Deforestation! Will it End the World?
Deforestation means extensive cutting down of trees resulting in total destruction of an entire forest. The regeneration and restoration of the ecosystem of the destroyed forest proves to be impossible at worst. The extinction of endangered species of plants, trees and animals is speeded up with deforestation.
The reasons for deforestation are three-fold. First is the natural cause like forest fires caused by lightening and friction of trees due to winds. Second is the need for wood towards construction and industrial activities. Third is the fuel need of the economically poor.
Forests ensure regular rainfall. The economies of the world are basically supported by agricultural activities. Forests are the main source of oxygen we need to survive. All these vital activities would come to an end if deforestation continues in the present pace. It will lead to global warming and dent in the protective ozone layer in afforestation.
The government should come up with various measures to stop deforestation. Alternative sources of fuel for the poor should be made available. People should be educated that our survival in this plant is inseparably intertwined with that of forests. They can be engaged in tree-planting schemes in awareness to protect our ecosystem.
March 6th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
You are correct. Deforestation may well destroy the world as we know it. However, I would assert that the problem is largely beyond solution. The reason is corruption. The foreign government officials charged with enforcement of environmental legislation are taking bribes from the loggers to look the other way. In some cases, these government officials actually own the logging concessions and operate them as their private businesses. The problem of corruption in the world today has been getting worse, not better.
Even if a foreign government had the will and the budget to address the problem, it does not have the power to compel compliance on the part of its citizens. If a team of agricultural inspectors is sent out to a remote forest area to inform the local residents that the government will punish them if they don’t stop deforestation, that is probably the last you will ever see of those inspectors. Some of the most serious deforestation is taking place in parts of the world controlled by drug cartels or insurgent warlords who are making good money selling the illegally harvested timber.
Alternative fuels would be great, but what would we replace them with? Expensive and polluting hydrocarbon fuels? Methane from animal waste? Solar ovens? Not practical. Not affordable.
Remember that we are dealing with extremely poor people who don’t have a long-term vision for the future. They are living at the very margin of existence and will continue to cook with charcoal because they are primarily concerned about being counted among the living through the following week.
One might recall Tim Rice’s lyrics from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ‘Evita.’
But first tell me who’d be delighted
If I said I’d take on the world’s greatest problems
From war to pollution, no hope of solution
Even if I lived for one hundred years
- Don (an old toad with more that 30 years experience combating poverty in the developing world)