Causes Of Deforestation
Development has been a process and the means to provide more and more comfort and prosperity to human beings. Development has, at the same time, spelt doom to most of the forests around the globe and particularly to the rain forest. Massive scale deforestation is taking place for a number of reasons, which are mainly tied to the burgeoning population explosion of the past few decades. Owing to the rapid increase in the number of mouths that need to be fed, the demand for land increased exponentially for cultivation, housing and income generation. Unless some drastic measures are put into motion, this path will most certainly lead to the destruction of life on earth.
One of the most important reasons for deforestation is the generation of food. The sudden increase in the global population has demanded that enough food be generated, so forests were depleted to create land for agriculture. The communities in Asian and African countries practice shifting land cultivation, where land for agriculture is created with the help of forest fires, after which a new patch of forest is destroyed for the same purpose. African and American cattle ranching have both become another major reason for the destruction of forests. In some cases, massive tree planting schemes are undertaken; however, these are not able to recreate the same ecosystem that once existed, therefore the effort is rather redundant.
The other major reason for deforestation is housing. People all over the world are looking forward to owning a piece of land, which they can call home. The rapid population increase, plus the popularity of the nuclear family has pushed the demand for real estate through the roof. This is another burning reason why trees are felled and forests are destroyed. Though most countries have rules and regulations regarding depletion of forests, authorities often choose to ignore the practices of local contractors.
There is no doubt that deforestation and its outcome is due to the sudden explosion of the world population. It looks like development and progress are the culprits that are systematically destroying our planet. If there is to be any hope for the future, then extreme measures must be formulated and enforced towards forest conservation and balancing the many delicate ecosystems world wide. Unless there is a mechanism put into place to counter the continuous and systematic destruction of the forests, our planet isn’t going to last for too long, and therefore neither will we. Start protecting the planet today.
