DEFORESTATION: CAUSES CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT TO THE

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

 INTRODUCTION

According to the World Health Organization (2021) Climate change is the single biggest

health threat facing humanity, and health professionals worldwide are already responding to the

health harms caused by this unfolding crisis. One of the factors that causes climate change is

Deforestation. Deforestation’s effects reach far beyond the people and animals where trees are

cut (Nunez, 2022). Forests continue to cover approximately 30% of the world's geographical

area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. In terms of climate change, removing trees

contributes carbon dioxide to the atmosphere while also removing the potential to absorb

existing carbon dioxide.

Deforestation also threatens the world’s biodiversity. Tree families and other wildlife are

affected by deforestation. More quickly, tree loss in a forest might make soil more prone to

erosion. As the forest transitions from a confined, damp ecosystem to an open, dry one, the

remaining plants become more vulnerable to fire. Loss of habitats and the Earth's constant rise in

temperature are factors that harm wildlife species. Removing trees of the forest's canopy, which

shields the sun's rays during the day and retains heat at night. This disruption causes severe

temperature changes, which can harm plants and animals.

 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This Chapter presents a brief review of literature and studies, both local and foreign that

is related to the researchers study. Below are the provided short literature reviews that were

gathered by the researchers.

ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND

AGRICULTURE IN KENYA

Deforestation is the practice of permanently removing or uprooting trees from the ground

to give rise to something else other than forests (Derouin, 2019). Forests cover over 4 billion

hectares of the Earth's land surface. 93 percent of the world's forests 93% natural, and the

remaining 7% are planted forests. The globe loses 10 million hectares of land each year.

According to the World Resources Institute, Brazil had a loss in forestation in

2020, with around 1,400,000 hectares of forest land lost due to deforestation.

Three African nations are at the greatest risk of losing a section of forest, African

countries are at risk of losing a forested area, and if this scenario is not resolved, the continent

will be covered in deserts. The situation in Africa is complicated by deforestation, which affects

populations who rely on forests for food, shelter, and medicinal value.

Kenya's forest cover stood at 10% of the total landmass of the Republic of Kenya

in 1964. However, this has dropped to 6%. This reduction is alarming and it is projected that it

may reach a time when the forest cover in Kenya is only 3% and below. As a result, it reaches a
point when the people do not have sufficient amounts of food or economic activity and they turn

to deforestation such as lumbering so that they can sell these trees to the people who use them as

charcoal or they are further sold to the urban centers to be used as building materials

(Reliefweb.net, 2021).

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND LAND COVER ON THE DISTRIBUTIONS

OF A CRITICAL TREE FAMILY IN THE PHILIPPINES

According to Sean Pang (2021) The tree family Dipterocarpaceae dominates Southeast

Asian forests, and its quantity and diversity are critical to preserving the structure and function of

tropical forests. Dipterocarps, like most biodiversity, are endangered by deforestation and

climate change, thus understanding the possible implications of these challenges on existing and

future dipterocarp ranges is critical. Worldwide biodiversity loss is taking place at unprecedented

rates. Among the primary causes of biodiversity loss, the primary risks are anthropogenic land

use (i.e., habitat loss) and climate change. Land cover change immediately reduces the extent of

suitable habitat for resident species. these impacts the species persistence in fragmented

landscapes such as reduced habitat connectivity.

The effects of anthropogenic land use and climate change on the current and future

distributions of forest trees in the Philippines. It applied the well-established maximum entropy

modeling approach (MaxEnt) to model species distributions for the current and two 2070 climate

scenarios. The Philippines has also experienced intensive logging and agricultural expansion,

leaving only 3% of its primary forests intact and is exceptionally vulnerable to climate change.
 The results revealed a high degree of variability in dipterocarp responses to climate

change. While some species were projected to remain relatively unaffected by climate change,

others were projected to experience a substantial loss of suitable habitat.

 REFERENCE

Brown, T. (2022). Deforestation. National Geographic. Retrieved from

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/deforestation/

Njora, B. and Yilmaz, H. (2022). analysis of the effects of deforestation on the environment and

agriculture in kenya. Int. Journal of Water Management and Diplomacy. Retrieved from

https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2112021

Nunez, C. (2022). Why deforestation matters—and what we can do to stop it. National Graphic.

Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/deforestation

Pang, S. et al (2021). Effects of climate change and land cover on the distributions of a critical

tree family in the Philippines. Scientific Reports. Retrieved from

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-79491-9

n.d. (2022). Climate change and health. World Health Organization. Retrieved from

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health