INTRODUCTION

For many factors, deforestation or clearing occurs, to get an overview we might

include the need for cash, both in terms of profitability and in most cases providing for one's
family, along with lack of or no forest rules, need for land space for housing, etc. among a long
list of other uses. Farmers fell trees primarily blamed on agricultural or pastoral use for growing
space for agriculture and/or as fodder land for grazing and surviving livestock. Deforestation
refers to the process of clearing or cutting down forests or trees on a large scale, often to make
the land available for agricultural, industrial, or urban development, or to harvest timber for
various uses. It results in the permanent removal of forested areas, leading to environmental
impacts such as loss of biodiversity, disruption of ecosystems, and contribution to climate
change. I think that my topic to talk about the conséquences of tis ction in your daily lives. I
dvided my topic in three parts, fistly : Cause of the deforestation secondly : Conséquence
deforestation and Solution of the deforestation.
I. CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
Deforestation refers to the large-scale removal of forests, often resulting in significant
environmental, social, and economic impacts. There are several key causes of deforestation:

1. Agriculture:
The expansion of agricultural activities, including large-scale farming and cattle ranching, is one
of the leading causes of deforestation. Forests are cleared to create space for crops like soy, palm
oil, and grazing land for livestock.

2. Logging:
Both legal and illegal logging contribute significantly to deforestation. Timber is harvested for
construction, furniture, paper, and other industries, often leading to the destruction of large forest
areas.

Logging does not necessarily cause deforestation. However, logging can seriously degrade
forests. Logging in Southeast Asia is more intensive and can be quite destructive. However,
logging provides access roads to follow-on settlers and log scales can help finance the cost of
clearing remaining trees and preparing land for planting of crops or pasture. Logging thus
catalyzes deforestation. Fuelwood gathering is often concentrated in tropical dry forests and
degraded forest areas. Fuelwood is not usually the major cause of deforestation in the humid
tropics although it can be in some populated regions with reduced forest area such as in the
Philippines, Thailand and parts of Central America. Fuelwood gathering was considered to be
the main cause of deforestation and forest degradation in El Salvador. In the drier areas of tropics,
Fuelwood gathering can be a major cause of deforestation and degradation.

3. Urbanization and Infrastructure Development:

Growing populations and urban expansion require more land for housing, roads, and
infrastructure. This often results in forest clearing to meet these demands.

Expanding cities and towns require land to establish the infrastructures necessary to support
growing population which is done by clearing the forests. Tropical forests are a major target of
infra-structure developments for oil exploitation, logging concessions or hydropower dam
construction which inevitably conveys the expansion of the road network and the construction of
roads in pristine areas. The construction of roads, railways, bridges, and airports opens up the
land to development and brings increasing numbers of people to the forest frontier. Whether
supported or not by the governmental programmes, these settlers have usually colonized the
forest by using logging trails or new roads to access the forest for subsistence land. The
development of these infra-structure projects are of worldwide concern, since tropical forest
clearing accounts for roughly 20 per cent of anthropogenic carbon emissions destroying globally
significant carbon sinks and around 21 per cent of tropical forests have been lost worldwide
since 1980.

4. Mining Activities:
Mining for resources such as coal, gold, and other minerals frequently involves clearing forests,
disrupting ecosystems and causing habitat loss.

5. Fuelwood and Charcoal Production:

In many developing countries, people rely on forests for wood and charcoal as their primary
sources of energy, leading to over-extraction and deforestation.

6. Natural Causes:
Forest fires, hurricanes, and other natural events can also lead to deforestation. However, these
events are often exacerbated by human activities and climate change.

7. Expansion of farming land

About 60 per cent of the clearing of tropical moist forests is for agricultural settlement with
logging and other reasons like roads, urbanization and Fuelwood accounting for the rest.
Tropical forests are one of the last frontiers in the search for subsistence land for the most
vulnerable people worldwide. Millions of people live on the tropical forest with less than a dollar
a day where a third of a billion are estimated to be foreign settlers. However, as the land
degrades people are forced to migrate, exploring new forest frontiers increasing deforestation.
Deforestation is proxied by the expansion of agricultural land. This is because agricultural land
expansion is generally viewed as the main source of deforestation contributing around 60 per
cent of total tropical deforestation.

Shifting agriculture also called slash and burn agriculture is the clearing of forested land for
raising or growing the crops until the soil is exhausted of nutrients and/or the site is overtaken by
weeds and then moving on to clear more forest. It is been often reported as the main agent of
deforestation. Smallholder production in deforestation and the growing number of such
producers notably shifting cultivators were the main cause of deforestation. Mostly all reports
indicate shifting agriculture as responsible for about one half of tropical deforestation and some
put it up to two-thirds. Shifting agriculture was greatest in Asia (about 30 per cent) but only
about 15 per cent over the whole tropical world. It appears that the proportion of direct
conversion of forest to agriculture is increasing and the proportion of shifting agriculture is
decreasing with time.

8. Fires
Fires are a major tool used in clearing the forest for shifting and permanent agriculture and for
developing pastures. Fire is a good servant but has a poor master. Fire used responsibly can be a
valuable tool in agricultural and forest management but if abused it can be a significant cause of
deforestation. Based on the data available from 118 countries representing 65 per cent of the
global forest area, an average of 19.8 million hectares or one per cent of all forests were reported
to be significantly affected each year by forest fires. Deforestation due to road pavements in
Brazil had also lead to higher incidences of forest fires.
 II. CONSEQUENCES OF DEFORESTATION

1. Loss of Biodiversity:
The destruction of forests leads to the extinction of numerous species of plants and animals that
depend on forest ecosystems for survival.

2. Climate Change:
Trees absorb carbon dioxide, and their removal contributes to an increase in greenhouse gases,
exacerbating global warming.
It is essential to distinguish between microclimates, regional climate and global climate
while assessing the effects of forest on climate especially the effect of tropical deforestation on
climate. Deforestation can change the global change of energy not only through the
micrometeorological processes but also by increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere because carbon dioxide absorbs thermal infrared radiation in the atmosphere.
Moreover deforestation can lead to increase in the albedo of the land surface and hence affects
the radiation budget of the region. Deforestation affects wind flows, water vapour flows and
absorption of solar energy thus clearly influencing local and global climate. Deforestation on
lowland plains moves cloud formation and rainfall to higher elevations. Deforestation disrupts
normal weather patterns creating hotter and drier weather thus increasing drought and
desertification, crop failures, melting of the polar ice caps, coastal flooding and displacement of
major vegetation regimes. In the dry forest zones, land degradation has become an increasingly
serious problem resulting in extreme cases in desertification. Desertification is the consequence
of extremes in climatic variation and unsustainable land use practices including overcutting of
forest cover. Global warming or global change includes anthropogenically produced climatic
and ecological problems such as recent apparent climatic temperature shifts and precipitation
regimes in some areas, sea level rise, stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric pollution and
forest decline. Tropical forests are shrinking at a rate of about five per cent per decade as forests
are logged and cleared to supply local, regional, national and global markets for wood products,
cattle, agricultural produce and biofuels. One of the most important ramifications of
deforestation is its effect on the global atmosphere. Deforestation contributes to global warming
which occurs from increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) leading to
net increase in the global mean temperature as the forests are primary terrestrial sink of carbon.
Thus deforestation disrupts the global carbon cycle increasing the concentration of atmospheric
carbon dioxide. Tropical deforestation is responsible for the emission of roughly two billion
tonnes of carbon (as CO2) to the atmosphere per year. Release of the carbon dioxide due to
global deforestation is equivalent to an estimated 25 per cent of emissions from combustion of
fossil fuels.

3. Soil Erosion:
Without trees to anchor the soil, heavy rains can wash away the topsoil, leading to decreased
fertility and desertification.

4. Disruption of Water Cycles:

Deforestation affects the natural water cycle, reducing rainfall and drying up rivers and streams.

5. Impact on Indigenous Communities:

Many indigenous populations rely on forests for their livelihoods and culture; deforestation
disrupts their way of life.

6. Economic losses
The tropical forests destroyed each year amounts to a loss in forest capital valued at US $ 45
billion. By destroying the forests, all potential future revenues and future
employment that could be derived from their sustainable management for timber and non-
timber products disappear.

7. Increase investment in research, education and extension

Training and education of stakeholder’s helps people understand how to prevent and reduce
adverse environmental effects associated with deforestation and forestry activities and take
appropriate action when possible. Research substantiates it and helps to understand the problem,
its cause and mitigation. This arena is lagging behind for paucity of funds and investments
encourages this arena. There is a lack of knowledge and information in the general community
about forests and forestry. Forest managers and those developing forest policies need to be
comprehensively educated and need to appreciate the complexity of the interacting ecological,
economical, social, cultural and political factors involved.
III. SOLUTIONS OF DEFORESTATION
Deforestation is a critical environmental issue, but several solutions can help address it:

1. Reforestation and Afforestation:

Planting new trees in deforested areas (reforestation) or areas where there were no forests before
(afforestation) helps restore biodiversity and absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

2. Sustainable Agriculture:

Encouraging farming practices that do not require clearing large areas of forest, such as
agroforestry or permaculture, helps preserve ecosystems while still allowing for food production.

3. Legal Protection and Enforcement:

Strengthening laws and regulations against illegal logging and land clearing is essential to
prevent deforestation. Governments must also enforce existing protections.

4. Promoting Eco-friendly Products:

Supporting sustainable industries and products, such as certified wood and palm oil, can reduce
the demand for deforested land.

5. Raising Awareness:

Educating the public about the consequences of deforestation and encouraging responsible
consumption patterns can reduce the pressure on forests.

8. Supporting Indigenous Communities:

Many indigenous communities are stewards of forests. Empowering them with the rights and
resources to protect their land can prevent deforestation.

9. Economic Incentives:

Providing financial incentives for countries and companies to preserve forests, such as through
carbon credits or conservation payments, can make it economically viable to protect forests.
 10. Environmental Education as the Solution to the Problem of Deforestation And
Habitat Loss

Environmental Education is a process of learning that increases people’s knowledge and

awareness about their immediate environment and the challenges within. It helps in associated
challenges, developing the necessary skills and expertise. For individual that will enable them
address the challenges, and foster attitudes, motivations, and com-mitments to make informed
decisions and take responsible action that will benefit them and their future generation. The
whole essence of environmental education is to bring the citizens to full knowledge of their
environment, creating in abilities that help them solve or mediate current environmental
problems and avert new ones.