Forests Extinction
Can you picture our earth without forests? Many of us can’t. Forests
cover
approximately one fifth of the worlds land surface and play an
important role in
our everyday lives (Dudley 4). Forests provide us with many
products and
services from helping maintain erosion to providing jobs for our
citizens.
Humanity depends on the survival of a healthy ecosystem and
deforestation is
causing many social, economic and ecological problems. One
ecological problem is
Global warming witch is caused when carbon is
released into the air after the
burning of forests. Governments and
industries must become more aware of these
consequences of their activities
and change accordingly. They need to cooperate
with forest management and
work towards a future that benefits all. Humans need
to be educated about the
current issues of the forests in order for us to save,
preserve or sustain
these places that provide us with so much. Humans depend
tremendously on the
world’s forests, but yet were the ones destroying them.
For humans, the
forests have many aesthetic, recreational, economic, and
cultural values.
Timber and other products of the forests are important
economically both
locally and as exports. They provide employment for those who
harvest the
wood or for those who make products from the living forest. Forests
also
provide us with medical drugs, dyes and fabrics. There are many people
who
are dependent on forestland for their livelihoods. One third of the
world’s
people depend on wood for fuel as a significant energy source
(Dudley). Not only
do the forests provide some people with homes, but also
provides a popular
setting for ecotourism, which includes hiking, camping,
bird watching and other
outdoor adventure or nature study activities. All
these activities and products
the forests provide us are at great risk from
deforestation. Not only do forests
provide us with all this but also protect
soil from erosion and reduces the
risks of landslides and avalanches. Trees
help sustain freshwater supplies
therefore are an important factor in the
availability of one of life’s basic
needs. Forests affect the climate and are
also a very important source of
oxygen. One major factor that the forests
carry is that they are the home to
over one half of the world’s total species
(Dudley). Currently we are
discovering 20 new species of insects and 15
species of plants each day (Dudley
13). "Recent reports by the World
Resources Institute have shown that more
than 80% of the plant’s natural
forests have already been destroyed"
(Hatch). Yes humankind is the cause of
deforestation, however us humans are also
capable of having a positive effect
on this crisis. Tropical forests cover about
10 per cent of the world’s
dry land surface, mostly located in South America
and Asia (Dudley 6). In the
tropical forests of the world, deforestation is
occurring for agriculture and
livestock pastures. The main cause is the unequal
distribution of land
(Anderson). Temperate forests are found in land areas that
are warm enough
and low enough to support trees but not so hot to be tropical.
They are
found in North America, Europe and cooler parts of Australia (Dudley
4).
The problems in temperate forests are not so much the decrease in
overall
forest area, but the substantial change in the types of forests and
their
ecological diversity and stability. Commercial forestry is the main
cause of
deforestation in temperate forests. "In very broad terms, the total
area of
forest in Europe, the USSR and North America is likely to decrease
only slightly
in the medium future, but the proportion of forest existing as
plantation is
liable to rise sharply" (Dudley 66). This however is going to
lead to an
increase in conflict between the recreational and conservation
interests and
will also tend to make forestry a more capital-intensive
operation, thus
providing fewer jobs. Since so many people are dependent on
the world’s
forests, deforestation will have a social, economical and
ecological effect on
the world. Most of these effects are negative ones. The
loss of forestlands is
connected to desertification, which translates into
there being fewer trees,
thus decreasing the future forest workers
employment. Heavy rainfall and high
sunlight quickly damage the topsoil in
tropical rainforest, causing them to
regenerate slower and also providing
insufficient farming grounds. When forests
are replanted there will also be a
loss in quality. Also the medical treatments,
cures and vaccines will never
be discovered if there are no forests to discover
them in. There may be a
loss of future markets for ecotourism. The value of a
forest is often higher
when it is left standing than it could be worth when it
is harvested
(Dudley). Deforestation can cause the climate to change which could
cause and
increase in floods and droughts. Global warming is a big factor in
the
destruction of trees. Forests store large amounts of carbon that are
released
when trees are cut or burned. It is said that deforestation and the
burning of
biomass will be responsible for fifteen percent of the greenhouse
effect between
1990 and 2025 (FAO). Because of global warming ranges of
tree species could
shift with respect to altitude and latitude (Humankind 2).
Furthermore, the
stress of such environmental change may make some species
more susceptible to
the effects if insects, pollution, disease and fire
(FAO). Also, areas of trees
may be lost and genetic diversity may decrease.
The clearing of forestland
results in increase of erosion and landslides.
Landslide is a descent of a mass
of earth and rock down a mountain slope.
Landslides may occur when water from
rain and melting snow sinks through the
earth on top of a slope, seeps through
cracks and pore spaces in underlying
sandstone, and encounters a layer of
slippery material, such as shale or
clay, inclined toward the valley (Encarta).
Logging has directly and
indirectly damaged spawning grounds, blocked river
channels, raised water
temperatures and caused water levels in streams to
fluctuate dangerously.
Therefore, the removal of tress can reduce the viability
of fist stocks in
their watershed and down streams environments. People destroy
or degrade
forests because, for them, the benefits seem to outweigh the
costs.
Underlying causes include such issues as poverty, unequal land
ownership,
women’s status, education and population. Immediate causes are
often concerned
with a search for land and resources, including both
commercial timber and fuel
wood (Dudley). The government and industry play a
huge role in the destruction
or stability of forests. The government is the
major aspect in controlling and
maintaining the forests. They have a huge say
on what can and can’t be done.
For example on March 14th 1996 the senate
voted 54-42 against repealing a
section of the 1995 rescissions law that
allows the forest industry to salvage
burned and downed trees from national
forests (Shuster 1). They can restrict
loggers by making laws but also are
the link between compromising with the
environmentalists. High unemployment
and job loss is usually blamed on the
restrictions set on foresters. However
this is a myth. Most of this unemployment
is from worldwide economic change.
The production of value-added forest products
would create more jobs and
bring more wealth to these logging communities. The
whole goal of this would
be to reduce the pressure on the forests. If commercial
forestry is to have a
future, its methods need to become more ecologically sound
and sustainable.
The technique of salvage logging, removing dead and diseased
trees from the
forest, is good if the loggers don’t take advantage of it and
know what trees
to go after. Another affective method logger’s use is known as
whole tree
harvesting. This uses all of the wood from a tree. The branches and
the
treetops are converted into wood chips. Whole tree logging provides more
jobs
for the people and more products to be sold for the economy. The
government
must play a greater role in forest management to protect the
environment and
employment. The government should ensure that the interests
of all stakeholders
and as well as the long-term effects associated with
forest areas are taken into
account during forest planning. Governments
should stop defending the forest
industry from criticism and end the practice
of subsidization. Propaganda
originating from governments and corporations
requires elimination if the public
is to be able to make the right choices.
Probably only the action of concerned
citizens and consumers will compel
government and industry to make changes in
the forests. Individuals can
communicate their uncertainty about the future of
the world’s forests to
politicians, corporate executives and non-governmental
organizations through
personal communication in the form of letters, telephone
calls, faxes and
e-mails. Deforestation is a serious problem, but humans can
make a
difference. And individual as well as a business can practice
green
consumerism. They can make an effort to purchase the most ecologically
sensitive
products. Recycled paper is always available, which can reduce the
demand for
timber. One of the most important ways a person to have a positive
effect is to
reduce his or her consumption of forest and related products. An
increase in the
participation of reducing, reusing and recycling is
necessary. Education is one
of the most effective ways to promote change in
our environment. Society should
educate people of today to change their ways
and teach the younger generations
to have respect for nature. The young
people in our society should also be
taught about the biological, social and
economic values of forests.
Environmental conservation should be as
important as math, physics, and history
in school. Workers should be taught
to use technology to enhance forest
ecosystems instead of destroying them for
reforestation. If humans would just
see themselves as a part of nature, they
will respect it so much more and not
just exploit it for its resources.
Humans bear the responsibility for
deforestation and the global ecological
crisis. But humankind has the abilities
and potential to change its ways and
prevent the destruction of our world’s
forests. If the forests are protected
and regenerated they will benefit us all
in many ways. Trees will help
benefit the land from erosion. Endangered species
will have better chances
for survival. Human health will benefit from medicinal
compounds that are
given a chance to be disvocered. Local economies will benefit
from ecotourism
and consumers worldwide will gain satisfaction from knowing that
their wood
products were harvested in a sustainable manner that left four out of
five
trees standing (Greenpeace). In order for this to occur humans are going
to
have to undergo some degree of ideological change. Humans are going to
have to
live more sustainable lives and become closer with nature. Once the
crisis of
deforestation has passed, humankind will enjoy a finer existence,
and will look
forward to a bright
future.