Deforestation is a common issue that happens in both Malaysia and other countries which is bad because forests are vital to living beings on Earth and the planet itself. Why are forests important and why should we care about them? Forests are responsible for our air, water and et cetera. Also, many creatures rely on forests as it is their habitat. Plus, forests also offer important natural resources. For example, food, timber, and medicinal plants. Basically, you can say that without the existence of forests, our planet would be dead right now. You might think that we are taking this too deep and too seriously but the truth is forests are indeed dying. This is all because of deforestation and if we do not do anything to stop this or find a better way to deal with this it will lead to serious consequences occurring.
So, let's talk about the reasons why deforestation happens and the effects that would occur if we continue deforestation. Starting from the most heard effect, the increment of temperature. The main villain of this effect is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is excreted from humans and animals. While, carbon monoxide comes from our busy city filled with things like cars, factories, buildings, and much more. If you paid attention in your science class you would know the trees in the forest play a vital role in absorbing carbon dioxide if there are not enough trees to process photosynthesis. Trees' leaves absorb and store carbon dioxide and turn them into sugar which is critical for them to grow. They also release oxygen into the environment which is needed by humans and animals. Hence, cutting trees means there will be nothing left to help us absorb carbon dioxide. This can lead to more carbon dioxide and it will float up into the atmosphere. Due to the increment of temperature, it will cause forest fires. Forest fires are one of the reasons why deforestation is getting worse. So, if there is a forest fire, the increment in temperature will occur and vice versa. Forest fires do not only happen in other countries but it also happens in Malaysia.
In case you did not know, one of the atmosphere's layers which is called the troposphere contains radiatively active or greenhouse gases that are responsible for heating up the Earth's surface. The most important things are water vapor and carbon dioxide. Incoming solar energy is mostly short-wavelength radiation. Through interactions with the atmosphere, ocean, land, and biosphere, the short-wavelength radiation is changed into longer-wavelength radiation, which is reradiated back into space. While passing through the atmosphere, the outgoing energy encounters greenhouse gases that absorb the long-wavelength energy and retain it in the lower atmosphere in the form of heat. This process is called the greenhouse effect. So, this is why the more the amount of carbon dioxide, the higher the Earth's temperature. With the increase in temperature, the water levels will also rise. This is due to the melting of mountain glaciers and ice caps. Rising sea levels could affect society directly by destroying homes, factories, bridges, and roads. It could also lead to economic inflation due to the crops being washed away. In the end, we keep complaining about the weather being too warm but what we do not know is that we are the ones who lead Earth to this current situation and the terrifying effect. Therefore, we need to stop deforestation, or else the temperature will continue rising and it will endanger Malaysia and the whole planet itself.
The second effect that we found is the extinction of flora and fauna. As we mentioned earlier, forests are the habitat of many species of creatures from little squirrels to big gorillas. Those animals rely on the forest to survive. The reason this effect occurs is due to illegal logging. When they cut down trees for their own profit, it decreases the number of trees in a forest. Illegal logging happens because there is a high demand for wood from other countries. Some selfish business owners do not get permission from the government in order to save money so they operate illegal logging sessions. This affects the number of natural forests in Malaysia crucially. Therefore, chopping down trees means that you are ruining the home of the animals. Would you be happy if your house gets destroyed? The animals have the same feelings, every time they hear the ominous sound of the machine they know their home is going to be destroyed and wiped out. It will force them out of their habitats and they will have to move to new ones. What if one day there aren’t any forests left? Where are they going to move to? Consequently, there will be no place for the animal to breed. When there is no breeding among animals, the chances of them being extinct from the face of Earth will get higher. Apart from that, the food chains will also be affected. For instance, if there are no plants or trees, rabbits would starve to death, and it will be even harder for the eagles to find food since they eat rabbits. Hence, if we are not careful deforestation will lead animals to their extinction.
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Commercial farming is also one of the reasons why deforestation is happening. Commercial farming is cutting down trees to plant plants that can help them earn money. For example, oil palm trees, durian trees, paddy fields and et cetera. It affects the nature of the soil. This is because they use chemical fertilizers. Logging and commercial farming can cause landslides. Landslides are very dangerous and can affect the safety of people who stays near the forest. Especially forests which are located on mountains. There are a lot of small mountains in Malaysia. Even though the mountains are small but when landsides occur it can cause the lives of human beings and animals.
When deforestation happens, the landscape will change. Landscape change is affected by moisture, human activity, and temperature. For example, when logging has been done, there will be loose soil. Eventually, soil erosion will happen and it will affect the safety of living things. Deforestation exposes soil to wind and water erosion. It can cause acid rain. Acid rain speeds up the weathering of the Earth’s rocky surface. Acid rain can cause a chemical reaction that begins when compounds like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are released into the air. Those are the reasons why deforestation happens and how it affects us.
Now, let’s move on to the preventative measures that can be taken to reduce deforestation in Malaysia and the world. There are many ways to reduce deforestation. For example, we can carry out tree-planting activities. There are organizations that provide tree-planting activities in Malaysia. We can join these activities during our free time to improve deforestation in Malaysia. It can also promote healthy living when doing tree-planting activities. This is a win-win situation. We can also buy recycled products. This promotes the Go Green community. Besides buying we can practice the 4R. The 4Rs are recycled, reused, reduce, and rethink. The third preventative measure is we can raise awareness by operating awareness campaigns. This can educate people on why deforestation is getting worse in Malaysia and how it will affect everyone. The other preventative measure is the government can enforce the rules by increasing the fine if caught operating illegal logging sessions. Other than that, the government can also arrange for police officers to patrol the forests to make sure no one is burning down trees or logging without permission. The government can also start a press conference to tell the citizens about how Malaysia’s forests are decreasing year by year due to deforestation.
The conclusion is deforestation is getting worse in Malaysia and the whole world. This affects everyone living on planet Earth. If we reduce deforestation, we can reduce the possibility of natural causes. For example, landslides, floods, and much more. This is our beloved planet. We must protect our planet Earth. We must work together to make sure this issue doesn’t get any worse.
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