Whilst these are the root causes of deforestation, increasing population, increasing demands for forest products, and inappropriate technology, exacerbates them.
Deforestation in a LEDC
Brazil
The world’s forests are in grave danger. Over half of the original forest cover has been destroyed, and things are set to deteriorate unless the current alarming rate of deforestation is checked. Every minute an estimated 26 hectares of forest is lost – that’s an area equivalent to 37 football pitches - and it is not difficult to see that if this continues we will be left with a planet devoid of woodland. This would be catastrophic: not only are forests home to some of the most important species on earth, but they also play a vital role in regulating the climate and making the planet habitable.
Trees once covered much of the earth, but the majority of these were cleared long ago to make way for an ever-expanding human population. This is particularly true in regions with a temperate climate such as Britain and other parts of Europe where agriculture took an early hold of the landscape, and have now reduced the great forests to tiny pockets strewn throughout the land. However, it is only in relatively recent times that the tropical forests have come under severe attack. On a global scale there was twice as much tropical forest at the turn of the 20th century as there is today, and only around 700 million of the original 1.5 billion hectares remain.
The rate of deforestation in Brazil is a cause for extreme concern: around four million hectares of forest are destroyed each year, to the extent that 45 per cent of its original forest cover has disappeared.
Causes of deforestation in Brazil
Commercial logging, clearance for agriculture, roads and railways, forest fires, mining and drilling, fuel wood collection and clearance for living space are all intimately connected with deforestation, but it is far from obvious as to which is the worst culprit.
People have been living in and around tropical rain forests for tens of thousands of years, taking what they needed from the wealth of natural resources available without compromising their environment. However, in the last two centuries populations have expanded, requiring more and more space for housing and agriculture. Coupled with the extremely lucrative international timber trade in recent years, this has brought about an unparalleled degradation of the rain forests.
The two most commonly cited causes of deforestation are shifting cultivation and commercial logging. In the past, indigenous peoples have farmed the rain forests, felling trees to allow cultivation of crops and grazing space for animals, and moving on when the soil becomes less fertile. This is no threat to the forests; provided that it is carried out sustainable, and used areas are left to regenerate for long periods before repeating the process. Problems arise when the land is not allowed sufficient time to recover, and intensive farming results in irreversible soil degradation. This is the present situation, due to the needs of the growing population - and some sources identify shifting cultivation as the cause of 70 per cent of the deforestation in Brazil
As with shifting cultivation, if logging is carried out in a controlled way it can be implemented with only minor disturbance to the environment. It is when felling of trees begins to exceed tree production that logging becomes seriously detrimental. Before intensive mechanised logging took over from the use of handsaws, axes and animal power, it could be argued that the timber trade posed little threat to tropical rain forests, but the arrival of chainsaws, tractors, roads and railways had a much greater impact. Previously inaccessible areas have now become prime targets for commercial logging companies, and poor management has led to unprecedented losses.
Other factors such as the felling of trees for charcoal, and clearance for mining and the extraction of oil are considered less damaging than shifting cultivation and commercial logging, but they nonetheless pose a threat to the existence of the tropical rain forests.
Effects of deforestation in Brazil
To many people living in temperate climates, tropical rain forests are fascinating places; full of mystery and promise, containing some of the most interesting and diverse products nature has to offer. So it would be a disaster if they were to vanish. Once cleared of trees, rain forest topsoil, which can take over a thousand years to accumulate, can be eroded in just one decade. This makes the land unusable, and can in turn lead to disastrous flooding since there is no soil to soak up the rain. But that's not the end of the story.
Forest clearance also leaves human forest dwellers without food or shelter, and leads to the disappearance of ways of life, which have existed largely unchanged for thousands of years. However, potentially the most damaging effect of forest clearance is its impact on the planet's climate. We have all heard of the perils of global warming and the greenhouse effect, and it is common knowledge that this is caused mainly be the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Trees and other green plants absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen through photosynthesis, whereas animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. The destruction of the tropical rain forests would bring about a disastrous imbalance in the amounts of carbon dioxide produced and recycled, leading to a build up in the atmosphere, and increased climate change. Add to this the fact that many of the trees cut down to provide space for agriculture are either burned or left to rot, releasing even more carbon dioxide, and clearly we have a recipe for disaster. The whole of nature is a vast interrelated system, which currently exists in a more or less balanced state. Tampering with such important factors as the rain forests could bring about irreversible damage to the world, as we know it.
A further consequence of deforestation concerns the scientific possibilities, which would be lost with the demise of the tropical rain forests. It is estimated that only a small fraction of the plants and animals living in rain forests have been identified, and some scientists speculate that many of these may hold the keys to finding cures for some of the most deadly diseases known to man. For example, the US National Cancer Institute has catalogued some 3,000 plants with anti-cancer properties, 70 per cent of which are found in tropical forests. Who knows what other secrets the rain forests hold?
Solutions to deforestation in Brazil
The obvious solution to the problem of deforestation is to stop cutting down the trees and thereby halt the deterioration. But is this the only answer? Global trade in tropical timber is now worth in excess of £5 billion per year, so calls for its abolition would certainly be met with a degree of hostility! But perhaps there is no need to halt timber production absolutely. Forest management schemes are being set up all over the world, with the emphasis on sustainability. These allow logging to take place, whilst laying down strict guidelines as to how it is to be carried out with the least enduring effects upon the environment.
Among the organisations seeking to minimise the impact of commercial logging on the world's forests is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). This is a non-profit organisation, which was founded in 1993 to provide an independent certification of timber from well-managed forests. With an internationally recognised trademark that was launched in 1996, the FSC enables responsible consumers to identify those timber products, which have originated from sustainable sources. Because the FSC has members from every sphere associated with the timber industry, such as environmental institutions, the timber trade, the forestry profession and indigenous peoples' organisations, it has been able to lay down ten principles and criteria, adherence to which will ensure that logging will not exceed the capacities of the forests concerned, allowing long-term sustainable harvesting. On a global scale, more than 8 million hectares of forest have been certified to the FSC's exacting standards.
Regions of rain forest which are deemed too sensitive even for well managed logging can be designated as protected areas, and together with suitably enforced legislation this can be an effective defence against many of the problems affecting rain forests.
Perhaps the most important step is to educate and inform those people whose actions, either directly or indirectly, pose a threat to the forests. Indigenous people can be helped by WWF and other conservation organisations to make the very best use of their natural resources - and at the other end of the scale, consumers in developed countries have to understand the increasingly damaging impacts of the forest products they buy. That is why WWF advises them of the alternatives available, and encourages them to make informed decisions about their lifestyles. Only in this way will we be able to stop, and eventually reverse, the degradation of the tropical rain forests.