Deforestation

Overview
•Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forested
• Results in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity
• Contributes to greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere
 Background
• Practiced by humans for thousands of years.
•Fire was first tool that allowed humans to modify landscape
•Deforestation correlated with the agricultural revolution as
space is needed for crops (8-10 thousand years ago)
Why
Why does this happen?
 Why Does it Happen?
•Growing worldwide demand for wood
•Forest used for fire wood or in construction, paper and
furniture
•Clearing land for commercial and industrial development
(including road construction)
•Growth of Local Populations in rural areas increases
demand for agricultural space and wood fuel
 Rationale (continued)
•Timber and logging industries are one of the main culprits
of deforestation in the Boreal Forests
•Land clearing for grazing cattle
•Agricultural expansion for local and exportable crops
 Effects of on Climate
•Deforestation alters the hydrologic cycle, potentially increasing or
decreasing the amount of water in the soil and groundwater and the
moisture in the atmosphere
•Forests act as a sink for carbon which reduces the greenhouse effect
and global warming
 Effects of Deforestation on Climate
•Deforestation contributes around 25% of global greenhouse
emissions through the rotting and burning of vegetation
•CO2 has increased in the atmosphere 30% in the last 250
years mostly due to deforestation and forest fires
Contribution to Global Warming
 Effects of Deforestation on Climate
Deforestation can lead to:
◦ Soil erosion
◦ Landslides
◦ Flash flooding
◦ Alteration in forest biodiversity
◦ Increased temperatures (estimated to reach 130° during
the day)
◦ Drought
 Solutions
• Increased policing of
Amazon regions
• More frequent satellite
sweeps
Kyoto Protocol
 Forces behind deforestation in Brazil
•Tax laws
•Corporations and individuals can exclude up to 80%-90% (respectively)
of agricultural profits from their taxable income under various
provisions of the tax code
•Demand for land becomes extremely high
 Forces behind deforestation in Brazil
•This system harms the small, poor farmer, since the low tax rate level
becomes capitalized into the price of land
•High land prices, make it unprofitable for the poor farmers of Brazil.
Driving forces behind deforestation
in Brazil
After 5 years on a plot of land, the
inhabitant gets legal title to that land.
This encourages poor farmers to go
into the forest and clear land for
themselves as it will be granted
directly to them after 5 years
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