Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects

Deforestation is the permanent removal of trees. It is done to make room for something besides forest. This includes clearing the land for agriculture or grazing, or using the timber for fuel, construction, manufacturing, etc. 

According to the World Wildlife Fund, Forests cover more than 30% of the Earth's land surface. These forested areas can provide food, medicine and fuel for more than a billion people. 

Forests are a resource, but they are also large, undeveloped swaths of land that can be converted for purposes such as agriculture and grazing. Forests provide more than a home for a diverse collection of living things; they are also an important resource for many around the world.

Causes for Destroying Forest:

According to The World Bank  about 3.9 million square miles (10 million square km) of forest have been lost since the beginning of the 20th century. 

- Natural fires 

- Over Population

- Illegal poaching for woods

- for agriculture land

Effects of deforestation

Forests can be found from the tropics to high-latitude areas. They are home to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity, containing a wide array of trees, plants, animals and microbes

- Global Warming

- Loss of wild animals

- Imbalance of ecosystem

- Climate Change

Deforestation solutions

Developing alternatives to deforestation can help decrease the need for tree clearing. For eg, the desire to expand the amount of land used for agriculture is an attractive reason to deforest an area. But if people adopted sustainable farming practices/ employed new farming technologies and crops, the need for more land might be diminished. 

Forests can also be restored, through replanting trees in cleared areas or \ allowing the forest ecosystem to regenerate.