What You Must Know About Deforestation

To discuss deforestation and its impact on the planet, let’s start by defining terms. At its very simplest, the term “deforestation” means the destruction of a forest. This can be caused by a forest fire or disease, but in recent years, the term “deforestation” has come to mean the deliberate destruction of a forest by humans. When most people talk about deforestation, they’re talking about the Amazon rain forests and the toll their destruction is taking on the environment.

Lumber harvesting is one cause of deforestation. Proper lumber harvesting leaves the forest able to regenerate. Most responsible harvesters replant trees to replace the ones they took. But clear-cutting and not replanting can cause severe deforestation problems.

Deforestation also comes when forest land is converted into arable farm land. This is a very significant problem, particularly in the Amazon areas, where people are in desperate need of land to grow food and care for their families. This is the most understandable and the most benign cause of deforestation.

The biggest deforestation problem, which is sometimes used to clear farm land, is the slash and burn method. The trees are destroyed and not even used productively as wood products. Animals and plants die, and the ground is less useful because of the fire. Crops are substandard, and no one gets much benefit out of this careless waste of forest land.

There are many other reasons for deforestation, including urban renewal and mining. As regards cause, the main thing you need to know is that there are numerous causes and, most importantly, they all make sense to the people tearing down the forests. They think what they’re doing is reasonable and that our requests to stop are unreasonable, and maybe a tad crazy.

So the next thing you need to understand is that brute force and arguments will never budge these people, any more than their explanations will budge those of us who believe their actions are destroying the environment. We must find something that will replace their need for deforestation. What they might need, what that might be, is a big mystery.

This is not at all to say that we shouldn’t make the effort to try to stop deforestation and replant the rain forests. But it will not be easy, and it will not happen until both groups come up with a way for the inhabitants of the region to get the resources they need without tearing down the rain forests.

Deforestation is a touchy topic, and everyone has their own opinion. Some extreme environmentalists take an almost militant stance and really blame the inhabitants of the rain forests and the governments of these countries. As frustrating as the problem is, blaming and condemning don’t get us anywhere.

What we really need to heal this situation and the rain forests is a very creative solution to a very complex problem. Until someone, or someones, come up with that solution, we’re likely to spend a lot of time beating our heads against brick walls trying to change the current situation.