A chain of events is set into motion the consequences of which can be summed up as follows. Various useful products such as firewood, timber, honey, fruits, nuts, resins and medicinal plants etc. Illegal logging is the primary cause of deforestation. What is forest degradation and what are various causes of. It is evident that nearly 70% of the primary forest areas brought under the. Logging is the major cause of global deforestation. Nevertheless, deforestation has been a widespread phenomenon in tropical africa, with an annual forest clearance of between 1. There are several effects of deforestation on earths climate and nature. Shrinking forests can cause widereaching problems, including soil erosion, water cycle disruption, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity losses.
Deforestation, which is the loss of wild forest habitats due to human activity, has grown into a global problem as demand for wood climbs. The major causes and effects of deforestation are as follows. Several studies claim that harvesting wood for domestic energy use has been one of the major causes of deforestation and particularly degradation. Farmers often clear the land for cattle by using slash and burn techniques cutting down trees and burning them. Typically, deforestation is clearing a lot of trees without the intention of establishing future growth. We will discuss in detail deforestation, the major causes behind it and the consequences.
Case studies on forest ecosystems and biodiversity loss 151 7. Harvesting, forest fires, and insect infestations do not count as deforestation because the affected areas will eventually grow back. Clearing trees from hilly regions ultimately causes landslides due to the absence of trees and other plant covers associated with forests that would have bound soil particles together to prevent saturation by water. The first issue, as mentioned earlier, is that plants are essential for animal life as they convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Deforestation definition, causes, effects, and control. Some natural causes of climate change are referred to as climate forcing or forcing mechanisms. Natural causes as hurricanes, fires, parasites and floods human activities as agricultural expansion, cattle breeding, timber extraction, mining, oil extraction, dam construction and infrastructure development.
This section looks at a deforestation definition, causes of deforestation, effects of deforestation, solutions to deforestation and deforestation facts. Tackling deforestation and forest degradation requires a good understanding of the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. In fact, tropical rainforests are believed to be the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. The effects and consequences of deforestation are local and global. Basic concepts of deforestation, degradation, and fragmentation 2. The most known consequence of deforestation is its threat to biodiversity. Deforestation causes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Although tropical forests are largely confined to developing countries, they arent just meeting local or national needs. However, the question of what drives tropical deforestation at both local and global levels remains largely unanswered. Deforestation and land degradation on the ethiopian. Today the term is mainly associated with tropical forests. The changes in area of forest by region and subregion are shown in table 1.
We can expect the rate of deforestation to increase as competition for food, land, and resources increases. The obvious causes of desertification and deforestation consist of major ecosystem changes, such as land conversion for various purposes, over. Learn reasons for deforestation and discover the consequences of this process in all. Why is deforestation a serious global environmental problem. Deforestation is one of the major causes to the environmental degradation which is affected by the agents like small farmers, ranches, loggers and plantation. Revise the causes of deforestation for the upcoming test. These then suggest approaches for efforts to reduce deforestation. Atmospheric for global warming deforestation is the major contributor. It has devastating consequences upon humans, wildlife and the ecosystem.
According to fao, deforestation is the conversion of. Forests fires may arise on the account of natural, accidental, and human causes. Deforestation can be defined as the largescale removal of trees from forests or other lands for the facilitation of human activities. To examine some causes and consequences of tropical deforestation. Forests, infact, have an important role to play for air and climate.
Concluding remarks there is a clear linkages between deforestation and worlds demands of fiber, food, and fuel understanding the underlying or indirect causes of deforestation is crucial to address redd and climate change most deforestation is driven from outside forestry sector e. This may require clearly identifying and distinguishing between the drivers or causes and agents of deforestation in order to understand the major determinants of deforestation in any given context. Causes and consequences of deforestation of the amazon rainforest the amazonian rainforest is the largest rainforest in our planet, covering most of the brazils area and extending out to neighbouring countries. An increasing supplydemand for products such as palm oil and soybeans are driving producers to clear forests at an unnerving rate. When the land is cleared, the soil is actually only good for about 35 years. According to the intergovernmental panel on climate change deforestation, mainly. Climate change affects all regions around the world. It can take place in any region thickly populated by plant life and trees. The need to create sustainable systems of economics and food now is important for addressing foreseeable problems in the future. Lack of viable land use policy and corresponding law also aggravated the rate of deforestation.
Co 2equivalent, amazon deforestation being the major. Insufficient political actions and governance failure as inadequate land. The global effects of deforestation dont end there. Many companies are building more and more roads which scare and kill much wildlife. The causes and consequences of tropical deforestation.
Deforestation is the destroying, removal, or clearing of trees through natural, accidental or deliberate means. Deforestation the major causes and consequences we talk. Deforestation is the clearing of trees without the intent of replacing them or reestablishing a stand of trees. Watershed degradation is the loss of value over time, including the productive potential of land and water, accompanied by marked changes in the hydrological behaviour of a river system resulting in inferior quality, quantity and timing of waterflow the protection, improvement and rehabilitation of mountain andor upland watersheds are of critical importance in the. Deforestation, the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses, is considered to be a contributing factor to global climate change. Lets figure out what are the causes and effects of deforestation, as well as what. On a local scale, the clearing of forest land can cause a decline in the population of certain species. Deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography deforestation is a contributor to global warming, and is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Three deforestation issues are likely to be of particular importance to congress. Deforestation involves removal of plant biomass which cripples the system.
Shrinking forests can cause widereaching problems, including soil erosion. Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to utilize the land or trees. The first two are geographic variation in the causes and the consequences of deforestation. There is a broad consensus that expansion of cropped areas and pastures are a major source of deforestation. Request pdf the causes and consequences of tropical deforestation. As the concentration of carbon dioxide increases, a layer forms in the atmosphere that traps sun radiation. The destruction of the forests is occurring due to various reasons, one of the main reasons being the shortterm economic benefits. The major causes of the environmental degradation are modern urbanization, industrialization, overpopulation growth, deforestation etc.
A major cause of deforestation is agriculture plantations. Deforestation effects animals, plants, and humans in at least four distinct ways. The major reasons for deforestation to occur can be dealt with by dividing the causes among the various sections of the society. Deforestation causes many issues on both a local and global scale. The latest deforestation news is included at the foot of the page. The total area of the amazonian rainforest is approximately 4 million km2, however about 14% of the rainforest has already been. The rise of industrialization has worsened the problem with deforestation. Causes and effect of climate and environmental changes in a broad sense, climate and environmental changes is the after mat of so many human activities and some natural occurrences. Agents, causes, and consequences of deforestation, degradation, and fragmentation.
Urban sprawl is one of the most difficult deforestationrelated issues to solve. In the amazon, industrialscale cattle ranching and soybean production for world markets are increasingly important causes of deforestation, and in indonesia, the conversion of tropical forest to commercial palm tree plantations to produce biofuels for export is a major cause of deforestation on borneo and sumatra. It is a serious environmental concern since it can result in the loss of biodiversity, damage to natural habitats, disturbances in the water cycle, and soil erosion. Tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation is one of the major causes to the environmental degradation which is affected by the agents like small farmers, ranches, loggers and plantation companies.
According to united nations food and agriculture organization fao, we lose over 7 million hectares of forest every year. This is due to the fact that, at its base, urban sprawl is driven by overpopulation. Study on understanding the causes of biodiversity loss and. The causes, consequences and remedies of deforestation in ethiopia. Polar ice shields are melting and the sea is rising.
Many of the reasons are regionspecific, but in general it is possible to pinpoint the major reasons for deforestation to occur. At the national level, governments sell logging concessions to raise money for projects, to pay international debt, or to develop industry. Causes and consequences of deforestation of the amazon. Forests play a crucial role for the water cycle and deforestation entails climatic imbalances both at a global and local level as it influences the composition of the atmosphere and, as a consequence, also has an impact on the greenhouse effect. Preliminary study on the drivers of deforestation and.
The major causes of deforestation is rapid population growth, which leads to an increase in the demand for crop and grazing land, wood for fuel and construction 2. These problems are one of several major obstacles hindering the development of forestry programs in ethiopia. The role of women in deforestation and forest degradation. Indeed some 31 countries do not even make the list because they have already removed most of their forests and even if that remain are seriously fragmented and degraded. Numerous studies have shown that tropical deforestation is one of the major causes of global climate change henry et al. A competitive global economy drives the need for money in economically challenged tropical countries. Corruption at the government institutions, wealth and power due to harvesting of the riches of the forest, population growth and urbanization are some of the common. Pdf the causes of deforestation in developing countries.
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