Deforestation has been practiced for as long as humans have colonized and practiced agriculture. The mostly widely accepted definition is “longer-term conversion of forests to some other kind of ecosystem, such as agricultural or urbanized land” (Freedman 2004). The main difference in our age is the scale and rate we are clearing forests and that most of the deforestation today occurs in tropical countries (FOA 2010). In 2003 alone, ten thousand square miles of Amazon forests were destroyed. While deforestation rates are showing signs of slowing, in some countries, most scientists and researchers agree (FAO 2010); our current tropical deforestation practices are only contributing to an unsustainable environment for the future. The most common method used in tropical deforestation is ‘slash and burn’. An area of forests cut down and then the tree debris and plants are burned, providing a layer of ash to use as fertilizer. After a few years cultivation the land quality decreases and weeds increase, pushing farmers to a new plot of land and Repeat the …show more content…
The tropical forests of Brazil contain a multitude of resources like timber, diamonds, metals, oils, gold and more (Freedman 2004). The most common known reason for deforestation is for wood and wood byproducts. The U. S. alone imports 26% percent of pulp for paper (FAO 2010). But the driving force behind tropical deforestation is the global expanding population. 60% of tropical deforestation is due to expanding agricultural practices to supply the worlds need for sustenance. This includes the growing of crops as well as cattle rearing. Another benefit is industrialization and urbanization opportunities. Most tropical forests are located in developing countries. The most notable benefit is economical revenue and the jobs created from deforestation. Millions of people are employed in the agriculture and timber industry and rely on it to support their families (FAO
Deforestation is the destruction of a wide area of forest land into a cleared land that is used for a variety of reasons. The impact on the environment from cutting down, burning and damaging forests is very detrimental and there are severe consequences for the environment and future generations because of deforestation. According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization approximately 7.3 million hectares of forests are being destroyed per year in the world (Bradford, 2015). In this essay, I will explore the impact that deforestation on the environment and I will also look at the actions that are being taken to prevent deforestation. There are various reasons why deforestation is occurring despite its negative effects on the environment. Deforestation can cause very serious environmental problems such as climate change, flooding, loss of habitats as well as others.
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
Deforestation has been a major concern in tropical rainforests, this is an act of destructing a forest for multiple reasons including wood supply, agriculture purposes or the extraction of minerals and energy. Forest loss till date is 18.03 million acres per year and it has been estimated that within 100 years all rainforests will be destroyed.
In Middle and South America, it is evident that human interactions affect the physical features. The human interaction that affects Middle and South America is deforestation. In 1970’s a period of deforestation began in Brazil with the construction of the Trans-Amazon Highway; the road allowed migrant farmers to grow crops (Pulsipher & Pulsipher 2012). Deforestation continued throughout Middle and South America. The use lodging of hardwoods, extracting minerals, oil, gas, stones and clearing off land for raising cattle, and growing crops has impacted most of the land in Middle and South America (Pulsipher & Pulsipher 2012). The human interaction of deforestation has led to many environmental issues, changes in physical features. There are loss
People have been deforesting the Earth for thousands of years, primarily to clear land for crops or livestock. Although tropical forests are largely confined to developing countries they aren’t just meeting local or national needs.
One of the causes of deforestation is agricultural expansion. Soybean is one of several cash crops grown on a commercial scale to satisfy international markets, which are increasingly important drivers of deforestation, accounting for 68% of forest loss in Latin America and about 40% worldwide. Combines harvest soybeans in Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. Half of the world’s tropical forests have been cleared or degraded. Some people ask why forests’ are being cleared. It is typically done to make more land available for other things like housing, cash crops, oil, and cattle ranching. Most of what everyone does with deforestation is said to be illegal. Common methods of deforestation are clear cutting and burning trees. The burning method can be done either quickly or slowly. Quickly for plantation use or more slowly using the slash and burn technique. The many reasons why farmers and other people do that is to get money to feed there family or like it was stated early, to make room for growing crops or livestock. Forests are cut down for many reasons, but most of them are related to people’s need to provide for there families or money. Logging operations, which provide the world’s paper and wood products, also cut a number of trees down each year. Loggers, some of them doing it illegally, also build roads to get to more and more remote forests, which leads to further deforestation. Not all deforestation is a terrible thing and intentional. Deforestation comes in handy when in need to build a new oil place. There are a lot of natural factors that play into deforestation like wildfires and subsequent overgrazing. Most of the deforestation occurs in the tropics, which is a terrible place because they have poor soil for
From 1990 to 2005, deforestation, or the removal of trees, was happening at an average rate of 13 million hectares (32.11 million acres) per year (Hope 247). In many ways, deforestation has been the reason for great economic success which turns people on to the idea even more. Deforestation is an essential element in promoting and encouraging developmental growth. Some places around the world may feel obligated to resort to deforestation due to population increases around the world. The concept of deforestation may seem to have a positive impact on society, but many people fail to consider the importance of replanting the trees that were harvested and removed. Deforestation mainly affects North and South America, but because of the Transamazon
Deforestation is the removal of a forest in which the land is use for non-forest uses. This is a big problem for the planet, and can have an effect on the enivroment. Brazil is an perfect example of what deforestation can effect an area enviorment. In the article "Deforestation Drives Up Brazil's Carbon Emissions" it states how the carbon dioxide level have risen in the country thanks to deforestation. The data the was reveal that the level of the carbon dioxide went up as did the rise in the rate of deforestation. The deforestation was the cause for two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil. The cause of deforestation in Brazil was thank rise in farming an agriculture. Deforestation have been on raise in Brazil in recent shown from August 2014 to July 2015 deforesttion increase by 24%.
Tropical deforestation has various direct causes: permanent conversion of forests to agricultural land, logging, demand for fuel-wood, forest fires and drought. Slash and burn clearing is the single greatest cause of tropical rain forest destruction world wide. Air
Nowadays deforestation is the one of the most important and controversial environmental issues in the world. Deforestation is cutting down, clearing away or burning trees or forests. Particularly tropical rainforests are the most waning type of forests because of its location in developing countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, India, central African countries and Brazil. Deforestation rate in those regions is high enough to worry about, because of large economic potential of forest areas. As the result of causes such as agriculture land expansion, logging for timber, fire blazing and settling infrastructure there might be serious impacts in future. For instance, extinction of endemic species of animals and plants which will be
There are many causes/factors to deforestation, which are largely associated with direct human influence. The first proximate cause to deforestation is infrastructure expansion (Geist & Lambin, 2002, p. 144). This refers to transportation (roads), private and public markets, rural and urban settlements, and private and public services (water lines, oil exploitation, etc…) (Geist & Lambin, 2002, p. 144). The next cause is agricultural expansion, which includes, large or small-scale cultivations, shifting cultivations (slash and burn), and, of course, cattle ranching. Wood extractions for industrial and domestic purposes are other proximate causes to this issue.
Environmental issues affect every life on this planet from the smallest parasite to the human race. There are many resources that humans and animal needs to survive; some of the most obvious resources come from the forests. Forests make up a large percentage of the globe. The forests have global implications not just on life but on the quality of it. Trees improve the quality of the air that species breath, determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere. The wood from the forests are used everyday form many useful resources. Moreover, thinning the forests increases the amount of available light, nutrients and water for the remaining trees. Deforestation (forest thinning) is one of the most
The rate of deforestation is increasing and the tropical forests are falling at approximately 140,000 acres per day (Miller & Tangley 1991: xvi). The forests are crucial to the environment. They are important in minimizing erosion, providing a stable habitat for many animals, and helping to keep the environment clean. Deforestation has devastating effects, not only on the biological dependents within the depleted forests, but also on the surrounding human-populated communities.
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.