Deforestation

Point 1.

1. Forests cover 30% of the earths land.

2. It is estimated that within 100 years there will be no rainforests.

3. Agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation

4. One and a half acres of forest is cut down every second.

5. Loss of forests contributes between 12 percent and 17 percent of annual global greenhouse gas
emissions. (World Resources Institute)

6. If the current rate of deforestation continues, it will take less than 100 years to destroy all the
rainforests on the earth.

7. The rate of deforestation equals to loss of 20 football fields every minute.

8. There are more than 121 natural remedies in the rain forest which can be used as medicines.

9. According to Rainforest Action Network, the United States has less than 5% of the worlds population
yet consumes more than 30% of the worlds paper.

10. The over exploitation of forests is making it extremely difficult to replant a new ecology.

11. 20% of the worlds oxygen is produced in the Amazon forest.

12. Up to 28,000 species are expected to become extinct by the next quarter of the century due to
deforestation.

13. 25% of cancers fighting organisms are found in the amazon.

14. 13 million hectare per year in South America and Africa and south East Asia is converted from a
forest to an agriculture land.

15. Deforestation has considerably stopped in places like Europe, Pacific, North America and some parts
of Asia due to lack of agricultural land.
16. Half of the worlds tropical forests has already been cleared.

17. 4500 acres of forests are cleared every hour by forest fires, bull dozers, machetes etc.

18. Poverty, over-population and unequal land access are the main causes of man- made deforestation.

19. The total world forest loss till date is 7.3 million hectares per year.

20. 1.6 billion people across the globe depend on forest products for their livelihoods there by adding
more to deforestation.

21. Almost half of worlds timber and up to 70% of paper is consumed by Europe, United States and
Japan alone.

22. Industrialized countries consume 12 times more wood and its products per person than the non-
industrialized countries.

23. The United States has less than 5% of the worlds population but consumes more than 30% of the
worlds paper.

24. Fuel wood in sub Saharan African countries is consumed up to 200% times more than the annual
growth rates of the trees. This is causing deforestation, lack of timber resources and loss of habitat for
the species living in it.

25. Trees are important constituents of the ecosystem by absorbing carbon.

26. Soil erosion, floods, wildlife extinction, increase in global warming, and climate imbalance are few of
the effects of deforestation.

27. Worldwide more than 1.6 billion people rely on forests products for all or part of their livelihoods.

28. Tropical forests, where deforestation is most prevalent, hold more than 210 gigatonnes of carbon.

29. According to Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about
half the worlds tropical forests have been cleared or degraded.

30. Tropical rainforests which cover 6-7% of the earths surface, contain over half of all the plant and
animal species in the world!

31. Deforestation affects water cycle. Trees absorb groundwater and release the same into the
atmosphere during transpiration. When deforestation happens, the climate automatically changes to a
drier one and also affects the water table.

32. The worlds forests store 283 billion tons of carbon present in the biomass.

The online business

33. Money to save trees is majorly collected online.

34. One can save up to 20 square feet of forest with online contributions thereby conveniently prevent
deforestation.

35. Over 4 million tons of junk is created online by spamming.

36. 41 pounds of these junk mails are sent to almost every adult in the United States.

37. 44% of the junk mail goes unopened.

38. People in America spend more than 275 million dollars to dispose junk mails.

39. The paper industry is fourth largest in producing greenhouse gas thereby majorly contributing to
deforestation.

40. On an average, a person in the United States uses more than 700 pounds of paper every year.

Take the right action!

41. A lot of paper and cardboard, is used unnecessarily for packing. This means more tree felling.

42. Re-use paper and plastic bags to discourage deforestation.

43. Use canvas or paper bags as another alternative.

44. Pick product which require less packaging.

45. Be creative and mail manufactures telling them to use eco-friendly products. Show them your
deforestation knowledge by highlighting certain important facts using statistics.

46. Sign effective petitions that work and help reduce deforestation.

47. Support eco-friendly companies buy buying their products that promise more durability in an
expensive way.

48. Be active and plant tress it can be at your homes, backyard or you can join any organization keen
on stopping deforestation.

49. Reduce the consumption of beef to tone down the pressure to clear more forest to the cattle.

50. Boycott companies by supporting organizations that care about the environment at the cost of
fighting back for the evergreen trees.

51. Seek knowledge on deforestation and how can you prevent it from happening by reading
newspapers, magazines, internet , TV shows. Spread the world and make it go viral.
Point 2.

Causes of Deforestation
1. Agricultural Activities: As earlier mentioned in the overview, agricultural
activities are one of the major factors affecting deforestation. Due to
overgrowing demand for food products, huge amount of tress are fell down
to grow crops and for cattle gazing.

2. Logging: Apart from this, wood based industries like paper, match-sticks,
furniture etc also need a substantial amount of wood supply. Wood is used
as fuel both directly and indirectly, therefore trees are chopped for supplies.
Firewood and charcoal are examples of wood being used as fuel. Some of
these industries thrive on illegal wood cutting and felling of trees.

3. Urbanization: Further on order to gain access to these forests, the

construction of roads are undertaken; here again trees are chopped to
create roads. Overpopulation too directly affects forest covers, as with the
expansion of cities more land is needed to establish housing and
settlements. Therefore forest land is reclaimed.

4. Desertification of land: Some of the other factors that lead to

deforestation are also part natural and part anthropogenic like
Desertification of land. It occurs due to land abuse making it unfit for growth
of trees. Many industries in petrochemicals release their waste into rivers
which results in soil erosion and make it unfit to grow plants and trees.

5. Mining: Oil and coal mining require considerable amount of forest land.
Apart from this, roads and highways have to be built to make way for trucks
and other equipment. The waste that comes out from mining pollutes the
environment and affects the nearby species.

6. Forest Fires: Another example would be forest blazes; Hundreds of trees

are lost each year due to forest fires in various portions of the world. This
happens due to extreme warm summers and milder winters. Fires, whether
causes by man or nature results in huge loss of forest cover.

Effects of Deforestation
1. Climate Imbalance: Deforestation also affects the climate in more than
one ways. Trees release water vapor in the air, which is compromised on
with the lack of trees. Trees also provide the required shade that keeps the
soil moist. This leads to the imbalance in the atmospheric temperature
further making conditions for the ecology difficult. Flora and fauna across the
world are accustomed to their habitat. This haphazard clearance of forests
have forced several of these animals to shift from their native environment.
Due to this several species are finding it difficult to survive or adapt to new
habitats.

2. Increase in Global Warming: Trees play a major role in controlling global

warming. The trees utilize the greenhouse gases, restoring the balance in the
atmosphere. With constant deforestation the ratio of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere has increased, adding to our global warming woes.

3. Soil Erosion: Also due to the shade of trees the soil remains moist. With
the clearance of tree cover, the soil is directly exposed to the sun, making it
dry.
4. Floods: When it rains, trees absorb and store large amount of water with
the help of their roots. When they are cut down, the flow of water is
disrupted and leads to floods in some areas and droughts in other.

5. Wildlife Extinction: Due to massive felling down of trees, various species

of animals are lost. They lose their habitat and forced to move to new
location. Some of them are even pushed to extinction. Our world has lost so
many species of plants and animals in last couple of decades.

Solutions to Deforestation
1. The best solution to deforestation is to curb the felling of trees, by
employing a series of rules and laws to govern it. Deforestation in the
current scenario may have reduced however it would be too early to assume.
The money-churner that forest resources can be, is tempting enough for
deforestation to continue.

2. Clear cutting of forests must be banned. This will curb total depletion of
the forest cover. It is a practical solution and is very feasible.

3. Land skinned of its tree cover for urban settlements should be urged to
plant trees in the vicinity and replace the cut trees. Also the cutting must be
replaced by planting young trees to replace the older ones that were
cut. Trees are being planted under several initiatives every year, but they still
dont match the numbers of the ones weve already lost.