Human Interventions in Forest Environments

Human Interventions in Forest Environments

            Global concern on the levels of deforestation as a result of human activities has risen over the last few decades. Tropical deforestation is a result of a number of human activities, including commercial logging, fuelwood collection, cattle ranching, large-scale development projects, and agriculture. The impact of these activities has been a sharp decline in the area of forested areas globally, negatively affecting the balance in the ecosystem. Several approaches have been mooted on how to manage the deforestation menace, though the success in addressing this problem has not been to the expected levels (Laurance, 1999). There remains a lot of concern about the long term future of our planet as we continue to feel the impacts of deforestation, for instance, global warming. The effects of deforestation on the global fauna and flora have also been a major taking point. Given the increase in deforestation levels and its impacts on the planet, there is a need to come up with measures to stem this problem to guarantee the future of the planet and its ecosystems.

Tropical deforestation has been on the rise, thanks to heightened human activities in many parts of the world. One of the leading causes of deforestation is the roll-out of large scale development projects by governments and the private sector. To implement the infrastructural projects needed to drive world economies, large tracts of land have been cleared to pave the way for their development. These include the construction of dams, roads, railways, residential apartments, and industrial centers. Although many governments have policies regarding the conducting of environmental assessment before projects are started, the reality is that these projects result in the clearing of land, with little or no efforts made to restore the cleared forest cover (Geist and Lambin, 2002).

This is the case, especially in developing countries, which are experiencing rapid growth in population. This growth in population has increased the need to expand infrastructure to meet the needs of the people. The result has been the clearing of large forested areas, negatively impacting the environment.

Aside from the roll-out of large scale development projects, human activities such as agriculture, commercial logging, fuelwood collection, and cattle ranching have also contributed significantly to the increase in deforestation levels. Due to population explosion in many of the developing countries, large tracts of land are being cleared to facilitate the carrying out of agricultural activities to sustain the ever-growing populations.  According to a study conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the forest cover in Africa in 1990 was 528 million hectares, translating to at least 30% of the global tropical forest cover (Grainger, 1996). However, the area covered by forests has been declining since then, with an estimated rate of over 0.6%. This can be attributed to activities such as commercial logging, fuelwood collection, and cattle ranching. In Africa, an incredible 90% of the population depends on wood for cooking fuel, and this has contributed significantly to the clearing of tropical forests. In the developed countries, the major causes of deforestation are commercial logging and cattle ranching, according to a recent study conducted by FAO (Keenan et al., 2015). The impacts of these activities on the global forest cover are immense, and there is a need for governments and international organizations to come up with more effective measures to address the issue of deforestation.

Deforestation has several environmental impacts. One of the effects is the loss of important fauna and flora. Clearing of forests does destroy not only the plant cover but also the homes of many land animals. Studies have shown that 70% of the world’s land animals live in forests. Therefore, the clearing of forests may lead to the death of these animals as they lack shelter and food. Additionally, the clearing of forests leads to increased greenhouse gases. The increase in greenhouse gases has been associated with global warming, which has affected global climate patterns significantly. According to recent studies, the tropical rainforests of South America and Central Africa are responsible for at least 35% of the world’s oxygen (Skole,  Chomentowski, Salas, and Nobre, 1994). This shows that there is a need to initiate more measures to protect these forests from encroachment.  Clearing forests also has the effect of causing a decline in the amount of rainfall. This is because fewer forests mean less water vapor in the atmosphere, and hence less rainfall and droughts. The ground effects of deforestation, such as flooding and soil erosion, are also significant as they can lead to humanitarian problems such as loss of life as a result. Overall, the effects of tropical deforestation in recent years show that there is a need to put more stringent measures to protect the global forests.

The need to protect tropical forests continues to grow every day. Several mechanisms have been proposed on how to address the deforestation problem. One of these is the adoption of sustainable development as a means of realizing the economic and social advancement goals of communities (Kummer and Turner, 1994). Sustainable development means that the impacts of development projects on the environment are thoroughly analyzed, and the options with the least impact on the environment adopted (Daly, 1990). For example, rural communities in the developing countries should be encouraged to use solar and wind power, instead of firewood as a source of energy. Governments should also invest in the implementation of geothermal and hydroelectric power projects to supply power to the citizens (Rudel, Defries, Asner, and Laurance, 2009). This would help in significantly reducing the clearing of forests in these areas. With regard to the large scale development projects, developers should be encouraged to use areas that will lead to a minimum clearance, and where clearing cannot be avoided, they should be forced to replace the cleared area of forest cover to maintain the global forest cover. Governments should also put in place strict legislations on cattle ranching and commercial logging to make sure tropical forests are not destroyed.

Conclusively, reducing deforestation should be a priority for everyone, since conserving forests has a bearing on the future of our planet. However, realizing a complete check on all the activities that lead to deforestation is not an easy task. It requires cooperation between all stakeholders and the awareness of the public on the need to preserve tropical forests. Governments and international organizations should be at the forefront in the fight against deforestation, while at the same time rolling out programs to restore destroyed forests. Overall, preventing or reducing deforestation levels in the world is easier said than done. Still, its damaging effects on our environment should be a wake-up call to increase the efficacy of the measures taken towards addressing the problem.

References

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