Environment Project Ji Woong

7/31/2019 Environment Project Ji Woong

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Tropical DeforestationProblems and Solutions

Ji-woong Kim


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Part IUnderstanding Tropical Rainforest


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Understanding Tropical Rainforest

Tropical Rainforest refers to a tropicaland subtropical biome which is found

around equatorial and subtropical regions. Location : the regions with perenniallywarm, humid climates and high precipitation.

Only about 6% of the earths surface is covered with tropical rainforest. It includes

Amazon, C. America, Equatorial Africa, etc.


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Distribution of Tropical Rainforest

Amazon Equatorial Africa

Central AmericaSouth East Asia


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Deforestation refers to the completedestruction of forest cover[it] means thatthe land is converted permanently fromforest uses to non- forest purposes. (Malcolm Gillis, President of Rice University)

Defining Deforestation

It is certainly not a recent phenomenon asour ancestors cut down and damagedforests for many different purposes as well.


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The rate of deforestation, however, hasrecently accelerated to an alarming leveldue to the penurious economic conditionsin developing countries and increasingdemands for wood supplies from thedeveloped nations.

Tropical rainforests in the world initiallycovered 15 million square km, but havebeen reduced to 7.5 million square km.


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Destruction of these forests is fatal to usbecause they play influential and indis-pensable roles on the earth. Deleteriousconsequences of the destruction of thetropical rainforest are the following:


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#1. Tropical rainforest deforestation can result inpossible changes in climate and different cycles.

Trees maintain the solar radiation balanceby absorbing albedo from the sun.

Approximately 40% of the oxygen isprovided by the rainforests in the world.

Trees decrease the level of carbon dioxidein the atmosphere. In other words, thedeforestation contributes to thegreenhouse effect and global warming.


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The burning of the trees contribute to theincrease of CO 2 level in the atmosphere.20% of global increase in CO 2 is causedby the destruction of rainforests.

maintains global precipitation patterns(distribution of water supply) as water thatis evaporated from the rainforest falls asrain in other regions. Without the tropicalrainforests, the hazard of desertificationwill increase in many areas.


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Tropical rainforest contains undoubtedlythe worlds largest gene pool. Its bio -diversity is so great that at least 50% of the earths species are living in it.

#2. Tropical deforestation can destroy myriad plantand animal species.

Deforestation destroys the ecosystem thatis necessary for these species to live. Thesimplification of such a diverse gene poolwill threaten stability for life on the planet.


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About 137 species are disappearing

worldwide each day!!


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#3. Tropical deforestation can have detrimentaleffect on the local indigenous native people.

Many Natives in the Amazon basindepend on their environment for survival.Hence, deforestation will have deleteriouseffects on their life style and culture.


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Part II Process and Causes of Deforestation


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Process and Causes

Despite these deleterious consequencesof deforestation, people cut down tropicalrainforests for many different reasons.

Studying the process (the ways in which

deforestation occurs) will enable us todiscover the main cause and to arrive atpossible solutions to the problem.


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How Deforestation Occurs

Slash-and-burn agriculture

The agricultural technique practiced by thepenurious farmers in these regions. Theyburn a small portion of forest, and plantcrops on the nutrient-rich ash. The fertilityof the soil, however, does not last long, sothe farmers abandon the land and burndifferent trees. Continuation of such a

practice has proven to be detrimental.


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Surprisingly, it is estimated that nearly 2/3of global deforestation is caused by thesepoor, individual farmers.


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Plantation farming

The tropical rainforest is replaced by cashcrop fields which can provide the countrymore revenues. Cash crops include rubber,coffee, and tea. It significantly reduces thediverse gene pool of the tropical rainforestas cash crop fields tend to be monotonous.


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Commercial logging

Countries like Brazil and Indonesia arecutting down the trees to sell the lumber tothe developed countries. Consumers inrelatively affluent countries have highdemands for good-quality timbers; hence,developing countries are encouraged to

cut more trees to make more revenues.By doing so, developing countries attemptto enhance their economic conditions.


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Cattle ranching

Some countries cut down the forests tomake room for cattle.


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Fuel wood and other domestic uses

Trees are still the important fuels for cooking and other domestic uses indeveloping countries. Hence, many treesare cut down and burnt by local people.


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Cause of Deforestation

All the factors that are mentioned so far are fundamentally caused by poverty of

the developing countries where tropicalrainforests in the world are located.

It means that prosperity will reduce theeconomic pressure on governments,preventing them from cutting down toomany trees for commercial purposes.


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The studies revealed that stabilizedeconomy and food consumption rate canenhance the effect of education.(Food for Thought. The Economist . 2004.08)

Education and introduction of efficienttechnology will prevent slash-and-burnagriculture and woods from being used asdomestic fuels. Moreover, stable economytends to halt the rapid growth of population.Thus, developing countries will not have to

clear their forests for cattle ranching.


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Opposing Perspectives

Governments of the developing countriesand logging companies argue that their

prosperity relies on continuing deforest-ation. Their argument is justified as peopleand countries that are causing deforest-

ation are mostly driven not by their greedbut necessity. For the poor farmers andworkers, their hunger problems are moreimminent than environmental issues.


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Moreover, developing countries oftenhave a tremendous amount of debts topay back to the developed nations. For example, the total external debt owed by

the developing countries was $2.1trillion(US) in 1996, and the sum is still growing.


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Brazils Foreign Debt (1995 -2004)


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Part III Possible Solution for Deforestation


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Possible Solutions

The causers of deforestation are forced tocut down their trees due to their poverty.

Hence, it is important to attack the causesof poverty to deal with deforestation issue.

Unfortunately, there is no magical solutionto the problems caused by deforestationbecause poverty is an abstruse problemto solve. However, we can still halt and

reduce the process of deforestation.


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#1. Active financial aid to the developing countriesand their penurious people.

Developing countries huge national debt,educational problems, and overpopulation

issues trigger them to seek economicsolutions that depend on exporting their resources (i.e. tropical rainforest).


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Developed nations have already begun tolaunch debt-for-nature campaign inwhich they bought debts from Brazil for preserving their Amazon forest.

However, if a direct financial aid is givento these countries in return for saving their forest, the process of deforestation will behalted even further.


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If we propagate modern technologies andfarming techniques to the tropical region,we can reduce the rate of deforestationsignificantly.


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#3. Changing our own luxurious lifestyle.

Countries like Brazil are cutting down treesto supply meat (cattle grazing) and hard-

woods to satisfy the demands from thedeveloped nations. Therefore, reducingour superfluous demands for such

products can discourage the process of deforestation.


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#4. Restoration of deforested regions: agroforestry

Though restoring the deforested area isexpensive and difficult, the planting of

fruits and selected hardwoods can beeconomically beneficial for the developingcountries.


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Part IVConclusion


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Deforestation is a serious global issue,and we, as global citizens, should beaware of the problem. Deforestation hasbeen conducted for centuries and will not

be solved overnight. Lumber products arecertainly essential in our lives, so thecomplete banning of deforestation is

rather unrealistic. Instead, we shouldfocus on solving its fundamental cause:poverty in the developing nations.


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We will be able to gradually decrease therate of deforestation, thereby diminishingthe environmental threat. The importantfactor, which will determine the success

of halting deforestation, is our attitudeand determination. Therefore, we will onlybe able to effectively stop the process of

deforestation by understanding the issue.


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BibliographyBirchall, Gary and John McCutcheon. Planet earth: A Physical Geography.

Toronto: John Wiley & Sons, 1993.Dunlop, Stewart and Michael Jackson. Understanding Our Environment. 2nd

Ed. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997.Food for thought. The Economist July 31 Aug 6, 2004: 67-69Gillis, Malcolm. "Tropical Deforestation." 1996 Rice Environmental Conference,

February 22, 2000. Kingsnorth, Paul. Global Rescue: Repulsing the Logging Invasion of Tas -

manias Wet Eucalypt Forest. The Ecologist Dec. 2004 Jan. 2005: 48-55.Nasmyth, Greg. Amazon Crime. The Ecologist Online. January 05, 2004.

Roper, John. Deforestation: Tropical Forests in Decline. CFAN, August 31,2003.

Staples, Sarah. Canadas Boreal Forests Valued at $3.7 Trillion. TheVancouver Sun 25 November 2005: A18

"Tropical Deforestation." Earth Observatory . NASA, Undated.


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