“Our World, our home”

Students:
Caram Peña Said Alejandro
Chavez Arteaga Renato
Menacho Chacana Antonio Arturo
Murillo Menacho Adrian Mauricio
Salas Rocabado Leonardo
Zapata Aponte Walter
Group #
General topic: Our World, our home
Subtopic: Deforestation
What is deforestation?
Deforestation is a process caused by the action of humans, in which the forest
area is destroyed or depleted, generally with the aim of allocating the land to
another activity. First logging did probably occur in Mesolithic period (10000-
5000 years ago), and humans would remove the trees out of the grounds to
make more open and favorable ecosystems for hunting animals. Agriculture
was spreading to more places, and there was more deforestation since then.
Nowadays, we deforest to make more space for crops or cattle grazing, and we
do it in order to obtain wood, with which we build chairs, tables, etc.
Types of deforestation
The objective of deforestation is to use the land occupied by forests for other
uses, such as to gain agricultural and livestock land, exploitation of mining
deposits and the growth of cities, construction of infrastructures (roads) and the
extraction of wood.
Although the concept of deforestation is identified as an impact caused by
human activity, there is also another part, smaller and less impacting, that is
due to natural causes. Therefore, it can be classified into two types: natural
deforestation and human deforestation.
Natural deforestation. - Natural deforestation corresponds to the natural
dynamics of certain regions. Naturally occurring storms, volcanoes, floods, and
fires are part of the ecosystem. There are forests adapted to fire, for example, it
is the Mediterranean forest where some of the most frequent species are
perfectly adapted to fire and are called pyrophytes.
Human deforestation. - Human deforestation is that produced by humans with
the aim of changing land use. Deforestation as a result of human activity is due
to the causes that will be seen in the following section.
But in a more specific list the types of deforestation caused by human beings
are:
Cattle raising, large-scale agriculture, small-scale agriculture, tree plantations,
Large-scale logging, Small-scale logging, Firewood and charcoal, Mining,
transport infrastructure, Hydroelectric power, Urban sprawl, Fires.
Causes of deforestation
The causes of deforestation are varied and depend on the uniqueness of each
country. Different studies indicate that the main drivers of forest loss in Latin
America are agricultural production, livestock, and extractive and industrial
activities.
Deforestation can occur due to natural causes or due to human activities. A fire,
without going any further, that produces deforestation can have its origin in man
or be caused by nature, such as when lightning strikes a tree. Currently, the
rate of deforestation is too high. Forests are ecosystems that recover very
slowly. Some varieties of flora species and, indirectly, the fauna that lives there,
are in danger if the forest disappears.
Among the main causes of deforestation produced by human beings, the
following stand out:
Indiscriminate or poorly managed felling of trees. - For the most part, these
activities are carried out in developing countries, which are more dependent on
wood and without adequate control over land use. It is not about living without
wood or paper, much less without food, but forests must be managed
sustainably.
Cattle raising. - Sometimes, ranchers raze thousands of hectares of forest, as is
the case in Brazil and other countries, so that the cattle can feed for one or two
years. Afterwards, the soil is exhausted and they have to move to another
place.
Among the main causes of deforestation produced by natural origin, the
following stand out:
Forest fires. - In summer, forest fires destroy thousands of hectares of forest. In
addition, with climate change these forest fires are becoming more frequent and
destructive.
Pests and diseases in the forests. - Tree pests and diseases are another of the
natural causes that cause deforestation. An extreme case is what is happening
in the forests of North America, where a beetle is slaughtering millions of trees.
Consequences of deforestation
The deforestation causes terrible damage to ecosystems, in addition to a great
loss of biodiversity and aridity of the land. as National Geographic points out.
Global warming is one of the main consequences of deforestation, since,
without trees, CO2 remains in the atmosphere and the well-known greenhouse
effect is produced.
Elimination of tree species. - Among the consequences of deforestation, we find
the disappearance or elimination of tree species. This occurs as a result of
human activity by cutting down trees or destroying them using fire. The removal
of trees can even cause certain species to disappear completely, making it
easier for new extinct plants to appear.
Habitat loss. - Although this consequence of deforestation is related to the
previous one, we must not forget the animals that make life in the forests and
other green areas that suffer consequences by the hand of man. Deforestation
generates the direct elimination of the habitat of different animals, which in turn
produces the loss of biodiversity.
Depletion of natural resources. - The impact of economic activities, added to the
rest of the consequences mentioned above, generates the reduction of natural
resources in the affected green areas. This consequence produces, in turn,
economic and social problems, since many of the natural resources are
exploited for their next production and commercialization.
Current deforestation in the world
In 2014, the United Nations announced an agreement to cut deforestation in
half by 2020 and end it by 2030. Then in 2017 it set another target to increase
forested land by 3% globally by 2030. But deforestation continued at "an
alarming rate," according to a 2019 report, with dire consequences for the fight
against climate change. However, it is an issue that experts do not hesitate to
describe as "urgent". And it is that forests absorb large amounts of carbon
dioxide (CO₂), one of the main contributors to global warming, so cutting down
trees can have a great impact on life on the planet. The UN says that 420
million hectares of forest have been lost since 1990 and agriculture is the main
reason for this. There have been some reforestation efforts, through natural
growth or planting, but it takes years for the trees to mature before they can fully
absorb the CO₂.
In the last 13 years alone, deforestation has devastated 43 million hectares
around the world, massively destroying forests and jungles and causing
immense damage to soil quality. Forests still cover about 30 percent of the
world's regions, but swaths the size of Panama are inevitably lost every year.
These are the figures from the latest report Deforestation Fronts; Causes and
Responses in a Changing World from WWF, which looks at 24 places that have
a significant concentration of deforestation hotspots and where large areas of
remaining forest are threatened.
Global deforestation is concentrated in three regions: South America, Africa and
Oceania. Global annual deforestation is estimated at 13.7 million hectares per
year, which is equivalent to the area of Greece.
Worldwide, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay are among the 10 countries that lost
the most forest cover in the period 2010-2020.
Brazil is responsible for 55.6% of the total tree cover lost in 32 States of the
region in that period. Paraguay, Malaysia, and Cambodia have the highest
national loss rates. In total, the disappearance of tropical forests is increasing
by around 12,000km2 per year, the researchers say. 80% of deforestation is
concentrated in the provinces of Salta, Santiago del Estero, Chaco and
Formosa. Forests and jungles concentrate more than half of the planet's
terrestrial biodiversity.
How many trees were cut down in 2021?
Mexico occupies one of the first places in deforestation rates in the world.
Deforestation rates range from 75,000 ha/year to about 1.98 million ha per year.