CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
4 What are the reasons for felling the trees (deforestation)?
Commercial logging, clearance for agriculture, roads and railways, forest fires, mining and drilling, fuelwood 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 sustainably, 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 Africa.
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.
RATE OF DEFORESTATION
5 How much of the rainforest has already been cut down?
So farin the amazon already 14%of the entire rainforest has been cut down so far. If you think about the colossal size of the amazon rainforest then you will find that this is actually a huge amount.
6 How much of the rainforest is being lost each year?
Deforestation (cutting down trees) is a major problem caused by humans in the tropical rainforest. Global Rates of Deforestation:
2.47 acres (1 hectare) per second: equivalent to two U.S. football fields
150 acres (60 hectares) per minute
214,000 acres (86,000 hectares) per day: an area larger than New York City
78 million acres (31 million hectares) per year: an area larger than Poland
At the close of the twentieth century, the world finds itself undergoing the most rapid and complete deforestation it has ever expierenced under the human hand. Since 1950, a fifth of the world's forest cover has been removed. At least 55% of the world's 30 to 40 million hectares of the rare but incredibly productive rainforest have been cleared. Current rates of loss for rainforests and other ecosystems are over 20 million hectares a year, 40 hectares a minute. According to reports by the World Resource Institute and Rainforest Alliance, tropical forests account for 80% of that loss. An area almost the size of Washington State is destroyed each year, and at current rates, tropical forests will be reduced by almost half from existing levels in the next 45 years. The long term effects of deforestation are far too great to continue devastating the forests.
However, in the amazon rainforest the trees are being cut down at a rate of 1,214,000 square miles are being lost each year due to deforestation.
7 Could the forest be completely felled?
The answer is yes. Some people say that if the current rateof logging continues, the whole of the amazon could be lost in 50 years. Others say that this is a false accusation and that this will never happen, and would require a much faster rate to do so. The fact still remains tha the forest is being cut down an if action isn’t taken could be cut down ompletely.
RESULTS OF DEFORESTATION
8 How will the loss of trees affect natural systems (eg the soils, climate and rivers in the area)
There are many causes for deforestation. The first and most important cause is wood extraction. Wood has always been a primary forest product for human populations and industrial interests. Since wood is an important structural component of any forest, its removal has immediate implications on forest health. Intensive harvests can lead to severe degradation, even beyond a forests capacity to recover. When the soil has been stripped of its nutrients, farmers move further into the forests in search of new land. And perhaps the worst culprit of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon [Image] is cattle ranching. 38% of deforestation in the Amazon wasdue to large scale cattle ranching. Mining for valuable resources also plays a major role.
Deforestation has many devastating effects. It affects climate significantly, in part because the forest plays a major role in the water cycle, recycling rain back into the clouds as it receives rainfall. As a result, when the land is cleared, flooding and drought become serious problems, as rainwater travels quickly through the ground without the forest to regulate it.
9 How are people in the area affected by the loss of trees, other plants and animals?
The burning and felling of the forests is also increasing the Greenhouse Effect: aproxamately 10% of the heat-trapping carbon dioxide released into the atmsphere in 1987 was a result of the fires in the Amazon. It threatens the existence of indigenous peoples. There have been more extinctions of tribal peoples in this century than any other, with Brazil losing 87 tribes between 1900 and 1950.
Deforestation robs the world of countless species, destroying crucial biodiversity and losing species with potential uses in medicine, agriculture and industry.
10 How can deforestation affect areas beyond the rainforest, eg globally?
Rainforest canopies absorb carbon dioxide which is a gas in the atmosphere. When the rainforests are burned and cleared, the carbon is released. Also, when trees are cut down they can no longer absorb carbon dioxide. This means more carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide allows heat through the atmosphere (suns rays). However, it will not allow reflected energy to escape from the atmosphere. This is called the greenhouse effect and causes global warming. 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.
MANAGING THE RAINFOREST
11 what plans are there to manage the rainorest, both now and in the future?
What you can do
There are things that you can do to help this problem. You can educate yourself more about the forests and the things that are destroying them. Talk to other people about this problem. Write letters to your senators, representatives, and government officials. And avoid doing things that you know contribute to the destruction of the forests.
If development in the rainforest is to be sustainable (e.g. although the resources are used to aid development, it/they will still exist for future generations to use) a number of measures must be taken. These include:
Afforestation - Trees should be replanted in areas of deforestation.
Shifting Cultivation - Farmers should move on after 2-3 years to allow the rainforest to recover.
Rubber tapping - More sustainable methods of exploiting the rainforest should be pursued e.g. rubber tapping
Measuring trees - Trees should only be cut down when they reach a certain size. This will ensure younger trees survive longer and will encourage careful management of the rainforest.
