Why Deforestation Needs Further Reformation
As humans have evolved mechanically, their dependency on trees’ utility has evolved in a parallel manner. While at first, deforestation was simply cutting down a few trees here and there to build small settlements, it has now become a global practice and has grown to a massive scale that is endangering the entire planet. Over the course of history, deforestation has directly increased alongside the development of technology and the human population (Cohen). Deforestation at the rate it is in the 21st Century is extremely unhealthy for the ecosystems and environment of our planet, as well harming the lifestyles of those indigenous to deforested areas. These issues could be resolved if the governments of our world would focus on preserving the environment and tackle the worldwide problem that is deforestation, it could hopefully be resolved before it is too late. While logging is a necessity for the further development of society and technology, it needs to be reduced to a manageable rate in order to maintain the integrity of the health of our environment.
“Trees are vital. As the biggest plants on the planet, they give us oxygen, store carbon, stabilize the soil and give life to the world’s wildlife. They also provide us with the materials for tools and shelter” (Why are Trees so Important?). The issue of deforestation serves as the social face of ethics since it affects people on a worldwide scale. Every person on the planet relies on the environment as a means for resources and their overall health. The environment ties all living things together as we are all living in it. When deforestation occurs, it harms the environment in innumerous amount of ways that negatively impact humans in some way. One of the most apparent impacts of deforestation is how it affects global warming. With the Industrial Revolution starting around 1760 in Europe and the United States, the rate of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere reached unprecedented levels and has accelerated even more so still today. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap heat inside the atmosphere and allow global warming to occur which is a massive environmental epidemic. Plant life and other animal species are not nearly as adaptive to environmental changes as humans are, therefore, very small changes in the temperature or the overall status of an ecosystem can entirely wipe out certain species.
Trees are the largest plants on the planet. After taking biology and AP environmental science in high school, I am aware that they are extremely proficient at purifying the air. This entails their ability to filter carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and output more oxygen in its place. Trees are among the best stores of carbon and carbon dioxide, therefore, when mass deforestation occurs, the rate of carbon dioxide removal is greatly hindered, and even more carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere as a result of the trees being removed. The effects of global warming adversely affect every person on the planet since in some way, we are all affected by the environment. Trees also provide a vast array of resources that humans, plants, and other animal species are reliant on for medicinal needs, food, and shelter. Deforestation does not exclusively remove trees, but it removes the habitats and food sources for the native flora and fauna. As previously mentioned, the roots of trees keep the soil firm and in place. When an area is cleared of trees, this results in the soil becoming very loose and susceptible to erosion due to the lack of roots. The soil is the foundation of plant life and holds many key nutrients required for plant growth. When it rains in an area that has been affected by deforestation, the loose, nutrient-rich soil gets washed away, resulting in soil that is unfit to support plant life which makes ecosystem restoration significantly more challenging. All of these terrible factors result in a massive social dilemma. Since every human being is affected by the environment, the overall health of the environment dictates the health of its people. Without a sustainable amount of resources, the human race will be drastically reduced to match our available resources.
The cultural impact of deforestation is another crucial point as to why it is a major worldwide problem. “Forests are vital to human existence in the tropics. In addition to providing habitats for hundreds of indigenous groups on five continents, they probably contain more than 3 million species of plants and animals. In Indonesia alone, 4000 species are thought to have been used by native peoples” (Deforestation: The Human Costs). The indigenous people of the rainforests are victimized in the same way that native animals in ecosystems are. The forests are their homes and they are constantly being torn down and forced to relocate. It is destroying the lifestyles and traditions of the native people in these areas such as the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and many other tropical forests in South America and Asia. This is constantly happening and with the current rate of deforestation, this issue will persist until it reaches a point where reformation will not matter.
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There is a point of redemption for this overwhelming issue, if the political leaders of the world can work together to reform and manage logging policies, deforestation can be brought down to a manageable rate that could save the planet from further destruction. In the United States, there are many laws and policies that have been put in place in order to allow logging but keep it at a sustainable level (Forestry Law). One policy in the United States that should be a model for every other country is that they incentivize landowners to plant trees on their property. This is an amazing idea and every person with the means to do so should act on that. Trees are extremely beneficial on a large scale and are especially beneficial on a smaller scale as well. Another amazing action that United States logging companies perform is that after they clear an area of trees, they will plant trees afterward in an effort to counteract deforestation. This process is called reforestation and should be a requirement for logging companies across the globe. If every company followed this same practice, the negative results of deforestation in a specific area would be substantially negated in roughly the amount of time it would take the trees to grow.
The United States also places bans on what type of trees are allowed to be cleared. For example, cypress trees are exempt from being logged in order to preserve the endangered species. However, when there are laws put in place, there will be people that will break them. Cypress trees for example were illegally logged to the point of near extinction (Forestry Law). Due to this fact, the United States government instantiated hefty fines and criminal sanctions on those who break these laws (Forestry Law). In extreme cases such as the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, there are not enough laws put in place to preserve the forest. The Brazilian government is not lacking in the amount of laws and regulations in respect to logging, however, they simply do not have enough in order to prevent deforestation from crippling the Amazon. They have many laws relating to permits, documentation, and taxes pertaining to logging. They are severely lacking in laws that inhibit the actual areas that can be logged, the protection of wildlife, and reforestation. Brazil should model their logging regulations after the United States since they hold the largest rainforest on the planet. If that were the case, the deforestation crisis in the Amazon Rainforest would likely diminish in just a few decades. While they do have many policies that are beneficial, it is not enough to fix the major issue which is deforestation.
While logging is currently a necessary evil, there are many reformations that need to take place in order to save the environment from imminent destruction. There are multiple ways this could be done. First of all, if an alternative to wood is able to be manufactured in an eco-friendly manner, that is an absolute necessity. If wood could completely be replaced by synthetic material, that could single-handedly end deforestation. While that proposal may seem far-fetched and is a best-case scenario, there are plenty of other more tangible methods. As previously mentioned, countries such as Brazil have lenient regulations in respect to logging, if all the countries that held these key rainforests instantiated policies similar to that of the United States, the rate of deforestation would absolutely decrease, hopefully to a manageable rate. Furthermore, if people as a whole made an effort to plant more trees locally, that would slightly counteract the deforestation crisis. There is a lot of potential to restore our beloved forests and to allow our ecosystems to flourish again, it would just require a lot of effort and money from governments of the countries affected by deforestation.
The global effects of deforestation are drastic and require reformation in the very near future if there is to be any hope for life on our planet for centuries to come. It is destroying key ecosystems, stripping our planet of extremely valuable resources such as food and medicinal ingredients. It is accelerating the even larger issue that is global warming which also has a large hand in the destruction of the environment. In addition to all of this, it is ruining the lifestyles and traditions of those indigenous to these rainforests that are victims of deforestation. This issue can be fixed however if action is taken soon. If the governments of our world can put in laws and regulations to prevent deforestation from growing further and counteract it, or even find alternatives to lumber in order to completely negate the necessity for logging, the environment could one day be restored to its former glory and result in a healthy, flourishing planet.
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