Tropical Rainforest Deforestation 1

Tropical RainForest Deforestation

Estefani Arias
San Jose State University
Spring 2019
Dr. Jay Ou
Global Studies 156
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Abstract

Deforestation is a serious issue many people are not very educated on which causes it to

not be a big concern. Tropical rainforest deforestation puts the lives of many people, animals,

and plants at risk. It could lead to no form of shelter, food source, and no form of survival. More

people should be educated on the risk of deforestation as well as ways to prevent it before it is to

late. The Amazon tropical rainforest is one of the many forest in the world that is currently going

through deforestation. We need to make a change in the world in order for it to even be able to

survive. To make a change we need to be the change so we should stop tropical rainforest

deforestation.
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Throughout the world there are many tropical rainforest that are the homes of people and

wildlife animals. Tropical rainforest deforestation is becoming more of an issue as days go by

and many people don’t seem to realize the harm it could put the lives of animals and humans.

Deforestation refers to the destruction of rainforest to make the land available for many different

uses such as homes and companies. Deforestation is getting worse due to things like wildfires,

illegal logging, and farmers cutting down trees to form crops. Overall tropical rainforest

deforestation should try to be prevented as soon as possible in order to keep the lives of many

safe.

The Causes

Tropical rainforest deforestation became an issue starting in the late 1960’s. During that

time the Brazilian government began to encourage many people to use the Amazon rainforest as

a resource in times of need. Although indigenous people already used the Amazon rainforest

more than just a resource many people saw it as an opportunity to take advantage of it and begin

to “cut down hardwood trees to sell as timber, clear the forest to make farmland, dam rivers to

create water power, and extract minerals such as gold and iron from the ground” (Greenwhs).

They seemed to see it as a way of being able to have a living off of it since it was so popular for

people to buy timber to create fires and much more. They also saw it as a opportunity to have

crops grow to be able to provide for there families as well as being able to sell it to others, As of

today tropical rainforest deforestation is still a major issue, and has gotten worse. “ It once

covered 14% of the Earth’s surface in land, but today it barely covers 6%.” (Climate Change
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Guide). We need to make people realize that deforestation is a very serious issue and should be

prevented as soon as possible.

Another main cause of deforestation is the start of fires in the forest. “ Each year, fires

burn millions of hectares of forest worldwide” (WWF). In the Amazon fires are very common to

happen and that could be due to the fact that tribes create fires for many reasons like a form of

heat, light, and a way to cook meals. Wildfires in the Amazon are also mainly caused due to

droughts and human activities. Not only can droughts be a step into causing a fire but also cause

many trees to die due to the fact they have no water resource in order to grow. Instead the sun

slowly dries trees out and eventually they die or collapse.

Those At Risk

The Amazon rainforest is home to many indigenous people which are also referred to as

tribes. In the rainforest over one million indians live in it and they are all divided into 400 tribes.

If we let deforestation continue we will be putting the lives of those people at risk. Many tribes

have been passed on from ancestors and have even existed for over millions of years but

deforestation could be the end of many tribes. “The rainforest provides medicine, building

materials, food, and tools. Although today most indigenous people wear modern clothes, their

ancestors made clothing from material found in the forest” (Wilderness Classroom). The many

different tribes all use the rainforest as a different reliable resource. The tropical rainforest is

much more than just there home it is there form of survival and due to deforestation they could

potentially be at harm and have to find a new home. It will be hard for them to adapt in another

resource due to the fact they have relied on it for so long and traditions could even be broken.
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We are not allowing them to live freely due to the fact we are slowly killing their resource for

survival.

In the Amazon rainforest is not just the home and form of survival to people but to

animals as well. “There are approximately 10 million species of animals, plants and insects

known to man and more than half of them call the rainforest home” (CITE). The rainforest helps

animals have shelter as well as protection from other animals trying to harm them or eat them.

“The Amazon is one of Earth’s last refuges for jaguars, harpy eagles, and pink river dolphins,

and it is home to sloths, black spider monkeys, and poison dart frogs” (WWF). Without the

tropical rainforest those animals could soon become extinct due to the fact that they will have no

shelter or food source. We should try to do anything possible to keep those animals from being

the last refuges by protecting the rainforest so that they are able to produce more within one

another. If deforestation continues to be an issue they could also die due to no food and water

resource.

The Amazon rainforest could also put the lives of those who do not live in it in danger.

The amazon rainforest gives us the same resources it gives indigenous people who live in it but

instead of being like them and hunting for food or creating our own medicine we buy it already

produced. “Although there are many dishes served in the Amazon region, the main foods are

centered around fish and a great many of the 2000 or so species of Amazon fish are eaten”

(Thinkjungle). Medicines are made out of plants that are found in the rainforest and letting

deforestation continue could take away the main resource to taking away pain from us humans or

much more. “Approximately 7,000 medical compounds prescribed by Western doctors are

derived from plants” (Adventure life). Without plants medications will not be made and people
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will suffer and could potentially even die. Plants will begin to die because “with fewer trees left,

due to deforestation, there is less water in the air to be returned to the soil. In turn, this causes

dryer soil and the inability to grow crops” (Pachamama). With deforestation plants will not be

able to survive.

Deforestation puts the planet and everyone who lives in it at risk as well because it could

bring climate change. The rainforest provides us with a lot of carbon in order to be able to breath

and live and if we continue to cut down trees the carbon could become less. Climate change

consist of extreme weather results and with that comes extreme temperatures, floodings,

droughts, storms, and strong winds. With climate change “​the oceans will become more stratified

and less productive” (McNutt, 2013). If the oceans become less productive not only will many

marine organisms slowly die but the ocean provides us with food and without the ocean we could

potentially not use it as a food source. “The loss in ocean productivity will be detrimental for the

20% of the population that depends on the seas for nutrition” (McNutt, 2013). Due to

deforestation climate change is likely to occur so we need to stop letting it rise because as it rise

our ocean productivity lowers.

Counterargument

Many people may see forest deforestation as a form of survival due to the fact that it is

able to provide them with a living. “People are willing to pay top dollar for quality wood and you

can make a very good living supplying this hungry demand” (Shoestring profits). By cutting

down trees in a rainforest and selling wood people make money to even be able to pay for any

expenses but although it does help them pay it, there are many other job opportunities in the

world that could help them with that as well but that do no harm to the planet. Companies will
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also disagree with stopping deforestation because it gives them a space they need. Our world is

very big and spacious so there could also be many different locations other than the Amazon

tropical rainforest where they could build a company. If people begin to become more aware of

deforestation and realize that it occured in order for a company to be built they could potentially

even stop it from being a success because they will make people see how it put our lives at risk.

People could also argue that deforestation could be a good thing in order to be able to grow

crops. Although growing crops is a good thing deforestation causes climate change which causes

floods and high weather temperatures so it will not allow crops to grow properly. Instead it will

cause them to dry out or simply die so it is better to leave the grown trees instead of risking it.

Methods

It is obvious that no longer cutting down trees is a way to prevent deforestation but that is

not the only way. Another way one could prevent it is by no longer buying products from stores

that are made out of wood. This will lead to companies who do use wood to realize that it is not

selling so it will eventually cause it to discontinue and no longer be made. Another way we could

stop deforestation is by not buying wood. Many people buy wood for many different reasons like

a form of heat by burning it in the chimony as well as creating bonfires at the beach or the

outside of their home. Not doing this will help less trees being cut down due to the fact that not

much is being bought from those who sell it. Another way one could prevent deforestation is by

not wasting much paper and recycling it when it is used. “To print a Sunday edition of the New

York Times requires 75,000 trees!” (The World Counts). No longer buying newspaper could also

help because if less people buy it the company will either no longer continue to make it or make

less of it. Whenever it is possible to go paperless do it. By that I mean instead of receiving bills
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in the mail or other papers asking if there is an option to receive it electronically or by email.

Another way in which one could prevent it is by planting more trees. As well as taking good care

of the ones you might already have in your backyard or neighborhood.

One could also help prevent deforestation by making more people aware of what it is and

the causes of it as well as the risk it puts many in. Many people are not aware of deforestation or

the fact that it is even occurring. This could be due to the fact that they don’t potentially see the

drastic changes deforestation causes because it is not happening near our neighborhood or in our

city as much as it is happening in Brazil in the Amazon tropical rainforest. Many people in Brazil

actually did see a drastic change so “Brazil, has reduced its deforestation-related emissions by

two-thirds in just six years” (UCSUSA). I think the more people begin to inform those who

don’t know about it or aren’t aware it will bring more attention to the issue and more people will

become involved. People could also begin to talk about it on social media since it is so popular

lately. Starting organizations could also help people become more aware and advertising ways

we could help stop it is a good solution. Supporting local campagnes about deforestation is also a

good way one could help prevent it as well as donating to organizations.

Future Risk

If tropical rainforest deforestation continues and also continues to get even worse than the

population and much more could decrease. Deforestation continuing will make many

medications unavailable as well as carbon reduction. Trees are our main source for air and the

tropical rainforest provides us with the carbon dioxide we need in order to breath and live.

Deforestation could also lead to more higher temperatures because of climate change. With

hotter temperatures sea levels could begin to rise up drastically potentially even causing harm to
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coral reef which is important for marine organisms in order to be able to survive as well. John

Vidal, from The Guardian predicts that if tropical rainforest deforestation continues the forest

could potentially be gone in 100 years. He believes this due to the fact that deforestation is

becoming worse and as it does the solution to end climate change becomes slimmer and more

impossible everyday. He states how in order to prevent climate change there is many things one

must do but one of the major things we should focus on is preventing deforestation from

becoming worse than it already is. Trees give us life and ability to keep living and without them

we could potentially slowly die due to no carbon.

Deforestation Currently

As of right now there is not much feedback on how the deforestation is doing till this day

but 2018 was one of the worst years when it comes to deforestation. “More than 3.6m hectares of

pristine tropical forests were destroyed in 2018” (The guardian). The tropical rainforest that was

affected the most because of deforestation was the Amazon. It is not surprising due to the fact

that fires are common to occur there. It is also becoming worse due to the fact that “Forest

protection is being weakened under Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, who took office in

January” (The Guardian). A;though it is not clear as to why exactly it is weakened because of the

president some reasons that he could be the reason is the fact that he does not pass laws stopping

people to cut trees as well as stopping people from doing any type of harm like cutting down

trees or potentially even hurting wildlife animals.

When it comes to tribes members and their intake on deforestation they find it to be very

sad and preventable. They also see it very invasive since they see the Amazon rainforest as there

home so when people go and cut down trees they pray for the wellbeing of their families and
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others as well. They have many strong beliefs and rituals they do daily and someone they respect

deeply is mother nature. When it comes to cutting down trees or planting they begin and end it

with a prayer. There is also certain times and days where they feel that mother nature allows and

doesn't allow them to do certain things like plant and hunt. So for people to go into the Amazon

and cut trees without thinking about those tribes and their beliefs is rather selfish to them and

even to the world.

Discussion

Doing this assignment made me realize the importance of tropical rainforest and I plan to

thrive and make a change. I plan to plant more plants in my backyard as well as taking part in the

San Jose State University student garden. I also plan to use less paper not just in school but in

work as well. I will begin to educate others on the importance of forest to us and others as well

as informing them what deforestation is and who is at risk because of it. I slowly hope to even

take my thoughts to the next level and begin an organization to help prevent deforestation. I plan

to donate whenever I can to organizations that are helping prevent rainforest deforestation as

well. In the long run I hope to one day visit the Amazon tropical rainforest and visit the different

tribes to be able to share my experience with people and constantly remind them

In conclusion tropical rainforest deforestation should be prevented as soon as possible.

Although it may take years in order to no longer be an issue we should start now in order to be

able to prevent it from getting worse than it already is. Not only will we be saving the life of

wildlife animals, animals who are soon to become extinct, plants, and people but we will also be

saving the planet slowly. We will also better the world due to the fact that it will prevent climate

change or it getting any worse. We will also be saving the tribes that have been passed on from
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generations and any other traditions they have. Overall preventing deforestation helps our whole

world and everyone and everything in it from falling apart. So let’s begin by saving trees.

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