Deforestation is the practice of destroying tree populations in forests. It is the opposite of forestation, which is the process of growing new trees on land.1 However, deforestation doesn’t just destroy ecosystems and animal shelters; it also destroys the soil and contributes to climate change. It is one of the most destructive acts we can commit in a region.
What are the five biggest causes of deforestation?
The five biggest causes of deforestation are:
- Expanding farmland
- Cattle ranching (expanding cattle ranches for livestock)
- Timber logging
- Infrastructure projects (such as roads, mining and hydroelectric dams)
- Use of land for new housing2
“The main reason tropical forests are disappearing is not a mystery – vast areas continue to be cleared for soy, beef, palm oil, timber, and other globally traded commodities”, says Frances Seymour at the World Resources Institute. “Much of this clearing is illegal and linked to corruption”.3
Where is deforestation happening?
In 2015, California and large parts of Brazil and South Africa faced unprecedented droughts.4 Water needed to be rationed, as the expected rainfall never came. Occasional droughts are not uncommon, but this was much worse. While the mainstream media rarely discusses why droughts have become more frequent, a predominant cause is deforestation.5
Brazil is perhaps the world’s most well-known case of deforestation and forest cover loss. Pristine rainforest land, around 12 times the size of New York City, has been razed to the ground from mid-2018 to mid-2019. That is a significant increase compared to previous years. The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, openly wants to weaken enforcement of environmental laws and efforts to fight illegal logging, mining and ranching.6 But, the impact of such a large-scale removal of trees is not confined to Brazil – it is felt around the world.
What are the effects of deforestation?
Greenhouse gas emissions
Deforestation has a devastating impact on biodiversity and shelter for wild animals. But, it also has an effect on the broader climate. Trees remove carbon from the atmosphere, and they store it for hundreds of years. They also turn carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen using photosynthesis. By cutting trees down and losing forest cover, we release that carbon back into the air and slowly destroy the lungs of our planet through greenhouse gas emissions.7
The current rate of deforestation around the world is unsustainable. Millions of hectares are being deforested. We should not only ask what is deforestation but also how we can prevent the removal of trees and keep carbon dioxide stored in the ground.
Droughts
Trees also regulate water vapour in the air and attract rain. This is how many rainforests thrive. But the flip side is that deforestation can turn a wet region into a place with arid conditions.8 When people ask what is deforestation, they rarely connect the rate of deforestation to drought. Cutting down trees can reduce the rain that these trees attract to the area, thus depriving other trees of vital water. This can create a vicious downward spiral, in which even more forests simply die of thirst.9 This is likely why large parts of the world, including Brazil, India, China, Australia and California, have faced unprecedented droughts.10
Soil erosion
Forests also protect the soil. They keep it together and provide it with nutrition. By destroying them, we increase the likelihood of flooding and reduce the quality of the soil. In China, the government has slowly started to recognise this. It is even paying farmers to create forests to improve the soil and stop farms from being flooded.11 In other words, deforestation doesn’t just turn fertile land into deserts; it can also increase the likelihood of flooding and reduce crop yields for farmers.
What are the solutions to deforestation?
There are several simple and straightforward solutions to deforestation. We need to change how we consume products and commodities at an individual level for a start. More importantly, we need to push private companies and governments to change their practices, so that they don’t harm the environment.12
Take action as individuals
As individuals, we can avoid single-use packaging, eat sustainable food, eat less meat and choose responsibly-produced wood products. We can also plant more trees and help conservation groups.13 We can also pressure companies to buy from sustainable sources. This can help phase out the use of environmentally damaging materials, such as plastics, or stop using certain products, such as palm oil. They can also hold their suppliers accountable to ensure that they aren’t contributing to deforestation or cattle ranching.14
Government regulation
Governments can also create better regulation around products, such as ensuring the sustainability of forests, and they can get involved in international agreements for the protection of animals and forests. Most importantly, they can do far more to invest in new forests and ensure that older ones aren’t cut down for commercial reasons.15
Unless we tackle deforestation, we are more likely to see unprecedented floods and droughts, as we have seen in recent years.16 The health of our planet and our societies is tied to our trees.
Sources
- www.fao.org. (n.d.). FRA 2000 on definitions of forest and forest change. [online] Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/ad665e/ad665e04.htm [Accessed 19 Feb. 2021].
- https://www.facebook.com/onegreenplanet (2017). 5 Big Causes of Deforestation and How You Can Stop It. [online] One Green Planet. Available at: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/5-big-causes-of-deforestation-and-how-you-can-stop-it/.
- Carrington, D., Gutiérrez, P., Niko Kommenda and Cath Levett (2018). One football pitch of forest lost every second in 2017, data reveals. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2018/jun/27/one-football-pitch-of-forest-lost-every-second-in-2017-data-reveals.
- Opinion | Deforestation and Drought. (2015). The New York Times. [online] 9 Oct. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/opinion/sunday/deforestation-and-drought.html.
- Opinion | Deforestation and Drought. (2015). The New York Times. [online] 9 Oct. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/opinion/sunday/deforestation-and-drought.html.
- Amazon Deforestation in Brazil Rose Sharply on Bolsonaro’s Watch. (2019). The New York Times. [online] 18 Nov. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/world/americas/brazil-amazon-deforestation.html.
- Buis, A. (2019). Examining the Viability of Planting Trees to Help Mitigate Climate Change – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. [online] Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Available at: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2927/examining-the-viability-of-planting-trees-to-help-mitigate-climate-change/.
- Sheil, D. (2009). How Forests Attract Rain: An Examination of a New Hypothesis. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232695799_How_Forests_Attract_Rain_An_Examination_of_a_New_Hypothesis [Accessed 17 Feb. 2021].
- Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com (2017). Drought, forest loss cause vicious circle in Amazon | DW | 13.03.2017. [online] DW.COM. Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/drought-forest-loss-cause-vicious-circle-in-amazon/a-37882115.
- World Resources Institute. (2015). A Global Tour of 7 Recent Droughts. [online] Available at: https://www.wri.org/blog/2015/06/global-tour-7-recent-droughts.2021].
- CIFOR Forests News. (2018). In China, paying farmers to restore forest landscapes. [online] Available at: https://forestsnews.cifor.org/53502/in-china-paying-farmers-to-restore-forest-landscapes [Accessed 17 Feb. 2021].
- Greenpeace (2016). Solutions to Deforestation. [online] Greenpeace USA. Available at: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forests/solutions-to-deforestation/.
- Youmatter. (2019). Do you hear the planet’s call for help? Here are 5 steps to help stop deforestation. [online] Available at: https://youmatter.world/en/5-steps-to-stop-deforestation/.
- Youmatter. (2019). Do you hear the planet’s call for help? Here are 5 steps to help stop deforestation. [online] Available at: https://youmatter.world/en/5-steps-to-stop-deforestation/.
- Youmatter. (2019). Do you hear the planet’s call for help? Here are 5 steps to help stop deforestation. [online] Available at: https://youmatter.world/en/5-steps-to-stop-deforestation/.
- Gray, E. (2019). Earth’s Freshwater Future: Extremes of Flood and Drought – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. [online] Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Available at: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2881/earths-freshwater-future-extremes-of-flood-and-drought/.