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DEFORESTATION

Dr Muhammad Umar Farooq

IEER, UET, Lahore.

What are forests?

• Biotic Components
– Community of plants and animals

– Microorganisms

• Abiotic Components
– Soil

– Water

– Climate

• And interrelationship of all these components constitute ecosystem of

forests.

• A forest is an area with at least more than 10 per cent tree canopy cover.

• proportion of the forest covered by the vertical projection of the tree

crowns
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TYPES OF FORESTS
• Classified on the basis of climate

– Tropical
– Temperate
– Boreal or Taiga

Tropical
• Include rain forests (high rainfall and humidity)

• Occur near equator

• Tropical rain forests are found in Central and South America,

Africa, South-East Asia, Brazil, Indonesia.

• Tropical dry forests are present in India, Kenya, Zimbabwe and

Egypt.

• A major characteristic of tropical forests is their distinct

seasonality: winter is absent, and only two seasons are
present (rainy and dry).

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• The Canopy in tropical forests is multi-layered and continuous,

allowing little light penetration.

• Most ecologically rich of all forest types (60% of known

species of plants, 40 % of birds, and 80% of insects)

• Quick regeneration (long growing season and 12 hrs day

period)

• Most threatened because of logging

• Timber harvesting by short contracts so no consideration to

reforestation.

Temperate Forests
• Occur in eastern North America, northeastern Asia, and western
and central Europe.

• Moderate climate and a growing season during 4-6 frost-free

months.

• Because the growing season is shorter, temperate forests

regenerate more slowly than tropical forests.

• Temperature varies from -30° C to 30° C.

• Canopy is moderately dense and allows light to penetrate, resulting

in well-developed and richly diversified understory vegetation and
animals.

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Boreal Forests
• Boreal forests, or taiga, represent the largest terrestrial
biome.

• Boreal (meaning northern) forests can be found in

areas with shorter, warm summers and long winters

• Boreal forests are found in Europe, Asia, Siberia, and

North America.

• Two-thirds of the boreal forests are in Siberia with the

rest in Scandinavia, Alaska, and Canada.

• Climates is quite cold, however, plant adaptation in

the boreal forest is very strong, consisting mainly of
evergreens and other resilient vegetation.

• The forests consist mostly of evergreen conifers with

needle-like leaves, such as pine (Pinus).

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Facts about forests

• The total forest area of the world is just below 4 billion
hectares, nearly 30 %of Earth’s area.

• Russia contains the largest forested area, followed by

Brazil, Canada, and the United States.

• 47 % of the world’s forests are in the tropics, 33 % in the

boreal zone (far north), 11 % t in the temperate zones,
and 9 % in sub-tropical areas.

• Tropical rainforests cover an area larger than Europe.

• About 90% of all species are found in tropical forests.

• Over 1 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods.

• Around 60 million indigenous people depend on forests.

• One third of the world’s people use biomass fuels, mainly

firewood, for cooking and heating.

• The world’s rainforests are home to half of life on earth.

• The Amazon is the richest biodiversity hotspot in the

world

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• About 13 million hectares of tropical forests are

destroyed each year, an area nearly twice the size of
Belgium.

• Tropical and temperate forests absorb around a ton of

CO2 per hectare per year from the atmosphere.

• Deforestation and forest degradation releases about

1.7 billion tons of carbon annually, about 20 percent
of global carbon emissions.

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Why forests are important?

• Other than for their beauty, forests are highly responsible in
keeping and sustaining global ecosystems.

• In fact, much of the quality of life we enjoy, we owe to the

forests.

• From food to life-saving medicines, forests give mankind a

variety of gifts that contribute much to our quality of life.

• It is also the home of more than half of all creatures and

organisms in this planet.

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Importance of Forests

• Earth Purifiers
• Habitats
• Economic Benefits
• Recreational areas
• Watersheds
• Carbon Sinks

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Forests as Earth's air purifiers

• Forests are often known as Earth's lungs.
• Green plants absorb carbon dioxide during
photosynthesis and release oxygen into the
atmosphere in return.
• Carbon guzzlers (absorb CO2 emitted as a result
of animal and human respiration, burning of fossil
fuels, volcanoes, other human induced activities)
• Oxygen is also a by product of photosynthesis

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Forests as Habitat
• Natural home to biodiversity
• Rainforests covering 6% of the planet's surface, these lush
green, often tropical masses contain around 50% of plant
and animal species on this planet.
• Maximum biodiversity per hectare.
• Originating and supporting food chains
• A forest is home to many types of plants, which are the
food source for many types of animals, which are, in turn,
also sources of food for other animals.

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Economic Benefits

• It is estimated that forest products contribute

about 1% of world gross domestic product
(GDP).

• Timber and non-timber items

• Even more important is fuel wood and fodder.

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Recreational Uses
• Popular destinations for recreation

In many parts of the world, state forests have

regulations regarding hunting and fishing.

• Acts as Watershed

• The forests play a vital role as watersheds.

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• Water supply dependence

Currently, about a third of the world's largest cities (33 out of 105)
source a significant proportion of drinking water directly from
protected forest areas. These cities include:
– New York
– Jakarta
– Tokyo
– Mumbai
– Rio de Janeiro
– Los Angeles
– Barcelona
– Nairobi
– Melbourne

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Forest as Carbon Sinks

• Forests act as a major storage depot for carbon and they
represent the most significant terrestrial carbon stock as
they contain 77% all carbon stored in vegetation and
39% of all carbon stored in soils.

• It has also been estimated that forests sequester and

store more carbon (per hectare) than any other type of
land cover since they absorb carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, which is then used to produce
carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that makeup trees.

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DEFORESTATION

• Permanent clearing of forest lands for all

forms of agriculture and for other land uses.

• Currently deforestation is occurring at an

alarming rate i.e. 12-13 million hectares of
forests are cleared annually.

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Causes of Deforestation
• Primary causes of deforestation vary.
• Asian forests are threatened by:
– Commercial logging
– Agricultural Expansion
• African forests are in danger because of
– Fuel wood Collection
– Overgrazing of cattle
– Logging
• In Latin America, forests clearance is associated with
– Cattle ranching
– Population settlement schemes
– Development projects
– Commercial Logging

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Subsistence Agriculture

• Accounts for 48% of deforestation

• Rapid population growth and widespread poverty
• Unsustainable method for the survival of subsistence
farmers and landless poor.
• Inequitable distribution of land intensifies this situation in
many places.
• E.g. in Brazil, 5% of the farmers own about 70% of the land.

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Forest burned for Agriculture in

Mexico

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Commercial Logging
• The cutting down of trees for lumber that is used for building materials,

furniture, and paper products.

• Selective logging -- where only the most valuable trees are cut down --

doesn't help the situation, as one falling tree can bring down dozens of

surrounding trees and thin the forest's protective canopy

• The consumption of tropical lumber has risen 14 folds since 1950.

• 21% of the tropical deforestation is the result of commercial logging.

• Developing countries borrow huge loans from developed countries for

economic growth and are sometimes forced to sell their forests at lower

price than market.

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• Timber harvesting usually involves

building of network of roads which

exposes forests to
– Exotic pests and diseases

– Increase soil erosion

– Open up forests to miners, ranchers and other

people.

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Commercial Logging

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Cattle Ranching and Agriculture for

Export
• 12% of deforestation is due to cattle ranching
• In Latin America, more than 20 million hectares of
tropical forests are replaced during last 2 decades.
• After clearing the forest, cattle can graze for about 6-10
years after which savannas take over the land.
• Tropical forests are also cut and converted to grow
crops to meet the global demands.

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Fuel Wood Collection

• Dry tropical forests are cleared at an alarming rate primarily

for fuel.

• Nearly half of the people of world depend on wood for

cooking.

• Pakistan once had grown Juniper tree forest in Ziarat as the

2nd largest Juniper forest in the world.

• But they have severely affected due to fuel wood cutting.

• Many mangrove forests in West Africa, Central America, India

and Pakistan have been cleared for fuel wood collection.

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Acid rains

• Death of trees due to pollution

• Acid rains have cause damage to one third of

forests in Germany (Black forest).

• Also in Central Europe and Poland.

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Forest Fires
• Natural
• Man-made - Caused due to negligence

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The positive consequences of

deforestation
• Community Build ups
• Forests make way for residential houses, office
buildings and factories.
• Governments are able to build roads to make
trade and transport easier and therefore more
convenient to residents.
• Conversion of forest land to productive land
for agricultural uses.

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The negative consequences of

deforestation
• Unfortunately, the negative consequences of
deforestation far outweigh its positive effects.
Here are a few of them:

– Loss of Biodiversity
– Soil Erosion & Desertification
– Flooding
– Climate change
– Displacement of Indigenous People

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Loss of Biological Diversity

• Loss of biological diversity on an unprecedented scale.

• Due to deforestation, we are losing between 50 and

100 animal and plant species each day.

• loss of species lead to a loss of genetic resources.

• possibility of extinction are of very high, especially for

medicine (tropical plants contribute 25% of world’s
medicine) .

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• Destruction of biodiversity --- lost solutions to future

problems.
• In tropics, species of plants and animals are highly localized
so can be destroyed without clearing a very large area.
• Tropical deforestation affects organisms of temperate
region also. (Migration of birds).
• Tropical deforestation is almost an irreversible process as
land cannot regenerate forests with original species
diversity.

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Soil Erosion & Degradation

• When forests are cut down, essential

nutrients are washed out of the soil all-
together. (Soil Erosion)

• As of now, about 80% of the soils in the humid

tropics are acidic and infertile.

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• When there are no trees to keep the soil in place,

the soil becomes dry and crack under the sun’s
heat.

• Once the soil temperature exceeds 25 0C, volatile

nutrient ingredients like nitrogen can be lost,
further reducing the fertility of the remaining soil.

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• Rainfall further washes remaining nutrients into rivers.

• This means that replanting trees will not necessarily

help to solve the problems of deforestation; Because
essential nutrients are continuously stripped off.

• Eventually, land will be useless.

• So people living in forests will move some other place

for their survival .

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Flooding

• Serious consequence of deforestation

• Clearing the forest dramatically increases the surface run-

off from rainfall because

• greater proportion of the rain reaches the ground (lack of

vegetation not absorbing the excess rainfall)

• Increased surface run-off increased the sediment load in

rivers

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• Shortens the life of dams and reservoirs due

to silting

• Widespread deforestation in Nepal and

Himalayas caused increased flooding in Indian

Rivers Gangas and Brahmputra.

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Climate Change
Disruption of:

The carbon cycle

• Forests act as a major carbon store in the form of CO2.

• Clearing or burning of forests results in release of carbon as

CO2. increased atmospheric CO2 concentration.

• CO2 is the major contributor to the greenhouse effect.

• Gradual increase in earth’s temperature

• Changes in weather patterns, increased sea levels etc.

• Deforestation contributes 20% of all CO2 releases.

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The water cycle

• Trees draw ground water up through their roots

(absorption) and release it into the atmosphere
(transpiration).
• In Amazon over half of all the water circulating
through the region's ecosystem remains within the
plants.
• With removal of part of the forest, the region cannot
hold as much water.
• The effect of this could be a drier climate.

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Displacement of Indigenous People

• Deforestation results in the displacement of indigenous
communities and their traditional way of life.
• Governments usually ignore the fact that native people are
utilizing the resources available in the forests.
• Indigenous peoples are hardly included in economic and
political decisions that directly affect their lives.
• They are forced off the land by developers.

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• Indigenous Brazilian population has reduced

from 1 Million to 200,000 .

• In Africa, native pygmies are threatened

• Malaysian Penans, native of Sarawak state are

endangered.

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Mitigation Measures
• Sustainable forest management

• Pests and disease controls in managed forests

• Reduce funds for crop plantation, ranches and roads in

areas of old grown forests

• Tree farming, ranching and crop plantation on degraded

tropical forest lands

• Reduction in poverty and flow of landless poor to forests

• Foreign aids should be provided to tropical countries for

protecting forest areas.

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• Long term logging concessions (40-50 years)

• Increased tree plantation (fast growing species

like bamboos, poplar, eucalyptus etc.)

• Reduce fuel wood use, use alternatives

• In clear forests, low intensity harvesting of fruits,

trees, nuts, rubber etc. to maximize conservation.

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Efforts to Reduce Deforestation

• UN Climate Change Conference (Dec, 2007) in Indonesia.

• More than 180 countries agreed to the Bali Roadmap.

• The roadmap includes specific measures to reduce

deforestation -- for tropical rainforests in particular.

• UN and WB has initiated programs to curb deforestation

under the name Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Forest Degradation (REDD).

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• Besides the U.N., there also are dozens of nonprofits

working to combat deforestation. A few well-known
organizations include:
• Conservation International -- teaches local farmers how
to maximize their existing land, rather than clear new areas
• The World Wildlife Fund -- works to shape policies and
teams with communities to preserve forests
• Rainforest Action Network -- uses advertising campaigns to
call attention to the rainforests

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• The Environmental Defense Fund -- provide financial

incentive to private landowners (such as farmers) who
practice land conservation

• The Sierra Club -- works to protect and restore U.S. forests

• Amazon Watch -- defends the rights of indigenous people

and communities faced with industrial development

• The Nature Conservancy -- has developed several

initiatives to advance conservation

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• New movements in forest protection have sprung up over the years. They
include:

• Eco-forestry -- where only carefully selected trees are cut down and are
transported with minimal damage to the area; the forest ecosystem is
preserved while commercial timber extraction is still permitted

• Green business -- focuses on recycled paper and wood products, wood

alternatives and environmentally responsible consumerism

• Land use planning -- advocates environmental friendly development

techniques, such as reduction of urban and suburban spread out.

• Community forestry -- where concerned citizens come together to

manage and participate in keeping their local forests viable and
sustainable

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PAKISTAN CONTEXT?????

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• The country’s deforestation rate has been

estimated between 0.2 and 0.5 per cent per
annum — the highest in the world
• The WWF report says that over 99,711 acres
of forest land in Punjab and 27,874-acre
forests in Sindh have been converted to non-
forest uses in last few years.
• The beneficiaries remain some government
departments, politicians and other influential
people having close contact with respective
governments.

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Green Emergency
• Approximately 68% of Pakistan’s population
depends on firewood as the main source of
energy in households .
• Every year, Pakistan loses almost 27,000
hectares of natural forest area
• With a declining supply of raw materials from
Pakistan’s own forest ecosystems, forest-
based industries and their employees are at
risk from the Green Emergency.

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Juniper Forest

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UN Initiative
• Deforestation and forest degradation account for
approximately 11 percent of carbon emissions, more
than the entire global transportation sector and
second only to the energy sector. It is now clear that
in order to constrain the impacts of climate change
within limits that society will reasonably be able to
tolerate, global average temperatures must be
stabilized within two degrees Celsius. This will be
practically impossible to achieve without reducing
emissions from the forest sector, in addition to other
mitigation actions.

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REDD
• Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation (REDD) is a programme, attempts to
recognize the role of forests in climate change
mitigation. It aims to create financial value for the
carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for
developing countries to reduce emissions from
forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to
sustainable development.

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REDD+
• REDD+ goes beyond deforestation and forest
degradation and includes the role of conservation,
sustainable management of forests and
enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
• Pakistan has already joined the UN-REDD Programme
in 2011, but still, there is a dire need of the hour to
launch a more REDD+ project in Pakistan because
these would not only help to conserve biodiversity
and secure vital ecosystem services but contribute to
increased resilience to climate change.

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THANK YOU

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