Deforestation: - Causes and Solutions

1. Shivang Madaan
Grade - 9
Roll no. - 21

2. PAGE 1
Deforestation refers to the cutting, clearing, and
removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less
bio-diverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland, or
plantations. As such, deforestation represents one of
the largest issues in global land use in the early 21st
century. These include clearing for farming purposes,
ranching and urban use. In these cases, trees are
never re-planted. Since the industrial age, more than
half of world's original forests have been destroyed
and millions of animals and living things have been
endangered. Despite the improvements in education,
information and general awareness of the importance
of forests, deforestation has not reduced much, and
there are still many more communities and individuals
who still destroy forest lands for personal gains. Not
all deforestation is intentional. Some deforestation
may be driven by a combination of natural processes
and human interests. Wildfires burn large sections of
forest every year, for example, and although fire is
a natural part of the forest lifecycle, subsequent
overgrazing by livestock or wildlife after a fire can
prevent the growth of young trees. In many places in
the world, animal farms have contributed to large
areas of green space being converted to grazing
fields. Classic cases can be found in Brazil. Animal
What is it?

3. PAGE 2
rearing in the Amazon has increased remarkable over
the past few decades, obviously because of the
increase in demand for meat products over the world.
Since 2002 cattle rearing expansion increased about
30%
. It is known that 80% of Brazil’s livestock
population can be found in the Amazon, specifically
in the states of Mato, Grosso, Pará, and Rondônia,
which were also the states with the greatest
deforestation in 2002.

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There are several reasons why deforestation is still
being executed. These reasons include the primary
idea that forested land is not as economically
feasible as farmland. More need for pulp and paper,
wood for furniture, real estate construction fuel all
mean that trees will be cut down. World population
is growing and more than ever before, our needs have
increased too. Other factors include trade policies
such as those that discourage certain foods and
rather encourage production of soy beans. Another
cause of deforestation may be the poorly
implemented environmental regulations that encourage
land owners to covert forest lands to plantations,
What causes it?

5. PAGE 4
without any regard for authority and laws. New
settlements, roads and industries springing up in
many forest places surely add to the problem we
face with deforestation today. As roads are
constructed to access remote areas in these forests,
they act as a magnet for new settlements. In many
places in the world, animal farms have contributed to
large areas of green space being converted to grazing
fields. Twenty- five per cent of India's total land is
undergoing desertification while 32 per cent is facing
degradation that has affected its productivity,
critically affecting the livelihood and food security
of millions across the country.

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The biodiversity in the rainforests has remained a
natural wonder. With millions of animal species, tree
types, water plants and animals as well as
microorganisms all interacting naturally, it is truly
frightening to imagine the extent of damage that we
cause by destroying the natural habitat of all the
life forms in the rainforests. Day to day weather
patterns is as a result of the sun’s energy, heating
up the land surface, creating winds, evaporation and
the resulting in precipitation. The direct impact of
energy on the land surface as a result of less
vegetative cover means we will be seeing more
extreme air pressure, wind action, and possibly
stronger storms in the near future. The watershed
abilities of forests are greatly compromised when
forests are destroyed. Smaller water bodies will dry
up and potentially undermine the natural water cycle
in the region.
Effects of it

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1. If corporations have the ability to destroy the
world’s forests, they also have the power to help
save them.
2. Governments are able to enact ambitious
domestic and international forest policies that
have wide-ranging effects.
3. As individuals, we contribute significantly to
deforestation with our lifestyle, hence e have the
responsibility to keep ourselves in check.
4. Governments have the resources to allow anti-
deforestation organisations to get their message
across and increase their sphere of influence.
5. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You may never know
what results come from your actin. But if you
do nothing, there will be no result.”
6. By purchasing more and more recycled products,
we are encouraging more companies to produce
more recycled products, in turn saving trees.
How to stop it?

8. PAGE 7
7. Paper consumption must be drastically reduced.
We can opt for paperless bills, checks and
payments, from companies etc.
8. Each aware person should spread his knowledge
and urge others to follow his footsteps and fight
deforestation.
1. Almost 25%of India’s total geographical area is
desert, and 32%land is affected by degradation.
2. As much as 69% of the country’s area is
classified as ‘dry land’, in a country where the
main source of income is agriculture.
3. Jammu and Kashmir has the second largest
desert area after Rajasthan, Gujarat stands
third.
4. In India, in the last 20 years, the number of
Mangrove Trees has decreased more than half.
5. It has been estimated that in the last year
around 728 km of forest – roughly the size of
Some vital facts

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Delhi have been wiped out in
India.
6. Maharashtra has the highest proportions of land
undergoing degradation, soil erosion as the main
reason.
1. “Large-scale deforestation could cause monsoon
rains to shift south, cutting rainfall in India by
nearly a fifth” scientists say. Deforestation has
long been known to cause temperature increases
in local areas, but new research published on
Tuesday shows a potentially wider impact on
monsoon rains. While releasing carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere, deforestation also causes
changes in how much light reflects off the earth's
surface and the amount of moisture in the
atmosphere from plants transpiring. Researchers
from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore
used a model simulating atmosphere circulation,
as well as photosynthesis, transpiration,
warming of the ocean surface and ice melt.
Some News Reports

10. PAGE 9
2. To stop the destruction of forests and increase
its green cover to 33% as laid down in the
national policy, the state forests department
has launched a campaign to rope in villagers to
voluntarily enable regeneration of forests. It has
distributed subsidized LPG cylinders and grants
for biogas plants and stall fed and high value
mulch animals to around 40,000 families living on
the periphery of forests to reduce the pressure
on these green areas. It is also planting trees
for increasing the green cover.
3. Setting an example, the Arunachal Pradesh
Environment and Forest Department has achieved
70%afforestation in the state at a time when
forest areas are decreasing alarmingly in the
country. The afforestation programme was
undertaken under the State Compensatory
Afforestation Fund Management and Planning
Authority in 2010 in the areas where trees were
cut by user-agencies for various purposes. A
Supreme Court judgment recently directed that
there should be compensatory afforestation by
the user-agency which should set apart a sum of
money for the purpose. The judgement also
directed that the state concerned would have to
make available land on which afforestation could
take place.