Deforestation
Deforestation refers to the loss of forests permanently for other land uses due to human actions or desires. Deforestation is a crucial process in global change due to their enormous influence on biological and socioeconomic systems (Cardenas, p. VI). Deforestation has raised alarms in many parts of the world. Developing countries have shown rapid loss of forests over the past forty years (Cardenas, p. 6). For instance, there have been concerns over the rate of deforestation in tropical forests in Amazon, Africa, and Asia. There is need to differentiate between deforestation and forest degradation. Forest degradation refers to the change of quality of the forest. Humphreys (p. 1) argues that this change in quality occurs due to the utilization of forest that is not sustainable. The effects of such a change involve a reduction in biomass and species diversity. On the other hand, deforestation refers to the complete destruction of trees leaving bare land.
As stated above, deforestation is a global issue that is complex due to the intertwining factors involving the issue. The complexity of deforestation results due to the political factors and its relation to other matters. Political factors arise due to the stake that various governmental and the civil society such as private for-profit companies and UN programs. Linkage of deforestation with other factors is because it is both a casual and outcome. Deforestation is an outcome because it results from various economic, political and social factors that interact with each other (Cardenas, p. 1). Deforestation is a casual factor because it results to other environmental vices such as soil erosion, global warming, and biodiversity loss.
Deforestation is argued to have beneficial effects (Sauve; Spray & Matthew, p. 104). Valuable goods in the society can be obtained as a result ofdeforestation. For instance, deforestation yields to agricultural land and the companies that use timber contribute to economic growth. The beneficial role of deforestation and its causal effect results to contradictions its regulation. Deforestation is an environmental vice that should be prevented at all cost despite its purported benefits. This prevention is due to the enormous adverse effects of deforestation as compared to its benefits.
Causes of deforestation
Often, forests are cleared to offer more agricultural land due to population density pressure (Allen & Douglas, p. 173). Agricultural technology advancement has enabled cultivation of more land stimulating deforestation. Development of infrastructure and its accessibility has also been n encouraging factor of deforestation. Moreover, forests have been cleared to enable resettlement schemes. Rise in price of agricultural products acts as a stimulant for deforestation (Angelsen & Kaimowitz, p 81). Allen and Douglas (p. 174)argue that some regions hold annual burning that prevents regrowth of forests.
Climate change is the primary change to forest degradation. Such degradation may ultimately result to change in deforestation through desertification as the forests disappear (Allen & Douglas, p. 173). Environmental catastrophes such as fire lead to the loss of forest stock.
Forest conservation requires proper management and proper equipment to facilitate the process. However, most countries do not have the proper equipment for forest management (Allen & Douglas, p. 175). Most of these are the developing countries, and they are mainly unfamiliar with forest management principles. Moreover, forest management institutions may be lacking proper support to carry out their role.
Logging involves forest clearing and hence the depletion of its stock. Logging, especially non-regulated one, can result in deforestation. However, controlled logging also contributes to deforestation due to the construction of roads within the forests. An increase of timber price stimulates for increased deforestation (Angelsen & Kaimowitz, p. 86). Mining in forests results in clearing of trees.
Adverse effects of deforestation
Trees are crucial in preventing surface runoffs of water and in the prevention of floods (Sauve). Therefore, deforestation would interfere with such activities of the trees. Moreover, trees are crucial in the prevention of flooding. During heavy rains, trees seep water-preventing flooding. Through prevention of surface runoffs, trees help in preventing soil erosion. According to Hajabbasi, Ahmad and Hamid (p. 303), trees play a role in maintaining the integrity of soil quality. Trees help in the maintenance of proper quantities of organic matter, potassium, chloride, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, and bicarbonates. Moreover, trees assist in ensuring restoring the proper size of soil aggregates (Hajabbasi, Ahmad & Hamid, P. 304). Therefore, deforestation would bring these roles of trees to cessation. Consequently, deforestation would result to increase in soil erosion, flooding and cause depletion of soil quality.
Forests are crucial for maintaining biodiversity. Therefore, deforestation leads to loss of biodiversity (Pearce & Brown, p. 5; Humphreys, p. 16). Biodiversity is crucial for the production of medicine. According to Sauve, continued deforestation will cause an extinction of some living organisms whose habitats are the forests.
Forests play a crucial role in ensuring proper climate through their role in the carbon cycle. Humphreys (p. 15) argues that forests are essential to the maintenance of the atmosphere’s integrity. Forests prevent the process of radiative forcing that result to increased greenhouse concentrations. Sauve claims that deforestation accounts for a third of the global emission of carbon dioxide. Global warming changes are dangerous in the well-being of people such as due to its adverse effects on agricultural productivity and Arctic and Antarctic melting. Deforestation poses a danger on global climate, which in turn causes a threat to the conservation of nature. Deforestation results in temperature increase due to increased concentration of greenhouse gasses. Deforestation causes change of climate consequently causing a rise in sea level, precipitation events and permafrost thawing.
Sauve argues that deforestation interferes with the water cycle. Trees help in evaporating excess water into the environment. Moreover, as earlier mentioned, trees play a crucial role in preventing surface runoffs. Due to these roles, the presence or absence of trees is crucial in determining the amount of water in the surface area. Trees determine the amount of water in the atmosphere, groundwater, and the soil. Therefore, trees are crucial to ensuring the integrity of the ecosystem that would otherwise result in unsustainable living conditions.
Human activities that contribute to deforestation are influential to the incidence, distribution and prevalence of diseases transmitted by vectors (Walsh, Molyneux & Birley, p. 1). Deforestation results to increase in vector diseases because it influences changes in behavior, disease pattern and ecology of vectors. For instance, deforestation has given rise to new mosquito habitats resulting to disease epidemics, as is the case in South America. Moreover, deforestation has contributed to the adaptation of zoophilic vectors to survive in human blood consequently resulting to change in disease pattern and resulting disease proliferation.
Positive effects of deforestation
Spray and Matthew (p. 104) explains deforestation as a process of attaining valuable goods such as agricultural land. According to Spray and Matthew (p. 30), forests can be cleared to give productive land for agricultural activities. Moreover, forests may be used for ranching activities (Spray & Matthew, p. 32). According to Allen and Douglas (p. 176), there has been noted increase in arable land while forest size has been decreasing. Moreover, deforestation provides land where the increased population size can settle.
Forests offer good sources of timber and fuel. Forests provide charcoal and fuelwood that is essential for heating and domestic heating (Allen & Douglas, p. 174). Most countries depend on fuelwood for both domestic and industrial energy. Logging also provides a source of employment to many individuals. Moreover, deforestation provides raw material for companies affiliated with timber for instance saw mills and paper firms.
Solutions of deforestation
Humphreys (p. 21) classifies deforestation as an international ethical issue that requires global action. However, the solution to deforestation has been difficult due to the lack of proper formulation of the problem. Other reasons that make the process of curbing deforestation difficult involve its nature that interrelates with politics and the lack of common principles of forest proprietorship (Humphreys, p. 22)
Curbing of deforestation requires various processes that necessitate support from local and the international community. The local community has a role in ensuring that forest are not interfered with for any reasons. Moreover, the international community has a significant role in curbing deforestation (Humphreys, p. 22). The government also has a crucial role in ensuring that the process of curbing deforestation is holistic. For instance, formulation of relevant policies such as banning tree cutting allows curbing of deforestation (Sauve). Reforestation also offers a way of preventing deforestation. Other ways involve promotion of sustainable growth, use of alternative sources of energy and proliferation of sustainable agriculture (Cleaver, P. 74).
The discussion above indicates that the results of deforestation are more detrimental rather than beneficial. Forests have been shown to be importance in preventing many environmental adverse events such as flooding and loss of diversity. Forests have also been shown to play a role in ensuring that the atmosphere is conducive to life. The proliferation of deforestation on the basis of its micro-benefits would pose a threat to sustainable life. Sauve argues that deforestation is a monster that should be prevented at all cost.
Works Cited
Allen, Julia C., and Douglas F. Barnes. “The causes of deforestation in developing countries.” Annals of the association of American Geographers 75.2 (1985): 163-184.
Angelsen, A., and Kaimowitz D.. “Rethinking the causes of deforestation: lessons from economic models.” National Bank News Review (Mumbai) 16.1 (2000): 5-23.
Cardenas, Hernandez O. G. Causes and Consequences of Deforestation and Land-Cover Change in Rural Communitites of Western Mexico. , 2008. Print.
Cleaver, Kevin M. Conservation of West and Central African Rainforests =: Conservation De La Forêt Dense En Afrique Centrale Et De L’ouest. Washington, DC: World Bank, 1992. Print.
Hajabbasi, Mohammad A., Ahmad Jalalian, and Hamid R. Karimzadeh. “Deforestation effects on soil physical and chemical properties, Lordegan, Iran.” Plant and soil 190.2 (1997): 301-308.
Humphreys, David. Forest Politics: The Evolution of International Cooperation. London: Earthscan, 1996. Print.
Pearce, David W, and Brown, Katrina. The Causes of Tropical Deforestation: The Economic and Statistical Analysis of Factors Giving Rise to the Loss of the Tropical Forests. Vancouver [B.C.: UBC Press, 1994. Internet resource.
Sauve, David, J. Effects of Deforestation. Clinton Gilkie. Print.
Spray, Sharon L, and Matthew D. Moran. Tropical Deforestation. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Print.
Walsh, J. F., Molyneux, D. H., and Birley, M. H.. “Deforestation: effects on vector-borne disease.” Parasitology 106.S1 (1993): S55-S75.