Solutions to the Problem of Deforestation
Personal:
There are many things that one can do personally to rectify the
problem of Deforestation. These include such things as using wood
sparingly, planting indigenous trees, purchasing the most ecologically
sensitive products, recycling paper, reducing consumption of wood
related products, communicating your opinions to the proper
authorities, calling on forestry companies to act responsibly, and
more. Education, however is the most effective catalyst for change, we
must respect the forests as living communities not just resources to
be exploited.
Government:
There are many things that governments are doing to rectify this
problem. Probably the most effective of these are Forest Protection
Schemes, Farm Forestry and plantations, and Raising
Awareness/Education.
First and foremost is the establishment of Forest Protection Schemes,
which mainly aim at setting up National Parks and Forest Reserves.
Although this is a very effective method it is not enough and such
schemes tend to be used to justify destructive exploitation of
unprotected areas of forest.
Farm Forestry generally refers to the incorporation of commercial tree
growing into farming systems. Farm Forestry is as effective as it is
because it takes the load off old-growth forests. Farm Forestry, along
with Plantations, is very effective in preserving old-growth forests.
The Combined Standing Forest Resource in Australia was 1.5 million
hectares of planted trees. . In China, the law states that each and
every citizen must plant at least 11 trees a year, every year.
Raising awareness and education are other...
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... resources, and improved understanding of environmental implications of
harvesting and trade of forest products.
The UN Commission on Sustainable Development is another important and
effective step towards the rectification of Deforestation.
Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) play an important, but in some
cases, inappropriate role in rectifying the problem. NGO’s like Green
Peace and the World Wildlife Fund are two such NGO’s. The Australian
Rainforest Memorandum, which recognizes the rights of traditional land
owners is endorsed by over 40 NGO’s.
Working Towards an end to foreign debt is yet another crucial role to
ending deforestation. The condition imposed by the International
Monetary Fund often forces heavily indebted countries to sell their
national resources far in excess of sustainable exploitation.
We can help stop the effects of deforestation by planting more trees, going paperless, and eat vegetarian meals as often as possible. Thirty eight percent of Ontario's wood is used for paper. We can save a lot of trees if people tried and cared more towards the world. In southern Canada they are planting trees where they are being cut. This will keep the amount of trees
Wood is also used as fuel, therefore trees are cut for supplies, some examples of wood being used as fuels are charcoal and firewood. As humans, we are expanding and overpopulation is affecting forests. The more people we are , the more land and resources we need. Desertification of land and mining are two causes of deforestation that release toxic chemical that will contaminate the rainforest making it unsuitable for trees to grow. ("Deforestation," n.d.).Overall you environmentalists may have noticed how deforestation is done intentionally.
Deforestation is fast becoming one of the world’s worst environmental/geographical occurring disasters known to mankind, and is due to humankind’s greed, ignorance and carelessness when considering the future of our environment.
Environmental issues affect every life on this planet from the smallest parasite to the human race. There are many resources that humans and animal needs to survive; some of the most obvious resources come from the forests. Forests make up a large percentage of the globe. The forests have global implications not just on life but on the quality of it. Trees improve the quality of the air that species breath, determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere. The wood from the forests are used everyday form many useful resources. Moreover, thinning the forests increases the amount of available light, nutrients and water for the remaining trees. Deforestation (forest thinning) is one of the most critical issues of environmental problems that are occurring today.
Global destruction of natural resources has been on the rise for countless years and has suffered a total loss of 80 percent of forest land. A record 375 km2 of forest land is being destroyed every day (“Environmental Destruction,” 2015). There are policies in place such as the Lacey Act, which stops trafficking in illegally sourced wood products. Australia and Europe have similar laws such as the Australian Illegal logging prohibition Act and the E.U. Timber Regulation. Unfortunately these are just miniscule steps to help minimize deforestation. According to the Charleston Gazette deforestation attributes upward of 15 percent of global carbon emissions, which is greater than all vehicle emissions (2013). The purpose of this essay is to go
As described by Alan F. Arbogast in his book Discovering Physical Geography, deforestation is “the process through which large tracts of land are cleared of trees by humans” (270). Today, deforestation is described as quite a major issue because the amount of forest cover in our global society is being reduced dramatically. In fact, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, continents South America and Africa experienced a -5.2% and -11.7% change in forest cover from years 1990-2010 respectively (Arbogast 271). South America and Africa’s forestland cover have declined these percentages, which many researchers believe contribute to deforestation. Too much forest cover is being used and not much attention is being paid to taking care of the land. When these natural lands are cleared, many problems can emerge, such as biodiversity in the tropical forest biomes, global warming, and ultimately, the “extinction of plant and animal species that have yet to be discovered” (Arbogast 271). Deforestation is an ongoing issue in our society today and has many reasons why it is caused in the first
There is an extensive body of literature on the topic. However, different researches suggest various models for identifying the causes of deforestation. The one approach I found most appealing is to try to understand the deforestation process as a result of the interplay of various inter-related factors. Therefore, instead of trying to identify only one dominant cause of deforestation from a policy perspective it is much more beneficial to stick to an explanatory model of deforestation which treats deforestation as an outcome. In this respect the model introduced in the paper "Causes of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: a qualitative comparative analysis." provides an interesting
Forest conservation basically speaks for itself, but it’s quiet an important thing to do. Conserving the forest could be as simple as making sure an area is clean. Although there are many, many companies and people destroying the forests, there are people conserving it. In the United States, we have National Parks, specifically to conserve. Our tax dollars pay for them to be maintained, and to basically conserve
The deforestation of the Earth has been done for thousands of years, with the intention of clearing land to enhance farming crops or any type of livestock. Tropical forests are considered to be contributed with developing countries and our needs for them are not being met. Neither local nor national needs are being met, which influences economic globalization. This means that the needs and wants of our population are contributing to the bearing of these. Deforestation, by definition is referred to as “the removal of forest cover as a result of human activity.”(Gove 593). Direct causes for deforestation are the interest in infrastructure expansion such as building or altering roads, the interest in agricultural expansion, and wood extraction for sources of fuel or coal. A single direct cause is typically rare for deforestation. Many processes work together to cause the deforestation of our lands, which leads to no direct cause, most of the time.
When most people think of deforestation they think of the rainforest. However, this is an environmental issue that takes place all over the world. In the following pages I will expand on what exactly deforestation means, and why as a world we have a need for it, even though it has adverse effects globally. Deforestation affects our environment by reducing biodiversity, changing the water cycle, affecting soil erosion and also plays a part in the ongoing phenomenon of global warming. Since, this is a global matter, the United Nations has implemented policies to help reduce the damage done by deforestation. The UNREED policy is globally based, while the REED+ policy is nationally based. I will also explain the importance of these policies and what they mean.
One would be amazed to learn all of the things that our environment provides for our everyday life, one of those things being trees. Trees do so many amazing things for us; they allow us to live on earth by providing oxygen, preventing soil erosion, provide housing for many different animal species around the world, providing heat and energy for us. They play such a big part of our daily lives that many people may not even realize it. Some little known benefits that trees provide us are that they actually increase our homes property value, we use them when we go to school, notebooks, when we eat lunch on fieldtrips, paper lunch bags, and so much more. Trees are an essential part of our everyday lives, but unfortunately, “three to six billion trees are getting cut down each year.” (Olson)
So many things are affected by deforestation, and we need to do anything we can to keep our world alive. The main causes of deforestation are agriculture, logging, and over-population. Subsistence farming is responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for 32% of deforestation; logging is responsible for 14% of deforestation and fuel wood removals make up 5% of deforestation. Millions of hectares of rainforests are being destroyed by logging. With all of these causes, about 12 to 15 million hectares of forest are lost each year.
The Problem of Deforestation 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. Much of the earth was once covered by trees, but the majority of these were cleared long ago to make way for an ever expanding human population.
To overcome this problem person has to get awareness regarding what deforestation is and what are the effects of it if we continue to practice it on the same scale. Actually, trees are the only source to filter the harmful gasses which are present in the atmosphere and can balance the harmful effects of those
In conclusion forest are important for life, home to millions of species, they protect soil from erosion, produce oxygen, store carbon dioxide, and help control climate. Forests are also vital for us to live as they provide food for us, shelter and medicines as well as many other useful things. They also clean the air we breathe and water that we need to survive. Deforestation is causing all these necessary roles need to be reduced, and damaging atmosphere even more. We need trees to provide us oxygen and if all the trees are cut down we have less oxygen. It is outrageous for our atmosphere as it pollutes our air then causes global warming. Therefore, deforestation must be banned.