Deforestation
Crystal Mendoza 7
What is deforestation?
When a forest is cleared in order to make more land by cutting down the trees is called deforestation.
Causes of problem
Deforestation is mainly caused by human activity like fuelwood harvesting, agriculture, illegal logging, and other things like wild fires. Fuelwood harvesting is when wood is illegally removed from a forest and is used by many people to heat up their homes or to cook their food. Agriculture has caused many organisms to lose their homes in the forest to make more room for farm land. Illegal logging is when protested forests are cut down for wood and taking more wood then they should. Lastly wild fires can destroy forests by threatening biodiversity and causing invasive species to enter the forests.
Impact on Ecosystems
Deforestation has reduced the biodiversity by forcing species to move from their homes in the forests making it easier for hunters to catch them which could lead to extinction for that species. The water cycles are also being impacted by changing the river low and the amount of rain when the trees are cut down breaking the water balance. When the trees are cut down they won't be able to remove the greenhouse gases which can cause changes in weather and temperatures to rise affecting many species homes. Soil erosion starts increasing when there are less trees to hold the soil in place causing the land to wash away the fertile soil in the rivers and more trees being cut down to find more places to farm.
Ways to Impact Issue
Some solutions to the problem could be to reduce the amount of emissions that are released in the air when the trees are cut down turning into carbon sources. Protested areas will help protect the forests and preserving many of the species that live in them. Another way is by promoting bioenergy which will help people to start using renewable and sustainable sources instead of using fuel for everything. Illegal logging can be stopped by making policies and agreements that everyone in every country will listen to and also by buying certified wood products.
Conservation for Life: Committing to the Permanent Protection of the World’s Most Important Parks
Summary
Forests provide biodiversity and resources like wood and fuel to many people that live and work around them. They try to protect these forests from things like illegal logging but aren't able to do so alone. In order to properly protect the forests it would cost 2.5 billion dollars a year and that is only short-term. Luckily the PFP has a plan to conserve the forests long-term by using funding plans like asking for donations which will help reach their goal and come to an agreement with everyone. The forests will then be protected forever along with the species that live there.
Challenges
People might not want to solve the problem of deforestation because they would still want to get the products that they want or need like paper, farming, and palm oil. Not only that but the companies that cut down the trees will have to plant new ones to replace them which will make more work for them. Many of the forests have been lost because of the production of soybeans and beef but soon the stores that bought those products stopped when they saw they came from places that caused deforestation making the suppliers change their ways of production. Another challenge would be the increasing of smallholders and the governments think that if there is zero deforestation then it would harm the smallholders.
Summary
- Deforestation is reducing biodiversity
- Making room for farming is main cause for deforestation
- Deforestation is increasing greenhouse gases, soil erosion, and disrupting water cycles
- Creating protected areas is one way to reduce deforestation
Summary
- deforestation is very common in Brazil and Indonesian
- Brazil's forests are cleared to produce more beef and soybeans
- small holders in Indonesian don't want to loose their jobs
- The growing demand for the products are increasing making work harder without deforestation