Deforestation in the Rain Forest

Physical Geography

Deforestation in the Rain Forest

Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/

Introduction

The deforestation of rainforests in tropical and temperate climate zones is occurring primarily in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Tropical Forests make up approximately 7 percent of the planet's land mass. The Tropical rainforest is home to half of earth’s plant and animal species. The Tropical Rainforest also supplies many resources to humans all around the world. Some resources are food, fuel, jobs, medicine, and hardwood for products such as home furnishings. The Tropical Rainforest also regulates the change of atmospheric gases and the global climate. The number one factor for forest loss is caused through clear cutting by commercial loggers. Also the burning of land for growing crops and grazing livestock by local farmers is another dominant factor. The only difference is the farmers are trying to survive so they can provide for their families, and the commercial loggers are trying to profit off of Mother Nature while suppling wood for the world.

According to the Rainforest Action Network, many scientist believe deforestation will lead to long term and possibly irreversible ecological damage. The high percentage of species living in the Rainforest raise great concerns in regards to biodiversity. Also deforestation of rainforests can impact the human civilization, many rainforest species, time and time again, have been known to serve as ingredients for new drugs to help cure many diseases. The climate is greatly in risk. According to The United Nations, “the clearing of rainforests is responsible for the production of nearly 20 percent of earth's carbon dioxide, 40 percent of methane, and 30 percent of nitrous oxide.”

The direct consequence of tropical deforestation that personally upsets me is the displacement of indigenous tribes. Roads have been built to help loggers move into the indigenous peoples unspoiled territories which allows many factors to help promote deforestation. On the contrary, many environmentalist are speaking with governments and trade groups to help end the deforestation of tropical forests. Some new ideas that have come to fruition are plantations for producing hardwood trees and converting many unprotected rainforests to National parks. Timber industries are also trying to maintain an abundant supply of trees. Obviously, profit is the only motive for timber industries when it comes to maintaining the supply of trees. The International Wood Products Association stated it best, “Quite simply, no trees=no wood=no industry.”

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Factors that Cause Rainforest Loss

The main issue with deforestation is the belief that only one main factor is the cause. Many people don't understand there’s a “web of causality.” John Vandermeer, the author of Breakfast of Biodiversity: The Truth About Rainforest Destruction, introduced the theory. More than one factor is the cause for deforestation. We must not get blinded by only focusing on one mainstream factor.

Effects of logging

Most individuals generalize the main factor of deforestation toward the logging companies. Many can clearly visualize the bulldozer destroying the homes of many tribal communities. Besides the visual consequences caused by the logging companies, the direct consequences of logging is not well known. The Europeans were the first to start logging in the tropical rain forest. Tropical woods are the foundation for the growth of Modern industrial societies. The issue with most research that is conducted on clear cutting is focused more on how long it will take for the forest to recover, not if it ever will.

Even though any type of logging interrupts the energy and biodiversity of a piece of land, there are less damaging ways of chopping down trees. For example, when a resident of the land chops down a tree for their own use, it's considered a natural disaster. On the contrary, when a logging company clear cuts acres of land, the consequences are extremely unknown and tend to lean more on a long catastrophic event. Logging companies state that they selectively choose a specific area which leads to less destruction. In order to enter these selective areas, logging companies must build roads through the forest. The indirect consequences of having a road that leads to unspoiled land is not highly thought of when discussing deforestation. The roads that are built lead to the areas where indigenous tribes have been privately living for many generations. The roads open up a path of hardship for the indigenous tribes. Peasant Agriculturalist are the biggest threat to the indigenous tribes.

Source .com The the reality of clearcutting for the indigenous tribes.

Peasant Farmers

Another well-known factor of deforestation is peasant farmers use the road constructed by the logging companies to develop their own farms. Many of these peasant farmers come from regions of lush, organic soil. When they cut and burn a piece tropical forest down, nutrients immediately transfers to the soil. Usually the peasant farmers experience a successful season of vibrant crop growth. Any nutrients that was not used in the first season will evidently leach out of the system due to the non-vibrant soil of the tropics. Thus resulting in an unsuccessful second season. This pattern leads to more deforestation by the farmers. When one crop is no longer useful, the peasant farmers have no other choice but to chop down/burn another piece of land. Another problem with peasant farming is once a piece of rainforest turns into agriculture, the arrival of pest are inevitable. These ecological mishaps for farmers are the least of their problems.

The socio political agenda of modern exportation by big companies is a far greater threat to peasant farmers in comparison to ecological factors. The companies who are responsible for the modern exportation of agricultural use their power to take over the peasant farmers land. Also this type of modern agriculture requires a great amount of labor which cannot be locally found. Thus, leading to unemployed people from other regions (peasant farmers).

The problem with modern agricultural labor is the fluctuation in production that is associated with the world agricultural commodity markets. Let's