Deforestation

Deforestation

Deforestation

Storable, Renewable Resource: Forest

According to the World Resources Institute, more than 80percent of the Earth�s natural forests already have beendestroyed.

Up to 90 percent of West Africa�s coastal rain forests havedisappeared since 1900.

Brazil and Indonesia, which contain the world�s two largestsurviving regions of rain forest, are being stripped at analarming rate

Deforestation

Storable, Renewable Resource: Forest

Introduction

Reasons deforestation occurs:

Trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and usedby humans,Cleared land is used as pasture, plantations of commoditiesand human settlement.

Negative E¤ects:

Damage to habitat,Biodiversity loss and aridity.Adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbondioxideSigni�cant adverse soil erosion

Deforestation

Storable, Renewable Resource: Forest

Economic impact

There are many root causes of deforestation:

Corruption of government institutions,Inequitable distribution of wealth and power,Population growth and overpopulation,and urbanization.

the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) concluded thatdamage to forests could:

Halve living standards for the world�s poor andReduce global GDP by about 7% by 2050

Deforestation

Storable, Renewable Resource: Forest

Economic impact

Historically utilization of forest products, including timber andfuel wood, have played a key role in human societies

Today, developed countries continue to utilize timber forbuilding houses, and wood pulp for paper.

In developing countries almost three billion people rely onwood for heating and cooking.

The forest products industry is a large part of the economy inboth developed and developing countries.

Short-term economic gains made by conversion of forest toagriculture typically leads to loss of long-term income andlong term biological productivity.

West Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia and many otherregions have experienced lower revenue because of decliningtimber harvests

Deforestation

Storable, Renewable Resource: Forest

Deforestation in the Amazon

Between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly150,000 square kilometers of forest (an area larger thanGreece)

since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 squaremiles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed.

Deforestation

Storable, Renewable Resource: Forest

Deforestation in the Amazon

Brazilian deforestation is strongly correlated to the economichealth of the country:the decline in deforestation from 1988-1991 nicely matchedthe economic slowdown during the same period,while the rocketing rate of deforestation from 1993-1998paralleled Brazil�s period of rapid economic growth