{"id":1954,"date":"2022-04-07T22:07:11","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T22:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatetransform.com\/?p=1954"},"modified":"2022-04-21T12:52:06","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T12:52:06","slug":"how-does-deforestation-affect-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatetransform.com\/how-does-deforestation-affect-you\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Deforestation Affect You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deforestation affects all of us. Forests are home to 80 percent of the world\u2019s terrestrial biodiversity.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Three hundred million people live in forests, and 1.6 billion rely on them for their livelihoods.<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Trees are also crucial for maintaining the natural balance of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n

Deforestation affects the vulnerable, global warming and biodiversity<\/h3>\r\n

deeper into poverty.<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The practice also contributes towards global warming.<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The majority of tree felling occurs in tropical countries.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> But we all feel the effects.<\/p>\r\n

Effect of deforestation on biodiversity<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Cutting down trees is a death sentence for many species. It also impacts human food security and medicine.<\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span> An estimated 137 species of plants, animals and insects go extinct every day due to deforestation. A staggering 50,000 species become extinct each year. This is not a reversible process. These creatures are gone forever.<\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This affects you because the extinction of any single species can have disastrous effects on the wider ecosystem. A decrease in the number of earthworms, fungi, or soil microbes limits the number of recycled nutrients in the soil. It also reduces the number of holes for rainwater to flow through. This stunts crop growth and can affect human food supplies.<\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Most modern deforestation takes place in tropical regions.<\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span> This is even worse for the planet\u2019s biodiversity and, therefore, for you too. Tropical forests support at least two-thirds of the world\u2019s biodiversity, despite covering less than 10 per cent of Earth\u2019s land surface.<\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span> At least half of the world\u2019s rainforests have already been lost.<\/span>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Time is running out to save both our forests and the animals that call them home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Besides being a tragedy, the mass extinction of species affects everyone. Over 25 percent of natural medicines were discovered in tropical rainforests. About 70 percent of the drugs used in modern medicine are models of natural products. A quarter of all prescription medications are made using living organisms, mainly plants.<\/span>13<\/sup><\/a><\/span> We currently harvest 50,000 to 70,000 plant species for traditional and modern medicine worldwide.<\/span>14<\/sup><\/a><\/span> What will happen when they’re gone?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Yet, less than five percent of Amazonian plants have been examined for their medicinal potential.<\/span>15<\/sup><\/a><\/span> We are losing treatments and cures every day thanks to widespread deforestation.<\/p>\r\n

Clearing forests and poverty<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Forests are an essential resource for an estimated 20 percent of the global population.<\/span>16<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Many of the world\u2019s remaining rainforests are in the poorest regions of the world.<\/span>17<\/sup><\/a><\/span> They provide as much as 90 percent of the livelihood of those that live in extreme poverty.<\/span>18<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

More than two billion people depend on wood fuel for cooking and\/or heating. In many cases, it is the only energy source that is domestically available and affordable.<\/span>19<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Deforestation can alleviate poverty for some. For instance, land conversion to plant palm oil may benefit some smallholders in Indonesia. However, it has negative repercussions for others. It simultaneously impoverishes Indigenous communities who lose access to their livelihoods when their historic lands are converted into industrial-scale plantations. Destroying the planet\u2019s forests would create an unparalleled human rights disaster.<\/span>20<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Removing trees and vegetation destroys the goods and services that billions of people rely on.<\/span>21<\/sup><\/a><\/span> It pushes many of them deeper into poverty.<\/span>22<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Deforestation eliminates much-needed opportunities for subsistence, safety nets, and pathways to prosperity for some of the most vulnerable people.<\/span>23<\/sup><\/a><\/span> With one in five people on Earth dependent upon forests, removing them would undoubtedly have consequences for us all.<\/p>\r\n

Deforestation and climate change<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Trees and climate change are intrinsically linked. Greenhouse gases collecting in the atmosphere cause global warming.<\/span>24<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock, increase the planet\u2019s average temperature.<\/span>25<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Deforestation alone is responsible for 10 per cent of all emissions.<\/span>26<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We must leave forests standing if we are to prevent further global warming. Trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and remove it from the atmosphere.<\/span>27<\/sup><\/a><\/span> A mature tree captures and stores an average of 22 kilograms of CO2 per year through photosynthesis.<\/span>28<\/sup><\/a><\/span> By sequestering it in their biomass and the surrounding soil, they can prevent CO2 from contributing to global warming for centuries.<\/span>29<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

196 international Parties signed the Paris Agreement in December 2015.\u00a0 They aim to limit global warming to well below 2\u00b0C, preferably to 1.5\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels. This will be impossible with the current rate of deforestation and the levels of CO2 emissions produced by burning fossil fuels.<\/span>30<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But, the science is clear. If we do not curtail these toxic behaviors, we will cause irrevocable damage to the planet.<\/span>31<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n

How does deforestation affect you?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Deforestation, therefore, affects everyone. Clearing forests reduces crop growth and therefore risks our food and nutrition security. It endangers medicines we rely on and destroys any possibility of discovering future cures for diseases. The practice could plunge billions of vulnerable people deeper into poverty. If it continues, it will have grave repercussions for our entire planet as it increases the effects of climate change.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Deforestation might be most prevalent in the tropics, but the consequences of this shortsighted habit will be felt everywhere. We should all be motivated to stop deforestation immediately and decisively.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"How<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deforestation affects all of us. Forests are home to 80 percent of the world\u2019s terrestrial biodiversity. Three hundred million people live in forests, and 1.6 billion rely on them for their livelihoods. Trees are also crucial for maintaining the natural balance of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Deforestation affects the vulnerable, global warming and biodiversity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":1960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,27],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Does Deforestation Affect You? - Climate Transform<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Deforestation occurs mainly in the tropics. Yet its consequences affect every human on Earth. 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