Introduction to Deforestation
Human activity has altered the environment, but none so extensively as the forests all over the world. Due to higher demand of paper products, expansion of cities, new settlements, land for agriculture, poverty and money, acres after acres have continued to be cut down. The results of deforestation have been disasters for the environment and the effects will become worse if deforestation is not limited and controlled. As trees are cut and decomposed, it recycles carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. About 2.9 billion tons of carbon is accumulated into the atmosphere every year, and 465 million hectacres are required to remove the carbon. It has been estimated that deforestation could account for about 20 percent of the carbon emitted into the atmosphere.
Amazonian Deforestation
This web page is focused on deforestation in the Amazon. There are other areas where rates of deforestation are higher such as Cote d’Ivoire and areas where there are more forests covering the land such as Canada and Alaska, but no other country deforests land in such a wasteful manner. Brazil contains 26.5% of the world’s rainforests, and the rate of deforestation has continued to increase in the last decade as people have migrated to the inner Amazon. Scientists are afraid that some species living in the rainforest will be extinct before they are ever discovered due to deforestation. What is most astounding is the lack of control over such deforestation. Although the Brazilian government has implemented policies, 80% of tress cut down in Brazil is done illegally. Most of the land is cleared by a slash and burn method that recycles tons of carbon back into the atmosphere. Deforestation in the Amazon could alone account for up to 25% of the carbon emitted into the atmosphere through deforestation. So far, 19% of the total forest area have been cut down in the Amazon. At this rate, forests will be cleared for most of the Amazonian states by the year 2000. In comparison, forest area has actually, increased in the United States over the last century. The programs and policies that are successful in the United States should be implemented into the problems found in the Amazonian rainforest.
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