Healthy forests support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people globally, one billion of whom are among the world’s poorest. This means there are many people depending on forests for survival and using them to hunt and gather raw products for their small-scale agriculture processes. But in developing countries such as Borneo, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, or Mexico, land tenure systems are weak. This allows big businesses to get these lands and use them for other ends, disrupting local people’s lives.
Locals then have to make one of two choices. They can decide to abandon “their” land and migrate somewhere else, avoiding conflict and embracing the challenge of a new different life. Or they can stay and work for the companies exploring it in remote plantations – often getting unfair wages and working under inhumane conditions. In some countries like Mexico, plantations’ owners are often forced to share their profits with local cartels to keep their families alive and to avoid having their crops burned
The most known consequence of deforestation is its threat to biodiversity. In fact, forests represent some of the most veritable hubs of biodiversity. From mammals to birds, insects, amphibians or plants, the forest is home to many rare and fragile species.
80% of the Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests.
By destroying the forests, human activities are putting entire ecosystems in danger, creating natural imbalances, and putting Life at threat. The natural world is complex, interconnected, and made of thousands of inter-dependencies and among other functions, trees provide shade and colder temperatures for animals and smaller trees or vegetation which may not survive with the heat of direct sunlight. Besides, trees also feeding animals with their fruits while providing them with food and shelter they need to survive.
Natural factors include natural forest fires or parasite-caused diseases which can result in deforestation. Nevertheless, human activities are among the main causes of global deforestation. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the expansion of agriculture caused nearly 80% of global deforestation, with the construction of infrastructures such as roads or dams, together with mining activities and urbanization, making up the remaining causes of deforestation.
What Is Deforestation?
Deforestation refers to the decrease in forest areas across the world that are lost for other uses such as agricultural croplands, urbanization, or mining activities. Greatly accelerated by human activities since 1960, deforestation has been negatively affecting natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and the climate. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the annual rate of deforestation to be around 1.3 million km2 per decade.
