Decades of Deforestation Cause Concern

Concern over deforestation is on the rise once more, as rates of tropical forestation loss rise more and more rapidly every year.According to The Rain Tree (www.rain-tree.com), deforestation refers to any cutting, burning, or general destruction to forested areas. Deforestation has been occurring in tropical areas for decades. Some environmentalists estimate that at the current rate or destruction, rainforests could be completely gone in one hundred years. This means that our great grandchildren may never know coffee, chocolate, cashews, vanilla, coconuts, bananas, or the over a hundred western world pharmaceuticals that come from plants found only in tropical rainforests. The National Cancer Institute reports that nearly 75 percent of cancer pharmaceuticals are found in rainforest plants. This should leave you wondering what miracles can be found in the other 99 percent.Rainforests make up only two percent of the earth’s surface and seven percent of the total land. There are between six and eighty million different living organisms on this planet, and tropical rainforests are home to an estimated fifty percent of them. Tropical rainforests are located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south respectively). The largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon Tropical Rainforest, which covers most of Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Columbia. About twenty percent of the world’s oxygen is produced here. Because such a small area of the rain forests have been scientifically examined, it is very possible that there are undiscovered organisms lurking in the deep, and they face extinction before we even know they exist. This leaves the inevitable question: Why does deforestation happen? The need for more land, more resources, and more money are the most common reasons for deforestation. Brazil, one of the more closey watched areas, is over $160 billion dollars in debt to the rest of the world, and makes its money in mahogany and macadamia nuts. In developing nations, local economies sell the valuable land to support their citizens. Commercial logging is probably the single most degradational activity taking place in the tropics. Big businesses (think Wal-Mart, Mitsubishi, and Texaco for starters) use this clear cutting method because it is fastest and cheapest. Commercial logging requires heavy machinery like chain saws, and bulldozers. Not only are trees torn up, but these machines tear up the ground as well, causing ground dwelling organisms and plants to lose their homes. Roads have to be made for trucks to get into the deepest part of the forest, which tears up roots, greatly reducing the chance for new growth. After sections are cleared, workers take the biggest, strongest and healthiest trees, and leave the rest. Because the ground is covered in trees, it is hard for new life to break through. Selective logging requires more research. While entire areas are still occasionally cut down, loggers usually go only to areas that are the most economically beneficial. Trees are also commonly cleared out for use as grazing grounds for cattle as part of the world’s beef supply. These industries can clear out miles of forest at a time, clearing even more when herds have spent their current grazing ground. Local people are also partly responsible for causing deforestation, though most of them can’t avoid it. Poor farmers living on the borders of rainforests clear out a few acres at a time for their slash and burn method of farming. Every few years, families must move their farming grounds to give the soil a chance to replenish. Some are too poor to provide for their family and clear out the land to sell to big companies. Global warming is also partly responsible for degradation. Not all hope is lost however. Once an area is cleared out, there is still re-growth since nature replenishes itself naturally. Usually fires help to clear gound and allow new life to begin. The same thing happens in tropical rainforests, only a little differently. Unlike most forests or fields, the majority of minerals and nutrients in the rain forest is found in the trees, not the soil. Sometimes farmers and environmentalists follow behind loggers, burning the remaining trees to release these vitamins into the soil. Burning felled trees also moves along the decomposition phase, so re-growth can begin sooner. So how do you know if your purchases are causing tropical deforestation? Most brands of tropical fruits come from the rainforest. Producers don’t just pick them, they clear out sections of forest and take the fruit after. In the process they cut down trees without fruit. Trees too young to produce, meanwhile decreasing the amount of fruit trees available. Buying organic tropical fruit may cost a little more, but many people are willing to pay the extra pennies to ensure they aren’t harming such an important and beautiful part of the natural world. Consider also that furniture made in places like Indonesia and Malaysia are often made with tropical wood (yet another reason to buy American made products). “Shade agriculture” is a growing trend in farming, appealing to those who want to make a difference in the preservation of rainforests. In this method, many trees are left standing to accommodate the shade loving plants like coffee and cocoa beans. This type of farming can allow for re-growth to return in as soon as twenty years.A great place to get more information on the state of the rainforests is The Rain Tree website (www.rain-tree.com). This website provides information on what you can do to help and a reliable place to make donations. While buying environmentally friendly products is expensive, when it comes to the rainforests, something drastic needs to be done. As we consume massive amounts of fast food burgers and purchase clothing primarily made overseas, it may be a little hard to swallow the idea that an estimated one and a half acres of rain forest are being destroyed every second.