Effects of Deforestation

What Is Deforestation?

Deforestation is when humans clear significant stretches of forest without the intention to replace them. It is a phenomenon that has been happening since the start of human civilization but saw a noticeable increase with the start of the Industrial Revolution and has not slowed down by much since that time.

What Are the Causes of Deforestation?

Often, deforestation happens because of economic reasons. Some people clear forests in order to create room for their crops, while other people clear forests in order to create pasture for their livestock. Sometimes, forests are cleared for lumber and other wood-related products that can be sold on the open market, while other times, forests are cleared so that companies can access the minerals that can be found buried beneath them. There are even times when people have engaged in deforestation in order to create room for human settlement as part of a pattern of urbanization that can be found in countries situated all around the world.

However, it is important to note that deforestation can be carried out for other reasons as well, with an excellent example being the deforestation of Malasia and Vietnam by the United Kingdom and the United States in order to remove protective cover for their enemies during the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War.

What Are the Effects of Deforestation?

The loss of forests comes with serious consequences for both humans and the planet. For starters, deforestation is a major contributor to climate change caused by greenhouse gases because trees are one of the best sequestrators of the carbon dioxide that can be found in the atmosphere, which is rather unfortunate because a warming planet means not just massive disruptions to existing patterns but also more energetic and thus more dangerous weather. Furthermore, forests are known to create a great deal of water vapor, meaning that their removal from a region causes it to become more and more arid, thus making it less and less suitable for the agriculture that we need to feed ourselves. Finally, it should be noted that deforestation means the destruction of the ecosystems that can be found therein with a corresponding loss of biodiversity, which is not just problematic for the plants and animals that used to live therein but also for humans because of their lost potential. Summed up, it is clear that deforestation causes a wide range of problems for both humans and the planet, though it is unfortunate that most examples happen in the long run, meaning that they are less obvious than their counterparts in the short run.

What Are Some Famous Examples of Deforestation?

There are a number of famous examples of deforestation. For example, the Amazon rainforest is one of the best-known cases, both because it makes up more than half of the remaining rainforests that can be found on the planet and because the pace is so rapid that it has been known to lose tens of thousands of square kilometers on an annual basis. In main, the Amazon rainforest is being cleared for cattle farming, while the rest can be attributed to a combination of mechanized and subsistence farming. It is interesting to note that the Amazon rainforest has also attracted a great deal of attention because the continuing clearing has resulted in clashes with uncontacted tribes, who often end up suffering from the process.

Another famous example of deforestation occurred in China, where it resulted in the expansion of the Gobi Desert into the grassland in its north. However, it is interesting to note that the Chinese government has responded to this problem by mandating the planting of strips of forest, which has been called the Green Wall of China by some. While the results are not without their detractors, there are nonetheless a lot more trees in that country now than in the past, which also contribute to its efforts to cut down on its net greenhouse gas emissions.