The environment affects every living thing from earwigs to humans. Damage to the environment can have a dramatic effect on the lives of those who depend on and live in that environment including ourselves as we are beginning to learn.
It is no easy task to put right the damage we have done in recent centuries and are currently still inflicting on the environment today. The statistics for deforestation provide a stark reminder of the damage we have done. Trees are being cut down at an ever more furious rate, if a stop is not made to this practice then the consequences could be severe.
Deforestation statistics are used for research and study by governments and conservation bodies to help them provide the answers to the problem of deforestation and see how it can be stopped. However, we too can play our part in using this information to do our bit for the environment and help to prevent further deforestation.
Why forests are needed
To understand why deforestation is a global issue affecting the whole planet from the deserts to the poles we need to know why they are so vital and the effect they have on the environment.
Forests are home to most land species with up to 90% plus of all land species being found in tropical forests. The forest ecosystem exists in a delicate balance with the trees and plants photosynthesizing. Taking carbon dioxide from the air and using the energy from light to turn it into the fuel the plant needs to survive, then releasing the left over oxygen from the reaction back into the atmosphere. Animals from tiny insects to large forest dwelling herbivores browse on the plants and
are in turn eaten by other animals. It is the photosynthesizing plants that are important on a worldwide scale they affect the composition of the atmosphere and as they absorb the green house gas carbon dioxide can affect global warming and help to reduce it. It is this balance of gas exchange we when we cut down forests releasing the carbon dioxide that has the knock on effect on the climate causing global warming. This is one of the main reasons we need to protect the forests as by leaving them to do there job we can hopefully have a positive impact in reducing climate change.
The Extent of Deforestation
In highly developed mainly western countries up to 90% of all forest has disappeared to urbanization and agriculture, with many other areas having followed suit with figures nearly as high at 80%+. In total 80% of the worlds forest has been cleared or compromised by human development. We have even started expanding the land by building artificial islands developing into the sea, this isn’t a viable option as low lying island will be quickly flooded by rising sea levels.
The effects of this deforestation and climate change are felt worldwide though particularly in very cold polar and low-lying areas susceptible to flooding. These effects include extreme weather, flooding, and drought as well as warming leading to environmental change. Climate change is expected to get much worse and pick up pace and those species who can’t adapt including ourselves face extinction.
We need to call a halt to this development and expansion and make room for nature that is essential for our survival as if we don’t change and adapt now we are likely to survive much further into the future.