. 

•      If major steps towards afforestation are not taken, 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 just that the people must step forward. The safe keeping 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.

THE SORROWFUL LAMENT OF A TREELESS WORLD   

 - A POEM BY JOSHIKHA MADHAV

You think it is all amusing, do you?
From America to Asia, no green hue
All brown and filled with gloom
No smiles ever bloom

Mining, Deforestation, Cattle Grazing,
Has led to all I am bracing
I suffer everyday with no trees, no life
This fact, piercing me like a sharp knife

Fires burn every day and forever
The once existing humans thought they were oh so clever
Chopping down trees till they cease to exist
I even miss smoke and gray mist

All that is left of them is their grey and tall buildings
Buildings that are the evidence of their killings
They had no air to breathe
Like fools, they had themselves to cheat

Is there any reverse effect?
In the end, only I was there to affect
Not a soul to ease my pain
The Big Bang of a million years ago