Facts, causes, and consequences of deforestation

pixabay.com

The tropics are the primary locations of today's deforestation, yet land clearance affects our planet's climate no matter where it occurs.

Bibliography

It's the act of permanently removing trees from an area to create a way for something else. Clearing land for cattle farming or using timber for fuel, construction, and industry are examples of deforestation.

WWF says about a third of the world's land surfaces are covered by forests (WWF). In addition to producing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2), forests are home to an estimated 80 percent of terrestrial organisms. More than a billion people rely on forests for food, medicine, and fuel. The world's woods employ 13.4 million people in the forest industry and another 41 million work in adjacent fields.

Humans have decimated large swaths of forestland, a valuable natural resource. According to National Geographic, between the 1600s and the late 1800s, almost half of the eastern woods of North America were cut down for timber and farmland.

Today, the vast majority of deforestation occurs in tropical regions. People are building new roads through impenetrable forests, making previously inaccessible areas more accessible. According to the New York Times, approximately 47,000 square miles (121,000 square kilometers) of tropical tree cover was lost in 2019 alone, a 10% loss since 2000.

According to World Bank estimates, about 3.9 million square miles of forest have been destroyed since the beginning of the twentieth century. Forests have shrunk by 502,000 square miles (1.3 million square kilometers) in the last quarter-century, an area larger than South Africa alone.

Why are forests being degraded?

Deforestation frequently occurs due to clearing land for agricultural or grazing purposes. UCS (opens in new tab) claims that the great majority of tropical deforestation is caused by just four commodities: beef, soy; palm oil; and wood products. Every year, the UCS estimates that an area the size of Switzerland is lost to deforestation.

For agricultural purposes, people frequently set fires. Workers first remove important timber to clear the land for crops like soy or livestock grazing. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of fires started by humans in Brazil in 2019. More than 80,000 fires were burning in the Amazon as of August 2019, up nearly 80% over the previous year, according to research from National Geographic.

To make room for palm oil plantations, many forests have been demolished. Half of all supermarket products are made using palm oil, the most popular vegetable oil in the world. Native forests must be razed to make way for the trees that generate the oil, which has a devastating impact on the ecosystem. There has been a "record expansion in the global palm oil business" in 2019, according to a 2020 study by Business Wire.

What are the long-term ramifications of clearing forests?

From the tropics to the high latitudes, forests include a diverse range of trees, plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. WWF says this is true everywhere in the world. This diversity is most evident in locations like New Guinea's tropical forests, which are home to more than 6% of the planet's plant and animal species.

Complex ecosystems are disrupted or annihilated when forests are cut down. Deforestation hurts human societies that rely on trees. People in Uganda, for example, rely on trees for various household needs, including fuel, timber, and charcoal. Global Forest Watch estimates that Uganda's forest cover will be reduced by more than 3,500 square miles (9,200 square kilometers) by 2020. A Ugandan entrepreneur tells the website Good Black News that families send children, mainly girls, to collect firewood, and they have to go more and further to get to the trees (GBN) Wood-gathering can take all day GBN said, so children miss school.

Watersheds with forests make up 75 percent of the planet's freshwater supply; hence reducing the number of trees in those watersheds can degrade the quality of that water. More than half of the world's population relies on wooded watersheds for their drinking water and agricultural and industrial purposes.

Destruction of tropical forests may alter how water vapor condenses above the canopy, reducing the amount of rain that falls. Drought conditions might be made worse by converting the Amazon rainforest into agricultural land, according to a study published in the journal Ecohydrology in 2019. Comparatively, the evapotranspiration rates of the forested area were nearly three times higher, increasing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.

Furthermore, trees absorb CO2, reducing the amount of gas emitted by human activities. It is increasingly crucial for trees to sequester carbon dioxide as climate change progresses. According to the World Resources Agency, a non-profit global research institute, tropical trees alone are predicted to contribute around 23% of the climate mitigation needed to offset climate change.

Deforestation not only removes flora that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but also releases greenhouse gas emissions while destroying the forests. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, deforestation is the world's second-leading driver of climate change. First and foremost, there's the use of fossil fuels. Deforestation, in reality, accounts for around 20% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Is it possible to stop the loss of forests?

An alternative to deforestation can be developed to reduce the demand for tree cutting. There are several compelling economic reasons for deforestation, including the need to increase the quantity of land available for agricultural use. According to the UN's Sustainable Forest Management Toolbox, more land requirements may be reduced if people embrace sustainable farming methods or use new farming technology and crops.

It is also possible to replace trees in removed areas or enable the forest ecology to renew itself over time so that forests can be restored. According to the U.S. Forest Service, restoration aims to bring the forest back to its pre-clearing state. Reforestation should begin as soon as possible after an area has been cleared so the ecosystem can begin healing. Water systems will reestablish themselves, carbon dioxide will be sequestered, soils will be regenerated, and wildlife will return afterward.

Everyone can slow down deforestation. Our options include:

• Purchasing certified wood items (opens in new tab).
• Going paperless.
• Limiting our use of palm oil-based products.
• Planting trees whenever possible.

Indeed, individual efforts alone won't be enough to combat deforestation, a global problem requiring a concerted effort from the leaders of all countries.

More than 100 countries signed an agreement at the 26th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in 2020 to cease and reverse deforestation by 2030. According to an article in The Guardian (opens in new tab) on January 3, a dozen countries that signed the commitment have committed $12 billion between 2022 and 2025 to prevent forest damage from wildfires, restore land, and support indigenous populations. Private sector donors offered a total of $7.2 billion to assist in developing agricultural systems that do not depend on deforestation.

Reference : https://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html

Image source : https://pixabay.com/id/illustrations/sungai-boise-idaho-6096232/

What are the effects of deforestation facts?

What are 5 facts about deforestation?

What are 10 effects of deforestation?

What are the 5 main causes of deforestation?

What are the 7 causes of deforestation?