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Root causes of deforestation include a broad range of economic and social factors, such as poorly formulated property rights systems, widespread poverty and overpopulation, placing pressure on marginally productive lands for subsistence, expansion of agriculture to feed a dramatically increasing human population,  short term view of forest management economics at the expense of long term forest productivity and  lax forest management. The impacts of deforestation can include the displacement of indigenous peoples from their historic living areas, or the loss of traditional livelihoods and food production and procurement systems.  At the current time there is a strong correlation between widespread deforestation and countries which have a low per capita income, deforestation fom commercial timber harvesting  is still a problem in many industrialized countries as well.

Types of deforestation

Chief methods of deforestation are:  land clearing to prepare for livestock grazing or expansion of crop planting,  commercial logging and timber harvests, slash-and-burn forest cutting for subsistence farming,  and  natural events such as volcanic eruption, stand windthrow from hurricanes, catastrophic forest fires, or changes in local climate and rainfall regimes. It is important to note that those natural factors which may cause deforestation represent only a small fraction of observered deforestation worldwide during historical time.

 

Causes of deforestation

See Main Article: Causes of deforestation

The predominant driver for deforestation world wide is the clearing of trees to expand agriculture, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Subsistence agriculture in poor countries is responsible for 48% of deforestation; with commercial agriculture is responsible for 32% of deforestation; and commerical logging is responsible for only 14% of deforestation; charcoal and other fuel wood removals comprise less than 6% of deforestation, but those uses can generally be assigned to subsistence practises.

The degradation of forest ecosystems has also been traced to economic incentives that make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation. Many important forest functions lack readily visible markets, and hence, are without economic value that is apparent to the forest owners or the communities that depend on forests for their well-being. Considerable deforestation arises from a lack of security of property rights and from the absence of effective enforcement of conservation policies, both factors particularly prominent in developing countries; in some cases, terrorism and governmental corruption are concomitant factors in forest losses.

 

 

Deforestation is the destruction or clearing of forested lands, usually for the purposes of expanding agricultural land or for timber harvesting. When the process is conducted by clearcutting (removal of most or all of the canopy tree growth, leaving few or no live or dead trees standing) or when mass forest burning occurs, significant losses of habitat and biodiversity may result, including the erosion of biological community structure and the extinction of species. Deforestation is proceeding at a rapid pace in may areas of the world, especially in the tropical and boreal forest regions of the earth, with annual net loss of forests during the 1990s estimated in the range of nine to sixteen million hectares per annum. Large scale deforestation may have adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, exacerbating greenhouse gas buildup, through the release of stored carbon in tree biomass and reduced CO2 fixation rates due to loss of trees. Deforested regions are often subject to accelerated rates of soil erosion, increased surface runoff and sedimentation of streams and rivers, reduced infiltration and ground water recharge, with adverse water quality impacts on surface water and ground water resources.

Deforestation

Palm oil deforestation in Sumatra

 

     What are the consequences of deforestation?

 

  • Extinctions (loss of biodiversity of microbes (bacteria), plants, insects, animals, indigenous peoples, etc. 

  • Habitat fragmentation.  This disturbs the animals' habitat and may force them to enter habitats which are already occupied.  This can pose many problems such as territorial conflicts, homelessness (loss of habitat), lack of food availability, migration disturbances, etc.

  • Soil erosion occurs when trees and plants are removed; the rain water washes the nutrients in the top soil away. 

  • Changes in watershed geomorphology.

  • Desertification (dry, hot, arid conditions).

  • Edge effects can change microclimates (small climates) which affect endemic species (native species which can only live in specific environmental and habitat conditions).

  • Climate change (more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, thus increasing the effects of global warming).

  • Pollution (ground, water and air pollution from oil extraction and mining chemicals).

  • Half the world’s tropical forests have been cleared or degraded. Every hour, at least 4,500 acres of forest fall to chain saws, machetes, flames, or bulldozers. Population growth, poverty, and unequal access to land are among the major causes of deforestation (Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

  • The net loss of the world’s forests is estimated at 7.3 million hectares (18 million acres) per year (Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

  • Worldwide, 1.6 billion people rely on forest products for all or part of their livelihoods (World Resources Institute and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

  • More than half of the world's timber and 72% of paper is consumed by 22% of the world's population (the United States, Europe, and Japan). Worldwide, industrialized countries consume over twelve times more wood products per person than non-industrialized countries. The United States has less than 5% of the world's population yet consumes more than 30% of the world's paper (Rainforest Action Network).

  • Fuelwood in Sub-Saharan Africa is consumed at a rate of 30-200% greater than the average annual grow of trees. This is causing a large deficit in timber resources and habitat for species (United Nations Environment Program).

  • Trees provide an important ecosystem function by storing carbon, a cause of climate change, in their biomass (wood, leaves, and roots). Currently the world’s forests store 283 billion tons (equivalent to the size of 40.1 billion elephants) of carbon in their biomass (Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

  • Brazil has the highest annual rate of deforestation today.

  • Atlantic coast of Brazil has lost 90-95% of its rainforest.

  • Central America has 50% of its rainforests.

  • South America has 70% of its rainforests. 

  • The Philippines have lost 90% of its rainforests!

  • Madagascar has lost 95% of its rainforests!

  • El Salvador has lost 70-85% of its rainforest due to heavy bombing during the civil war 1984-1985.

  • Sumatra has 15% of its rainforests left.

  • Only 6% of Central Africa's forests are protected by law

WHAT IS SOY USED FOR?

The soybean is a species of legume native to Asia that is now successfully grown worldwide, primarily because it’s a cheap yet substantial source of protein, containing considerably more (per acre) than almost all other forms of agriculture. The bulk of the soybean crop is grown for livestock feed, with the oil extracted to leave behind the high-protein defatted and “toasted” soy meal for farm animals. Worldwide about 85% of the soybean crop is processed into these two goods, with a very small percentage (6%) consumed directly by humans and largely by those in Asia. While it is true that plant-based beverages and food are often soy-based, soy ingredients also appear in a huge variety of non-vegan processed foods (to add nutrition) as well as within other produce in the form of lecithin or vegetable oil.

Due to rapid growth in the consumption of dairy, eggs and meat – and a corresponding rise in demand for livestock feed – from the 1960s onward soy cultivation began to grow, with significant expansion taking place in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Given the expanse of arable and fertile land, low labor costs, and access to water, the main area for growth has been in South America, and unfortunately it is the fragile ecosystems of the rainforest and savannah which are being exploited.

 

Soy and cattle ranching Deforestation

Palm oil is used in thousands of products that many people use every day, from baked goods and ice cream to household cleaning products and shampoo—and can even be found in fuel tanks.

Unfortunately, palm oil is responsible for large-scale forest conversion in the tropics and extensive carbon emissions, contributing to global warming. That’s why the Union of Concerned Scientists is calling on companies that use palm oil to adopt strong deforestation-free and peat-free sourcing policies. 

Though the RSPO provides criteria for “certified sustainable palm oil” (CSPO) and offers that certification, their standards do not yet represent the best science regarding forest conservation and carbon emissions. Certified sustainable palm oil is not guaranteed to be deforestation-free, nor is the destruction of peatlands banned.  

In early 2013, more than 200 scientists called on the RSPO to adopt stronger standards to address these problems, but the RSPO failed to make these needed changes.

While purchasing certified sustainable palm oil is a good first step, it does not address all the negative environmental impacts associated with the production of palm oil. There are steps palm oil producers can take to eliminate these impacts: palm oil can be grown on degraded land instead of forested land, and on mineral soils instead of peat soils. In addition, existing palm oil plantations can increase crop yields to reduce the need for new plantation expansion.  - UCSUSA

Palm oil and global warming

Indonesia and Malaysia, nations with large tropical forests, are the dominant producers of palm oil on the world market today. Their forests are being cleared to make room for new palm oil plantations.

When these forests are lost, carbon is released into the atmosphere, driving global warming. The Sumatran orangutan, elephant, and tiger, all of which are critically endangered, as well the endangered Bornean orangutans and pygmy elephants, are being driven toward extinction as their habitat is converted into massive oil palm plantations.

Furthermore, considerable forested areas of Indonesia and Malaysia are on tropical peat soils. Because of the enormous amount of carbon stored in these soils, clearing and draining swampy peatlands leads to heat-trapping emissions for many years, contributing dramatically to global warming.

As global demand for palm oil continues to increase, tropical forests across Southeast Asia, and increasingly Africa and Latin America, are at risk for conversion into large-scale palm oil plantations.

Palm oil deforestation

Facts

Couses of deforestation in the Brazlian Amazon

2000-2005 cource mongabay.com

Cattle ranching 65-70%

Small scale agriculture 20-25%

Logging 2-3%

Large scale agriculture 5-10%

Other  1-2%

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS WITH DEFORESTATION AND SOY AGRICULTURE?

It is estimated that rainforest destruction is responsible for between 15 and 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and with on average 13 million hectares being cleared each year, there is an urgent need to end the deforestation of rainforests in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Deforestation, coupled with single crop farming, threatens the natural biodiversity; endangered species; as well as the livelihood of local people. The ecological balance that would normally exist in nature is disrupted, and when farmers resort to pesticides to protect their crops this further exacerbates the

An increase in the use of pesticides causes soil erosion to take place at an accelerated pace which can block streams and cause both freshwater and groundwater contamination, all of which seriously impacts the health of people and wildlife. Moreover, single crop farming depletes the nutrients in soil faster than they can be replenished by natural fertilisers, necessitating large amounts of chemical fertiliser and water to be used.problem.

In addition to the harm caused to both animals and the environment, the concentration of cultivation in the hands of a few organisations has pushed communities and small farmers off the land and encouraged exploitation of workers. Now there are four multinational corporations who dominate the world trade in soybeans: Archer Daniels Midland Company, Bunge Limited, Cargill, Incorporated and Louis Dreyfus Group; and as the system continues to be industrialised those who make the decisions are not the ones who have to live with the consequences.    - Caroline Lennon

 

 

Post industrial era

Since the mid nineteenth century worldwide deforestation has sharply accelerated, driven by the expanding human population and industrialisation. Approximately one half of the Earth's mature tropical forests (between 7.5 million and 8.0 million sq. km of the original 15 million to 16 million sq. km that until 1947 covered the Earth) have now been cleared. Some scientists have asserted that unless significant forest protection mitigation measures are adopted, by the year 2030 that 90 percent of the planet's forest will have been removed, as well as hundreds of thousands of flora and fauna species rendered extinct.

Environmental impacts

The adverse environmental impacts associated with largescale deforestation can include significant changes in ecological, hydrological, and climatic processes at local and regional levels. The ecological consequences include habitat loss and habitat fragmentation and adverse changes in local species richness andbiodiversity. In some 

FOREST

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending on various cultural definitions, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have different classifications according to how and of what the forest is composed. A forest is usually an area filled with trees but any tall densely packed area of vegetation may be considered a forest, even underwater vegetation such as kelp forests, or non-vegetation such as fungi, and bacteria. Tree forests cover approximately 9.4 percent of the Earth's surface (or 30 percent of total land area), though they once covered much more (about 50 percent of total land area). They function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the most important aspects of the biosphere.

A typical tree forest is composed of the overstory (canopy or upper tree layer) and the understory. The understory is further subdivided into the shrub layer, herb layer, and also the moss layer and soil microbes. In some complex forests, there is also a well-defined lower tree layer. Forests are central to all human life because they provide a diverse range of resources: they store carbon, aid in regulating the planetary climate, purify water and mitigate natural hazards such as floods. Forests also contain roughly 90 percent of the world's terrestrial biodiversity.

Eucalyptus deforestation in Australia

Cattle ranching deforestation in Brazil

cases, increased local species diversity associated with the destruction or fragmentation of old-growth forests may actually erode biological diversity at regional scales, through the replacement of rare species with restricted distributions (e.g., spotted owls, spectacled bears, colobus monkeys) by common species that are habitat generalists, human commensals, or invasive species.  Hydrological impacts stem from the loss of infiltration capacity associated with canopy interception and leaf litter detritus absorbtion, with resulting acceleration of surface runoff flows at the expense of groundwaterrecharge; these impacts aggravate problems from water pollution and sedimentation, and may alter the balance and volumes of ground water and surface water flows regimes available to sustain riparian ecosystems. Soil loss may occur as the result of active surface erosion, and through the loss of organic matter accumulation. Climate impacts relate to the carbon sink reductions engendered by deforestation, which long term effects have contributed to the buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide.   - C Michael Hogan

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HOW YOU CAN HELP

• DO NOT BUY wood from reinforest like Mahogany wood.

• DO NOT BUY soy product from Brazil. Most common soy is a soy for livestock farming intended for Europe like Austria.

• DO NOT BUY palm oil. There are many products which contain palm oil  from cosmetics to food. Before  you buy some product check it ingredients in product.

• Support downed  animal from reinforest with donation.                              

• Report any wilde animal abuse to police or organization.

• Educate others about deforestation problem.                              

• Find and sign petition on change.com  forcechange.com  or care2.com

• Buy paper products made from recycled paper (FSC) : notebook paper, paper towels, toilet paper, books, etc.

• Go on plant based food. Trees get cut down for cattle to graze and for animal soy feed.  Instead of eating meat, think of eating other sources of  plant base protein such as soy, beans, whole-wheat, and nuts. 

 

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