An unsustainable agricultural activity is also a major reason for deforestation. The farmers which actually practise this are provoked by national and international forces. They are known as migratory farmers. These farmers tend to stay along roads near the forests. They then clear a small area near their dwelling for their use for income to grow subsistence or cash crops. In some regions, eventually, this insignificant problem will lead to rapid soil degradation, forcing the farmers to vacate and move to another area to continue their income. The reason behind this is because the soil is no more suitable for growing any sort of crops. It only can be used for cattle-raising, which will not bring enough earnings to support their families. This land then has no purpose anymore. Its original biomass cannot be recovered for many years.
Because of this unasked for tragedy, many consequences have occurred. One of them includes loss of acreages of tropical rainforest. This will cause many other end results, just like a cycle. First of all, there is going to be loss of fuel-wood, which leads to reduction of soil nutrition. When the diminishing of forest occurs, rainfall increases. This will then increase the rate of soil erosion. Erosion is a natural process whereby weathering, dissolution, abrasion, corrosion, and transportation, by which material is removed from the earth's surface occurs. It causes large amounts of silt to wash downstream, clogging canals and dams and causing flooding. This is because when trees are clear-cut. This means that to remove a large area of trees in one go. There will be neither roots to hold the soil in place nor vegetation to lessen the impact of hard rain on the soil.
Another result of soil erosion is the silting of lakes and rivers. Silt is a sedimentary material that consists of fine mineral particles intermediate in size between sand and clay. Silting involves the filling of these substances onto the seabed, causing the level of the seawater to lessen. Another final result in the cycle is desertification. Desertification is a process whereby the productivity of drought- prone land decreases because of a variety of factors including deforestation, over cultivation, drought, overgrazing (poor rangeland management), poor irrigation (water logging and salinisation), soil erosion, chemical action and other practices. Many of the problems associated with deforestation are linked to desertification. Some analysts believe desertification is only a phase in a natural climatic process that does not receive attention because it is occurs slowly and over the long term.
Extinction of species will also occur. This is done by taking away the habitat that those species are living in and are adapted to. This does not extend to only animals, but also to people. For example, Brazil has lost 87 tribes between 1900 and 1950. this can be classified as cultural diversity. Despite the fact that we are losing many wild life species due to the current rate of pollution, the number of species that will become extinct will augment because of this problem. It has been predicted that by the year 2010, we will lose about a million species, if this crisis continues to go on.
When trees grow, they need to fix carbon dioxide that it is in the air for personal purposes. They need to synthesise carbohydrates, fats and proteins that are the main constituents of a tree. But when trees decompose after they have been cut down, they release that carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. This then leads to an increment in carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere.
An increase in the level of carbon dioxide will cause the greenhouse effect to increase. Greenhouse effect means the trapping and build-up of heat in the lower atmosphere near a planet's surface. Some of the heat flowing back towards space from the Earth's surface is absorbed by water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and other gases in the atmosphere. If the atmospheric concentrations of these gases rise, then theory predicts that the average temperature of the lower atmosphere will gradually increase. Therefore, this will accelerate the rate of global warming. This means that the average temperature of the world will increase at a disastrous rate. Eventually, the climate pattern of the Earth will be altered.
To overcome this delinquent catastrophe, a few immediate steps have to be taken to save this world from being doomed. Forests also occupied an outstanding position in the international deliberations at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. Two topics were dedicated entirely to forests namely Chapter 11 "Combating Deforestation" of Agenda 21 and the "Non-legally binding authoritative statement of principles for a global consensus on the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests". The gist of the report states that the main way to solve this calamity is by strengthening and/or modifying the existing structures and arrangements, and by improving cooperation and coordination of their respective roles.
Another way of reducing this problem is by replanting clear-cut areas. This also means increasing afforestation. By replanting plants, we could try and restore the cut areas. Although this quite a large task to undertake, it is possible. We also could use different plants to produce paper. Paper is recycled and sustainable forests are used as far as possible for paper-making, but it is not up to a satisfactory level. A woddy annual plant called kenaf, which grows very quickly, can provide the same amount of paper in a year per hectare as a pine tree would in 50 years’ growth. But, unfortunately, the processing of kenaf is twice more expensive as processing wood. But in the near future, the cost will soon be reduced due to the advancement of technological development.
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) suggests that we should recycle. If the developed countries start to recycle more materials and residues, they could provide for growth in consumption "without placing unnecessary stress on the forest resource." We, as consumers, also could lower the rate wastage and over-consumption. This would yield significant benefits for forests and economies without sacrificing the quality of life.
The root of all solutions begins with small-scale initiatives. Efforts such as recognising the rights of traditional owners of tropical rainforests should be made. Almost all of them conflict with the development strategies of the dominant social classes and international development agencies that have taken control of their lands and who consistently ignore their basic rights and often even their very existence. This is because the only way to achieve a successful project to save the forest is by compromising with the owners. History has proven this statement. In Papua New Guinea and Ecuador, the Rainforest Information Centre and other organisations have been involved in schemes which support the development aspirations of traditional landowners with small-scale independent projects. On the other hand, in Malaysia and Indonesia, where the rights of traditional owners have been ignored, attempts to save rainforests have been homogeneously fruitless.
Governments of all developing countries should discuss this matter seriously and take action so that this world can be a better place to live in.
