Deforestation - Definition, Causes, Effects, Solutions, FAQs

What is deforestation?

Deforestation is the conversion of fores t to a permanent non-forested land used for human supervised activities such as agriculture, grazing, mining or urban development. Deforestation is common in developing countries as it is decreasing areas of the forests causing loss of biodiversity, loss of natural habitats, irregularities in water cycle, soil erosion and enhancing the greenhouse effect which in turn results in climatic change and global warming.

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What are the causes of deforestation?

Some major causes of deforestation are discussed below:

Direct Causes

Natural causes are causes of deforestation which are imposed by environmental factors. Some of them are hurricanes, forest fires, floods or parasitic invasion of microorganisms. Climate change is also a major cause of deforestation. Human activities are the deepest root cause of deforestation. Being the number one cause of deforestation is agricultural. The constant expansion of agricultural land keeps on destroying forests. Other human activities that result in deforestation are cattle breeding, timber extraction, fuel harvesting, mining, urban construction and infrastructure development.

Indirect causes

Inadequate government policies and government failure to protect the forest land. The most incompetent part of any government system is corruption. The price for which is paid by the environment. Other miscellaneous factors may include investing in wrong public administrations. Political and social-economic causes include unmonitored population growth, especially in high vegetation areas. Warfare among countries damages natural environments drastically.

The most impactful causes of deforestation can be narrowed down to:

1. Bartering of forest areas for agriculture practices and livestock breeding
2. Illegal logging: Continuous extraction of timber trees for production of furniture, accessories, decorations, etc.
3. Fuel generation: Firewood is still an essential source of fuel energy in large scale furnaces and factories.
4. Urbanization: Construction of roads and infrastructure are persistent requirements of growing civilization. Clearing forests for civilization is another major cause of deforestation created by humans.
5. Farming and cultivation practices often result in an increased rate of deforestation with subsistence farming being the most responsible.

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What are the effects of deforestation?

The consequences of deforestation can be destructive for every creature on earth. Some concerning consequences of deforestation are rapid climate change, desertification of land, soil erosion, decreased crop production, flooding, increased greenhouse effect, disturbed water cycle, loss of habitat of many species and destruction of the homeland of indigenous people. Most of these factors are a threat to biodiversity of the affected region. Forest consists of billions of trees and plants which are the key in balancing the ecosystem. Trees absorb carbon dioxide. Loss of trees causes an increased amount of carbon dioxide in the environment. Being a greenhouse gas, the increased amount of CO₂ results in an increased greenhouse effect which further changes the climate drastically.

Deforestation in India

In India, the rate of deforestation is reduced by 3.16% in global forest cover between the years 1990 to 2015. Overall, India has seen an increment of 1% in total forest cover from 1990-2015 but there are certain regions in India that have decreased forest cover. The main causes of deforestation in India are shifting cultivation, continuous illicit cutting of trees, biotic pressures, rotational felling and conversion of forest land into developmental areas for the ever-growing population. All of these resulted in disturbance in hydrological cycle, soil erosion, degraded soil quality, impact on microclimatic condition, damage to habitat, loss of livelihood for indigenous people and threat to biodiversity.

Deforestation solutions

1. Imposing strict laws

The most effective solution to conserve forests is to impose strict rules and regulation with penalties to decrease illicit logging of trees. Banning the clear cutting of forests can be an effective method to reduce deforestation.

2. Afforestation and Reforestation

Reforestation is a process of replanting an entire area of barren land where the numbers of trees are decreasing or completely replenished whereas afforestation is a process of planting trees on new areas of land which have no previous signs of vegetation.

3. Reducing consumption of paper & other deforestation inducing products

The increased demand of paper fuels the money-churner nature of the paper industry which is tempting enough for deforestation to continue. More examples of deforestation prone products are palm oil and soybeans.

4. Implementing sustainable forest management practices

Such practices should be done to preserve forests and forest land from deforestation. These include addressing the issues such as forest degradation and loss of forest cover area, economic concerning forests, socio-environmental benefits. This also includes protecting forests and deploying financial resources and administration for the accomplishment of sustainable forest management.

5. Educating others

The best way to reduce deforestation is by raising awareness among peers and civilians. Campaigning and advocating conservation of forests will not only benefit present civilization but also the upcoming generation.

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