Deforestation : Forests cover more than 30% of the earth’s land surface.
Deforestation is the reflection and a result of man’s greed and selfishness. I say with full responsibility in this particular essay on deforestation that any so-called natural calamities are the result of man-made disasters where the starting point would be deforestation. Any calamities such as floods, desertification, drought, famine, pandemics and epidemics can all be traced back to cutting off our earth’s forest covers. Such is the importance of forests in our lives.
Reasons for Deforestation
- Agriculture: Due to an ever-increasing population in the world, we need more food to survive. There are food security schemes in various countries that hoard and stock up food grains for years together. And for this food to come to our doorstep, farmers need to grow them on lands. And where does this fertile land come from? That’s right, it comes from the forest lands. Farmers encroach and clear off forest area to cultivate the land. And once all forest the land is cultivated multiple times and it loses its fertility rate, then the farmers move forward to clear another patch of forest. And this vicious cycle continues till there is no forest left to cut down. We can’t imagine the consequences on our planet if the forests cease to exist.
- Livestock: Dairy industries are a multi-billion dollar industry across the world. Billion of dollars are invested in the industry and to keep up the pace with the demand and supply cycle, there is an increasing pressure to get the products quick and fine. Livestock grazing is a big step in the dairy industry as well as a bane for our ecosystem. The grasslands are grazed by cows and buffaloes, leaving the soil open and vulnerable to wind. This can easily lead to desertification of the land in question. Soil erosion takes place making that plot of land fundamentally useless for any type of cultivation. If proper governmental policies are not in place, this can have dangerous impacts on our environment
- Industrialisation: As you are reading this essay on deforestation, there are hundreds of trees cut down somewhere in some country. The rate of deforestation is far higher than the rate of afforestation. And one of the biggest reasons for this is rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. For the economy to survive as well as prosper, it needs plenty of wood and other resources that forests provide. Right from trees to animal’s furs, skins, horns and other organs, man needs it all to fulfil his greed and hunger. Poaching of rare trees and animals in restricted areas is also rampant in third world counties. Corruption among forest officers and lack of proper management has led to massive cutting down of forests even in reserved areas.
These are few among many reasons why deforestation is occurring at such an alarming rate. To be frank one single 600-word essay on deforestation will not be enough to detail out all reasons for the same. All countries, through proper leadership, need to come forward and formulate laws and policies to stop deforestation. A business should build business models which are environmentally sustainable. Consumers need to reject products that are produced by harming the environment. Only with collective efforts of all the stakeholders will our planet survive and we can reduce deforestation.
Deforestation is purely man-made chaos in our ecosystem that has led to other chaos such as soil erosion, floods, famine, global warming and various other disasters in nature. There are plenty of reasons for deforestation, but the most important reason is the population explosion.
The population explosion rate is directly proportional to the rate of deforestation. If the population is somehow controlled, then the demand for goods in the economy will reduce, food demand will reduce and this will automatically reduce deforestation. Everything in the ecology in intertwined and a control mechanism in one aspect will have a ripple effect in others.
Having said that, its not just the responsibility of governments or businesses to control deforestation. The onus lies on each and every individual as well. Everything ultimately boils down to the individual making use of the products of these natural resources. If we are responsible and boycott such products, then the demand for the same will reduce.
Remember, even if one tree is cut, because we need to build a house or park our car, then we are as much responsible for global warming as that of a big corporation.
