PRESENTATION OUTLINE
WHAT IS DEFORESTATION
- Deforestation: the clearing of trees, transforming a forest into cleared land
- The Amazon alone is losing 200,000 acres of rainforest every year
- The cleared land can only be farmed for approx. 3 years
Nearly half of the world's species of plants and animals will be destroyed or severely threatened due to rainforest deforestation.
REASONS FOR DEFORESTATION
- Agriculture: land cleared for farming ex. soy bean cultivation
- Fuelwood collection: trees cut down for firewood
- Mining and Industrial Development: clearing of land to establish projects
- Large Dams: flooding of many acres of land
- Commercial Logging: trees cut down for timber
IMPACTS OF DEFORESTATION
- Loss of Species: Seventy percent of the world’s plants and animals live in forests and are losing their habitats
- Carbon Emissions: less trees = less carbon dioxide being turned into oxygen
- Soil Erosion: Without tree roots to anchor the soil and increased exposure to sun, the soil can dry out
- Life Quality: Soil erosion can also lead to silt entering the lakes, streams, and other water sources
- Reduced biodiversity: plants and animals being killed = less alive to reproduce
HOW TO STOP DEFORESTATION
- Clear cutting of forests must be banned
- Raise awareness
- Don't buy productions grown on deforested land
- Increase surveillance of and patrols in protected areas
RAINFOREST REMAINING (SQ. KM)
FOREST TO DEFORESTED AREA RATIO 1985
FOREST TO DEFORESTED AREA RATIO 2000
FOREST TO DEFORESTED AREA RATIO 2005
FOREST TO DEFORESTED AREA RATIO 2010
PREDICTED FOREST TO DEFORESTED AREA RATIO 2020