Environmental Issue: Deforestation

Case Study: Amazon rainforest

Our forests are soon gone, animals are dying, increasement in carbon dioxide, diseases rising, and the

earth soon coming to an end if humans don’t make a change. Five decades ago, the problem started. Brazil

encouraged millions of citizens to migrate to the amazon and colonize. Today, their wood chopping farms,

Their logging yards, cow pens, and soy plantations now lay on the borders of a rapidly vanishing forest.

Deforestation is the planned, natural, or accidental clearing/ damaging of trees. It can happen in any region with

a lot of trees and other plant life, but it's happening a lot right now in the Amazon rainforest.

According to a report by Brazil's space research agency (Inpe), Deforestation grew by 22% in a year,

concluding that this problem is worsening. According to data, 13,235 sq km was lost during 2020-202, the

highest amount since 2006. Scientists warn that decades of human activity combined with a changing climate

have brought the jungle to the edge of collapse. The rain forest gets its name from the fact that it's a very moist

region, with trees soaking in water from the ground, which then distills in the atmosphere to form rain.

Deforestation, forest fires, and rising global temperatures have thrown this ratio off. Experts worry that the

water cycle could soon be permanently broken. At least half of the forest will be replaced by savanna. Even if

climate change is contained, scientists estimate that the tipping point would be reached at 20% to 25%

deforestation, with as much as 17% of the forest already destroyed. If global temperatures rise by 4°C as

expected, much of the Amazon's central, eastern, and southern regions will become dry marshland.

Deforestation deeply effects humans, even though they are the part of the problem. The spread of life-

threatening diseases like malaria and dengue fever is on the rise. The loss of forest can act as an incubator for

insect-borne and other infectious diseases that affect humans for a variety of causes. The most recent example

was published in the Journal of Arising Diseases this month, with researchers showing a sharp increase in

human malaria infections in a Malaysian Borneo region that is becoming deforested. Cutting down trees

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contributes carbon dioxide to the atmosphere while also removing the ability to absorb carbon dioxide already

there.

The effect of deforestation is damaging our environment. Up to ten percent of human-caused carbon

dioxide emissions are caused by deforestation. Carbon is stored in forests and trees. When they are destroyed or

cleared altogether, such as by fire, a process known as deforestation happens. The carbon stored in them has the

potential to be released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change. Carbon

dioxide is a greenhouse gas, and having more of it means that these greenhouse gases may trap more heat. The

Earth heats up as a result of this heat being transmitted back to it. Deforestation has the ability to harm soils.

Loss of trees has a great impact on soil. Trees and bushes protect the ground from the power of rainfall and

create shade, which lowers the temperature of the surface soil, reducing evaporation. tree removal exposes

the soil to rain splash, loosening and removing soil particles, dissolving soil and generating a more barrier

exposed surface, increasing drainage.

The amazon rainforest provides a home to for million of species of organisms, such as Lemurs, Spider

Monkeys, Sloths, Toucans, Orangutans and Parrots. deforestation can directly lead to biodiversity loss. When

the trees get cut down, these species are unable to relocate their habitat as the trees provided shelter and food.

This means they lose their homes and soon these animals will become extinct. Deforestation causes an increase

in risk of predators. When trees are cut down, bigger packs of animals and predators can easily migrate across

the amazon, and are more easily seen. They can hunt down the primary consumers easily as the trees allow a

shelter and a shield for the smaller animals. Humans are the bigger predators, so when the big cars come in they

destroy the homes and can hunt down the animals easier which creates a problem as too much hunting can

increase extinction.

Although the statistics are poor, many conservationists believe there is reason for hope. Existing forest

ecosystems are being protected, lost tree cover is being restored, and people are spreading the word.

Organizations and activists are attempting to prevent illegal mining and logging; for example, National

Geographic Explorer Topher White has developed a technique of monitoring for chainsaws using recycled cell
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phones. Over the course of a decade, the villagers of Kokota, Tanzania, have planted more than 2 million trees

on their small island to restore earlier damage. Conservationists in Brazil are coming together in the face of

worrying signs that the government may pull back forest safeguards. But what about paper? National

geographic is working towards finding solutions for this, while the chances seem very slim, there have seen

some improvements and shown that this has been done before. Paper is one out of many things in the earth, so

there must be a replacement; this is where eco-friendly paper comes in, this is a more environmentally friendly

alternative which would mean no reason for cutting down trees, although there are two down sides of this

problem. One, people may not like this alternative and would prefer paper, but we are lucky we don’t live in the

1980’s as now we have computers and more alternatives for using paper. Another downside is the loss of many

jobs, like people working at paper factories, or wood cutters. More eco-friendly paper means more clients,

meaning they would have to give out more jobs to produce these papers. (More jobs)

People cut down trees for money, they cut them down for paper, more space for cattle pens, and more,

but they all have the same goal. a solution for this environmental problem could be laws set in every country for

example, all trees being property of the government, so it being illegal to cut down these trees without

permission; if they did cut down the trees, they would have to plant another tree, replacing the one taken down.

People may be upset by this law, so another law set which would be more realistic for the people is that people

may cut down trees, but the money that they would make, the government would make a profit to then go plant

more trees. The best solution for this problem is to combine both solutions so: trees are apart of the government,

meaning it being illegal to cut them down unless you give the government the profit and they use the money to

plant more trees. Some flaws for these laws would be people being upset about these new laws, the plan being

to complex, or people illegally cutting down trees.

Our earth is soon dying, and we are the problem, buying these deforestation supported companies

products means supporting them. Our woods are quickly disappearing, animals are dying, carbon dioxide levels

are rising, and diseases are spreading. You are either part of the problem or the solution, you decide.

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environmentalism-sessions/task-five/biodiversity-and-deforestation/.

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%20can%20have%20destructive%20effects%20on%20soils.&text=Logging%20and%20small%2Dscale

%20removal,example%20of%20deforestation%20and%20erosion.

"Effects of Deforestation." Pachamama, www.pachamama.org/effects-of-deforestation#:~:text=The%20loss

%20of%20trees%20and,of%20problems%20for%20indigenous%20people.

Nunez, Christina. "Deforestation explained." National Geographic,

www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/deforestation.

Robbins, Jim. "How Forest Loss Is Leading To a Rise in Human Disease." YaleEnvironment360, 23 Feb. 2016,

e360.yale.edu/features/how_forest_loss_is_leading_to_a_rise_in_human_disease_malaria_zika_climate

_change#:~:text=But%20deforestation%20is%20having%20another,infectious%20diseases%20that

%20afflict%20humansHow Forest Loss Is Leading To a Rise in Human Disease.

Sandy, Matt. "THE AMAZON RAIN FOREST IS NEARLY GONE." TIME the tipping point,

time.com/amazon-rainforest-disappearing/.

"What is the role of deforestation in climate change and how can 'Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and

Degradation' (REDD+) help?" The london school of economics and political science, 8 Jan. 2018,

www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/explainers/whats-redd-and-will-it-help-tackle-climate-change/

#:~:text=Forests%20and%20trees%20store%20carbon,contribute%20to%20climate%20change%EF

%BB%BF%20.

Student Name: Emilie C