Deforestation

CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION.
 MEANING OF FOREST.
 DEGRADATION OF FOREST.
 CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION.
 EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION.
 CONSEQUENCE AFTER DEFORESTATION.
 ANIMAL CASUALTIES.
 PREVENTION TO DEFORESTATION.
 CONCLUSION.

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 Deforestation

DEFORESTATION
1. INTRODUCTION:-

Environmental has been one of the most talked about matter in todays world.
It is todays burning topic. It is todays bloody need. Though after having such a
importance it has got no survillience. Each and every species residing on this planet is
dependent on the natural balance i.e the environment around us. Even a single
disruption can cause serious problems for the nature and its residents. So, we should
pull up our socks and be ready and should try hard for some precautionary measures.
One of those important problem is deforestation. Here we have tried to throw some
light on this, as trees now a days are cutted at an alarming rate which really needs to
be stopped.

1.1 Importance of trees:-

For understanding why deforestation is such an important, appealing and

needy issue, forests should be firstly given credit for what they bring balance to
world ecosystems and the way and the convenience what we all and all other
organisms maintain. Not only are other species at risk, but the human race also
benefits from what the trees give. From something as minor as the spices that indulge
food to life giving medicines, the rainforests amplify and save lives. According to the
World Rainforest Movement, 25% of medicines come from the forests (28). This is a
number that does not do justice to all the cures that have yet to be discovered or that
have been destroyed. Tropical Rainforests presently give a place to call home for 50%
- 90% of all organisms, 90% of our relatives, the primates, and 50 million creatures
that can live no place but the rich rainforests (World Rainforest Movement 16). The
forests give life, not only to other species, but they help to prolong the human race.
Trees also do improve the quality of the air that species breath by inhaling carbon
dioxide for preparing their food by process of photosynthesis and in return they
exhale oxygen reducing pollution. Trees also has a deciding factor in rainfall and
replenish the atmosphere. As more water gets put back in the atmosphere, clouds form
and provide another way to block out the sun’s heat. Trees make it happen by the
process of perspiration as trees lose water from their leaves. Trees do have taken a
great responsibility and they really do it.

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2 MEANING OF FOREST:-
As we talk about deforestation we should exactly know what is a forest . We
can easily say forest as a group of trees, but it is not the real fact. Trees are the pillars
of the world.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been
publishing assessments of the state of the world's forests for many years. These
reports have become a world standard for forestry researchers. FAO defines forests as
land of more than half a hectare with a tree-canopy cover of more than 10 percent that
is not under mainly agriculture or urban use.

Several international organisations have adopted standards that are different to

those used by FAO. The TREES project (Tropical Ecosystem Environment
Observations by Satellite), financed by the European Union, calls areas with more
than 70 percent canopy cover 'dense forest' and those with 40-70 percent cover
'fragmented forest'. The United Nations Environment Programme uses more than 40
percent cover for closed forests and 10-40 percent cover for open or fragmented
forests. Another factor complicating estimates of forest coverage is the way it is
measured. Most estimates are made from satellite photographs. Recently, very high
resolution photographs have become available from new satellites. Older satellite
images are not as clear or precise. Higher-resolution photographs usually give a lower
estimate of forest cover than lower-resolution pictures. These can distinguish more

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clearly between the tree crowns and the vegetation between them, both of which are
usually green.As a clearance, it is important to have a clear cut recognition of the
definitions that are being used for forests and how area estimates were calculated. The
above definitions stated and points are very important in making concept what is
deforestation and how much it is affecting our environment.

3.THE DEFORESTATION-

Deforestation is usually defined as the loss of forest. FAO defines

deforestation as converting forests to another land use or the long-term (more than 10
years) reduction of tree-canopy cover below the 10 percent threshold. The trees may
be cut for their wood or pulp, to clear the land for agriculture or ranching, for housing,
mining and other development. If an area of forest is cleared and houses are built on
it, this land is obviously deforested and the forest is lost.

4. METHODOLOGY

4.1 DEGRADATION OF FOREST:-

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Apart from deforestation (see above), there are many other human
interventions in forests that drastically change the structure or canopy cover. These
processes degrade forest but do not convert it. Selective logging, extracting timber
that does not involve clear felling, is the prime cause of forest degradation. Although
this type of logging normally does not reduce canopy cover to less than 10 percent , it
can easily reduce the tree cover by more than half. The forest remains in some form.
Though this degradation does not necessarily cause the loss of forest cover, it is
frequently the first step in a chain of events that can lead to permanent deforestation.

Depending on the ecological sensitivity of the area, the impact can be severe,
for example, in the dipterocarp forest of Southeast Asia where the density of
commercial timber species is high. Vegetation, soils and animal populations can all be
negatively affected by logging. Other clear-cut causes of degradation examples are
pollution by oil firms (from installation spills, toxic drilling mud, waste pits, etc.) or
by gold miners using mercury. Degradation means non-sustainable forest use, so
future forest harvests are being affected. Historically, shifting agriculture did not have
a major effect on forest quality, or the recovery time under fallow is too short, then
the area can begin to degrade. Forest fires, fuelled by dry debris from logging or
slash-and-burn practices may also be damaging, as is extracting too many non-timber
forest products and over-hunting. Over-harvesting a single species, may, for instance,
reduce the population of a key pollinator or seed-dispersal species.

4.2Rate of deforestation:-
Of great concern is the rate at which deforestation is occurring. Currently, 12
million hectares of forests are cleared annually - an area 1,3 times the size of
KwaZulu/Natal! Almost all of this deforestation occurs in the moist forests and open
woodlands of the tropics. At this rate all moist tropical forest could be lost by the year
2050, except for isolated areas in Amazon, the Zaire basin, as well as a few protected
areas within reserves and parks. Some countries such as Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Costa
Rica, and Sri Lanka are likely to lose all their tropical forests by the year 2010 if no
conservation steps are taken. If the current rate of deforestation continues, the world's
rain forests will vanish within 100 years-causing unknown effects on global climate
and eliminating the majority of plant and animal species on the planet.

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This terrible view is just a show that, what deforestation has done to our mother earth

CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION :-
There are various reasons of deforestation. Few of them are given below .
4.3 Rapid growth in population :-

In ancient times it was found that when the Roman Empire was controlling
the whole Europe, 90% of the continent was forested. Today ,it is the condition that
5LACS hectors vanish in a single week ("Logging is the Major Cause of Global
Deforestation" 1). There is no one easy answer as there are many causes at the root of
deforestation. The first and the foremost reason is overpopulation in cities and
developing countries. Population is continually growing in the third world. Some had
land until increases in population forced them off it and they became landless peasants
that are forced to look for land in the untouched forests. This movement to the forests
is in some ways a result of government pressures. In place of implementing programs
to help the poor these governments concentrate on the cheapest, easiest, way to keep

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poverty out of sight and give the poor no other choice but to force other species out
and themselves in. According to Norman Myers, bad land tenure, a shortage of
modern agricultural tools, and government neglect of subsistence farmers have put an
influx of human interference in the forests. (37) The poor are pushed in further and
further and destroy more every time they must move on.

4.4. Need of agricultural land :-

What the poor do in the forests is the most devastating. In attempts to settle
farmland, the poor become "shifted cultivators" and resort to using slash and burn
methods of tree removal. Slashing and burning involves what its name implies, trees
are cut down and the remains are burned. The ash is used as a fertilizer and the land is
then used for farming or cattle grazing, however, the soil that is cleared in slash and
burn is left infertile, the nutrients in the soil are quickly absorbed by surrounding
organisms ("Deforestation" 1). The farmers must move on sometimes to other areas
and repeat this process and worthy land and trees become scarce. For farmers in
places like Brazil, slash and burn methods are the only way to effectively clear land of
parasites and unwanted organisms; chemical means contaminate water and soil and
farmers continue to turn to slashing and burning ("Slash and Burn Agriculture" 1)

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4.5 Industrial need :-

The small farmer plays a big role, but it is modern industry that too cuts down
the trees. The logging industry is fueled by the need for disposable products. 11
million acres a year are cut for commercial and property industries (Entity Mission 1).
Peter Heller found that McDonald’s needs 800 square miles of trees to make the
amount of paper they need for a year’s supply of packaging, Entity Mission found that
British Columbia manufactures 7, 500,000 pairs of chopsticks a day, and the demand
for fuel wood is so high that predictions say that there will be a shortage by the year
2000. Logging does too have its repercussions. The logging industry not only tries to
accomplish all this but it even indirectly helps the "shifted cultivators" and others to
do more damage. The roads that the loggers build to access the forests and generate
hydroelectric power create an easy way for many people to try to manipulate the
forest resources. The amount of damage that this adds to the forests can not be
measured nor can that of the illegal logging. Some importers may even be buying
illegally logged wood and not even have known it ("Logging is the Major Cause of
Global Deforestation – New WWF Report" 2).

4.6 Grazing of cattle :-

Another of the more devastating forces behind deforestation is cattle grazing.

With the international growth of fast food chains this seems to be an evident factor in
the clearing of trees today. Large corporations looking to buy beef for hamburger and
even pet food seek cheap prices and are finding them with the growth of cattle grazing
(Heller 3). In the Amazon region of South America alone there are 100,000 beef

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ranchers (Heller 3). As the burger giants of industrialized society are making high
demands for more beef, more forests are being torn down. Statistics from less than a
decade ago, 1989, indicate that 15,000 km squared of forests are used expressly for
the purpose of cattle grazing (Myers 32). Once the trees are gone the land is often
overgrazed. In some places the government wants this to happen. Cattle grazing is big
profit that can’t be turned down.

4.6. Search and work in mines:-

Mining is very location specific and often a one time exploitative activity and
thus causes permanent environmental transformation. May it be for the minerals or
quarrying, it is often in the forested areas with strip or open cast mining type that is
bauxite , manganese ,iron etc .The mineral deposits being shallow and closer to the
earth’s surface , the forest vegetation on the vast area needs to be removed first . The
non useable earth or over burden is pushed on the slopes of the hills and plateau
which destroys the rich vegetation on the slopes as well as streams and springs in the
valley . The transportation of the ore requires road network through forests settlement
of the workers , workshops and industrial machinery create noise and air pollution
which is detrimental to flora and fauna on the site and in the vicinity.

Mining activities in Indian forest have been proved to be detrimental to the

flora and fauna in Madhya Pradesh , Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh ,Assam, Arunachal
and western ghats regions in Maharashtra , Karnatka and Goa .This includes forested
areas in and around protected areas such as wild life sanctuaries and national parks as
well .Unfortunately , though mining regulations and management requires restoration

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of the natural forest by plantation of trees after the mining operations , it is often
ignored by the concerned . And even if done , in rare cases , it can not compensate for
the original natural vegetation . Thus mining causes permanent and non repairable
damage to the natural forest ecosystems .

4.7Other relative active causes :-

Beyond the major causes of deforestation lie some supplementary ones that
too stack the odds against forests around the globe. Acid rain and the building of dams
have their share of harmful effects. The race to produce cash crops such as fruit,
spices, sugar tobacco, soap, rubber, paper, and cloth has given cause to many to try to
farm them by using soil and other products that can be retrieved by destroying the
forests. Even those in industrialized countries may participate in the destruction of
forests in the 3rd world. The need for products in industrialized countries drives
production in other poorer, less developed countries.

The above chart depicts the rate of deforestation during the years 1960 to
1990.It can be easily seen how the rate of deforestation has climbed up during this 30
years span .

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5. EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION:-

There are many bad effects of deforestation. As forests are a major force in
maintaining the ecological balance of earth therefore depletion of forests causes
ecological imbalance . Many important chemical cycles which are balanced due to
forests are disturbed and these have long term effects on earth . The different effects
of deforestation are listed below.

5.1.Climatic changes

Forests are major agent in maintaining an areas climate . forests maintain the
temperature , attract rain clouds , maintain the oxygen content and other different
chemical content of the climate . When forests in an area deplete due to deforestation
then the areas natural climate is affected and is changed to an extent . There are many
areas which ones received good rainfall and had thick vegetation but due to
deforestation they are now reduced to barren lands .

5.2. Effect on ecosystem

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The prominent forest ecosystems in the world include the Boreal coniferous
forest , temperate deciduous forest , temperate evergreen forest, tropical rain forest
etc. these natural biomes in the recent years have been subjected to severe human
impact and are being altered or degraded . forsests are home for many animal species .
deforestation means snatching away their homes from them . Forests provide them
food and shelter . This is the only place where they can live and flourish . Many rare
plant species are also found only in forests . many of these plants are very useful from
medical point of view and for their growth and continuation of their species they need
their natural environment which can be provided only by natural forest . There is a
very delicate balance in the forest ecosystem .

5.3. Soil erosion and land slides

The roots of trees hold the soil tightly and they are kept intact . Due to
depletion of forests soil erosion takes place ie the soil which was formerly held by
trees is after deforestation swept away by wind and water . when a area on a higher
altitude for example hilly area is deforestated then there is also chances of land slides
which causes damage to life and property.

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6. DEFORESTATION AND THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE

Deforestation increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other trace
gases in the atmosphere. The plants and soil of tropical forests hold 460-575 billion
metric tons of carbon worldwide with each acre of tropical forest storing about 180
metric tons of carbon. When a forest is cut and burned to establish cropland and
pastures, the carbon that was stored in the tree trunks (wood is about 50% carbon)
joins with oxygen and is released into the atmosphere as CO2.

The loss of forests has a profound effect on the global carbon cycle. From
1850 to 1990, deforestation worldwide (including the United States) released 122
billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, with the current rate being
approximately 1.6 billion metric tons per year. In comparison, fossil fuel burning
(coal, oil, and gas) releases about 6 billion metric tons per year, so it is clear that
deforestation makes a significant contribution to the increasing CO2 in the
atmosphere. Releasing CO2 into the atmosphere enhances the greenhouse effect, and
could contribute to an increase in global temperatures .

6.1 Deforestation and the Hydrologic Cycle

Tropical deforestation also affects the local climate of an area by reducing the
evaporative cooling that takes place from both soil and plant life. As trees and plants
are cleared away, the moist canopy of the tropical rain forest quickly diminishes.
Recent research suggests that about half of the precipitation that falls in a tropical rain
forest is a result of its moist, green canopy. Evaporation and evapotranspiration
processes from the trees and plants return large quantities of water to the local
atmosphere, promoting the formation of clouds and precipitation. Less evaporation
means that more of the Sun's energy is able to warm the surface and, consequently,
the air above, leading to a rise in temperatures.

6.2. Deforestation and Biodiversity

Worldwide, 5 to 80 million species of plants and animals comprise the

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"biodiversity" of planet Earth. Tropical rain forests-covering only 7% of the total dry
surface of the Earth-hold over half of all these species. Of the tens of millions of
species believed to be on Earth, scientists have only given names to about 1.5 million
of them, and even fewer of the species have been studied in depth.

Many of the rain forest plants and animals can only be found in small areas,
because they require a special habitat in which to live. This makes them very
vulnerable to deforestation. If their habitat is destroyed, they may become extinct.
Every day, species are disappearing from the tropical rain forests as they are cleared.
We do not know the exact rate of extinction, but estimates indicate that up to 137
species disappear worldwide each day.

The loss of species will have a great impact on the planet. We are losing species that
might show us how to prevent cancer or help us find a cure for AIDS. Other
organisms are losing species they depend upon, and thus face extinction themselves.

8. THE FUTURE

The deforestation of forest is a threat to life worldwide. Deforestation may

have profound effects on global climate and cause the extinction of thousands of
species annually. Stopping deforestation in the tropics has become an international
movement, seeking ways to stop the loss of rain forests. Because the loss of rain
forests is driven by a complex group of factors, the solutions are equally complex.
Simple solutions that do not address the nature of world economics and rain forest
ecology have little chance of succeeding. The future requires solutions based on
solving the economic crises of countries holding rain forests, as well as improvement
of the living conditions of the poor people often responsible for deforestation.

8.1 ANIMAL CASUALTIES:-

As we all know that each and every species or organism living on this earth
has got a natural balance within them to have their living. The nature has created itself
like that its each and every thing provides habitat for the living beings. We know that
forest is the main habitat of the animals, if we are going to destroy the forest then it
may endanger many animal species. This fact mentioned above is not a new fact ,this
have happened to many species,even our own Indian rhino and alligator had came to

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the edge of extinct. We know that the amazon basin is one of the largest habitat for
wild animals, and it is also called as lungs of the world but due to immense
deforestation it is also has been under alarm. The main problem with deforestation in
this case is that first there is possibility of endangering any species and second there is
a huge problem that sometimes the animals do come in human areas in search of food
and residual place. This causes harm to both the animals and human beings,so by this
we see that there is even danger to us in an another unexpected way. So better we
mean this and stop deforestationfor us and for animal as they are an important part of
our balanced eco-systems.

9. PREVENTION TO DEFORESTATION:-

Deforestation and degradation continue rapidly in many parts of the world.

Preventing deforestation is a responsibility of both the government and common
people . There was no act for conservation of forest prior to independence in India .
the 1st forest conservation act was passed in 27th December 1980.This act extends to
whole India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir .

The forest conservation act was primarily passed to check deforestation caused
due to non forest activities , which result in nature disturbances and ecological
imbalance . The provisions made in this Act apply to all forests irrespective of the
forest classes .The act was amended in 1988. This amendment shattered all the
expectations of tribal communities and may voluntary agencies . It brought all the
forest land under the jurisdiction of the forest department .It was a very good step as it
broke the monopoly of any particular community and forests became a resource of
national importance .

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11.CONCLUSION:-

We as human beings may not understand the severity of the possible

consequences that deforestation poses. Since deforestation has had no severe effect on
us yet, we ignore the problem. Everywhere you go, you see pieces of paper on the
ground, people using multiple tissues to wipe their noses, and countless people pulling
excessive amounts of brown paper out of the paper towel dispensers in lavatories.
These are just few of the sources of paper that we use each day, without any thought
whatsoever.

There is no cure for deforestation. Sure, many people talk of reforestation;

however that is just not a true solution. Although replanting the forests that have been
destroyed seems like a good idea, it actually does no good. Often times the new trees
are not the same species as the originals. Also, by the time the trees grow and mature,
the soil has already lost much of the nutrients it once had. Old forests and new forests
are not the same and it is the old forest that need to be protected.

The only way to ensure that we will not encounter any of the consequences of
deforestation is to stop destroying the forests all together. We would have to stop
cutting down all trees, no matter what our needs were. Since this is totally impractical
as of now, the only thing we can do is use forest products in moderation. However this
idea of moderation needs to be put into practice immediately. We as people should
take care of this problem before it gets to the point where we can no longer fix it.
Instead of putting the problem on the back burner until we can no longer ignore it,
how about we remedy it now so it never threatens us to begin with. The sad fact is
that once the forests are gone, we won’t be able to fix the damage which we have
caused.

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12. REFERENCE

1.RAUT P.D.,ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES.

2.ASHTANA D.K.ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

3.WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM

4.WWW.GOOGLE.COM

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