DEFORESTATION AND WHY IT OCCURS
Forests cover 31% of the land area on our planet. They produce vital oxygen and
provide homes for people and wildlife.
Many of the world’s most threatened and
endangered animals live in forests, and 1.6
billion people rely on benefits forests offer,
including food, fresh water, clothing,
medicine and shelter.
The rise in deforestation globally is mainly due
to the growing population which calls for a
higher demand for food and natural
resources, such as wood, fuel, paper and oil
et cetra.
The biggest driver of deforestation is cattle ranching, where farmers cut forests to
provide more room for their ranches which is used for grazing livestock.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), an
estimated 18 million acres of forest are lost each year.
As you can see up to 60% of deforestation is due to cattle ranches then to
agricultures which is at 33%, these two seem to be the two biggest drivers of
deforestation. For specific detail, refer to the above diagram.
Livestock has been shown to be one of the main reasons that deforestation
occurs, because the land is very good for grazing livestock, that is why so many
ranches are being built there in the forest.
With the rate of deforestation increasing, many animals are gradually dying off that
would eventually go extinct within several generations.
In addition to the loss of habitat, the lack of trees also allows a greater amount of
greenhouse emissions to be released into the atmosphere causing devastating
effects such as global warming.
As you can see in the above diagram, the rate of deforestation in Borneo is
extreme. As you could also see the rate of deforestation in the last 65 years has
significantly increased. It is predicted that by 2020, very little of Borneo's
forests will remain.
Deforestation in Borneo
If people consumed less natural resources and encouraged their government to
protect the rainforests not only by law but also physically, to prevent illegal logging,
this catastrophe could be avoided.