Deforestation has become a serious global issue which is resulting in many negative effects such as a loss of biodiversity, land erosion and climate change. Deforestation can be broadly defined as “forest conversion and different types of degradation that reduce forest quality” (Sven, 2000). The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) provides a narrow definition: “depletion of tree crown cover to less than 10% as the deforestation” (FAO, 1993: 10). Forests play a significant role in humanity’s life. According to the World Rainforest Movement (1998), 25% of medicines come from the forests. Moreover, over the past 8000 years, about 5000 square miles of forest has been cut down annually (Rochen, 2008; Seitz, 2008). There are three main causes which lead to the deforestation: logging, overpopulation and road construction. This essay will examine each cause and evaluate the effects. It will begin with discussing the causes of deforestation. Next, it will examine the serious effects.
Industrial logging is one of the most significant causes of deforestation. According to Phelps (2005), industrial logging is the clearance of trees for commercial purposes. In West Africa, over the past 40 years, about 2800-3500km² forests have been logged every year (Middleton, 2008). The peasants in Africa play an important role but it is modern industry that cut down so many trees. For example, as Heller (2001) found, every year more than 800 square miles of trees disappear due to the demand of paper from McDonald’s for packaging. Another huge amount of wood is consumed as British Columbia manufactures 7,500,000 pairs of chopsticks per day (Rochen, 2008).
According to the FAO, however, industrial logging is not necessarily a cause of deforestation because new trees can grow after the clearance of the old. Seitz (2008) disagrees with the claim via pointing out that logging often leads to soil erosion which makes it less suitable for plants to live. He argues that industrial logging often causes the soil to harden and results inland erosion and flooding. It also makes the supply of fresh water erratic. A severe strain is placed on the soil as trees are cut down since they protect the soil from the violent rain which is common in the tropical rain forests. Rain can also be unpredictable due to the deforestation. Sometimes deforestation causes too much water in the wrong places. Flooding in India is a typical case that confirms this point. Another example in point noted by Sliver (1992) is the 1988 flood in Bangladesh which was linked to deforestation in Himalayas. It must be recognized how serious the effect is.
Another major cause of deforestation is population growth. According to Seitz (2008), the population of the world is growing exponentially. The world reached its sixth billion in 1999. The growth often occurs in less developed countries, in other words, the third world. As a consequence, a constant scarcity of lands can be seen in these regions. In Brazil, the distribution of land is so inequitable with few people owing a large amount of the land and many owing none at all. Hence, these people, most of whom are landless small-scale subsistence farmers, have to look for land in the untouched forests. At this point in time, 17 percent of the deforestation is considered as a result of these activities (Seitz, 2008). Myers (1991) noted that since the population of forested tropical countries increased from 15 to 35 percent in the 1980s, deforestation extended by 90 percent during the same time. All in all, population growth can be a cause of deforestation (Myers, 1991, cited in Moran, 2005).
Road construction should be responsible for deforestation as well. It may occur already in the government-planned development stage, such as Central America, Brazil and Indonesia. Although there are many other reasons to construct roads (such as logging and mining), the main purpose is regarded as directly promoting product trade and stimulating development of the region. Sliver (1992) points that in Amazon easy access has been promoted through the opening of highways over the last 20 years. The extended access made it possible for the actions associated with rapid deforestation to take place. Fortunately, improving existing roads instead of expanding road can arouse trade and local incomes at a lower rate of deforestation. It is government policies that have a large influence on the unfavourable situation of forests (Wunder, 2000).
There are another two effects of deforestation. Firstly, deforestation causes a loss of biodiversity on an unprecedented scale. The diversity of life in tropical forests relative to other biomes is great. For example, the study of the single tree in Peru shows no less than 43 ant species belongs to 26 genera (Middleton, 2008). Tropical forests contain two-thirds of the known 250,000 world’s terrestrial plant species, 90 percent of world’s insects and many bird species (Osborne, 2000, cited in Palm, 2005). But now 50 to 100 animal and plant species are losing each day as a result of deforestation. In general, there is widespread agreement in the scientific community that deforestation in the tropics is a big hazard to the species and inherited diversity of the planet (Middleton, 2008).
The most serious consequence of deforestation is climate change. The atmosphere of the earth contains a variety of gases including carbon dioxide which helps restrain heat loss to outer space. The tropical forests can absorb some of these gases. There can be an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide with deforestation; more heat and light will be reflected back into atmosphere and make a change in the climate and weather (Rochen, 2002). In the Amazon, the annual emissions of carbon dioxide from deforestation account for 4 to 25 percent of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere worldwide. The 2.9 billion tons of carbon added annually to the atmosphere are removed by an area approximately equal to the 465 million hectares of newly planted forest (Silver, 1992). It will cause the climate change and have a serious influence on humanity’s life.
In conclusion, this essay has attempted to demonstrate the major causes of deforestation and examine what the effects are. It has argued that logging is a significant reason which results in land erosion and flooding and makes the supply of fresh water erratic. Another two imperative factors are population growth and road construction. Finally, it elicits serious effects of deforestation: a loss of biodiversity and climate change. In short, deforestation has become a global issue that must be concerned.