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
Governments in these countries need to stop thinking of forests as a renewable resource. The rate at which they are harvesting these areas drives them beyond the boundaries of sustainability. The efforts required by reforestation may not initially be cost effective, but it will result in not only the survivability of the environment, but of the country’s economy. Widespread awareness of these ideas will help fight against the natural human tendency towards instant gratification and short-term goals. Different methods of logging can be utilized to allow the rainforests to survive and regrow naturally and at a sustainable
Deforestation is a widely used term, but one with different meanings. Disturbance deforestation refers to all man made disturbances that alter a forest, these are the most common. This argumentative essay discusses the positive and negative aspects of deforestation. In the first part of the essay the pro arguments of deforestation will be discussed. For example, the issue of Global population and how forests are being used, land use and the ways forests contribute, wood use, forest growth, destruction and the reasons for cutting down the trees. The second half of the essay will cover the issues that are harmful to the environment because of deforestation. Many environmental issues take place everyday; a big question that arises, is if the global economy will ever finds middle on the issue of forest thinning. If deforestation was used only in the most crucial of times, the world might become a better place.
Deforestation is a current problem in this world, and it’s happening every day, more and more. Deforestation is the clearing of the world’s forests on a massive scale. Every year, the amount of forest we lose is equivalent about the size of Panama. It is everywhere, look at where we attend college. Once upon a time, Eckerd College was all forested area. Every time we build something here on campus, more and more trees get knocked down.
General Information: First off, deforestation is the clearing of forests or areas with trees to be converted into something else after. There are a few different ways forests are cleared. Clear cutting is simply removing everything in sight. Patch cutting is the removal of trees in specified patches. Strip cutting is removing trees in selected strips. The most environmentally friendly method is known as selective cutting. This is the removal of only selected trees, leaving the others un-harmed. The technique used most during deforestation is the slash and burn technique. This uses the basic cutting method of clear cutting, but afterwards everything that remains is burned to ash.
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
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)
Timber and especially hardwoods like mahogany and ebony are being felled at an alarming rate to satisfy the needs of the swiftly developing world. Another problem for the forest areas of the world is the type of agriculture used by some peasant farmers known as "slash & burn". This method of farming involves the burning of trees to add to the initial supply of nutrients in the soil. Over time this supply slowly wares down and so the farmer once again moves onto another plot of trees to slash and burn.
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.
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.
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.
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