Save the Trees in Belize!
*Belize in the Trees!
About Belize
Belize is a tiny country in Central America. Although it is a small country, it has a lot of beautiful landscapes and forests with many exotic plants and animals to see inside. Because of this, many tourists come to Belize for vacation spots to see the amazing forest, but that may be gone very soon.
The Problem
Belize was a beautiful place, full of forests with exotic and beautiful plants and animals. That was, until the people came. As Belize got more populated, they tore down the trees to use as timber and used the space for agriculture. All of the forest, animals, and plants were all destroyed within a few years. Hundreds of thousands of trees fell down, until there was none left. Almost 50 square miles of forestry is being taken down each year.
Before
This is Belize's beautiful forests before it was chopped down.
DEFORESTATION
After
This was the beautiful forest that has been chopped down for agriculture.
Why does this matter to us?
Deforestation causes a lot of global warming each year, almost 20%, which is more than all the cars, trucks, and airplanes in the world combined! Global warming can cause many impacts to your health, as well as many others. "Climate change-induced ozone increases in the United States could result in 2.8 million additional repertory illnesses, 5,100 more infants and seniors hospitalized with serious breathing problems, and 944,000 extra missed school days. All told, these and other health-related impacts could cost approximately $5.4 billion in 2020 alone." (USCUSA) Although this may seem like it only affects people nearby, global warming is global, which means it affects everybody in the world.
Why does this matter to me?
This matters to me because I was always taught that everything has a life, even plants like trees. I belive that everything has a life, and we are killing hundreds of thousands of lives when we chop down a forest. I want to stop that. I can't allow this to happen, for thousands of lives to be killed a day, so I want to stop deforestation.
Many of Belize's past forests were gone in a matter of years. What used to be amazing, beautiful homes to hundreds of species of plants and animals all disappeared for agriculture.
What solution is being proposed?
We can look to see what has worked in other countries similar to Belize so we know what works. From International Tree Foundation : In 2004, the government of Paraguay passed a Forest Conversion Moratorium or ‘Zero Deforestation Law’, making it illegal to clear any forested land in eastern Paraguay. Since then, deforestation rates in the Upper Parana Atlantic forests have fallen dramatically – by 90%" We see that the "Zero Deforestation Law" has worked in Paraguay and decreased forestation a ton. If we implement this in Belize, we can stop the deforestation and protect the forest.
What can I do to help?
You can help by voting on the online petition on http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/zero-deforestation-law. Getting enough votes will create the law in Belize. Sign this petition and share it with all your friends and family or on social media with the hashtag #SaveBelize'sforest.
Bibliography
K, Laura. "4 Billion Fund for Forest Protection." Greenpeace. Greenpeace, 28 May 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
Klark, Kat. "Solutions to Deforestation." Greenpeace. Greenpeace, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
Mongabay. "Deforestation Accelerates in Belize." Mongabay. Mongabay, 08 Aug. 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
UCSUSA. "Climate Change and Your Health." Union of Concerned Scientists. UCSUSA, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
WWF. 2011. S.l.: S.n., 2012. International Tree Foundation. Atlantic Forest Ecoregional Office, Mar. 2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.