Rainforest depletion, also known as deforestation,
is defined by www.wikipedia.org as the clearance of
naturally occurring forests by logging and burning.
I have chosen this topic because I have become aware
of the many dangers facing rainforests today and the
problems this brings to wildlife, biodiversity, the
atmosphere, us humans and the environment as a whole.
Rainforests are like forests,
but as the name suggests,
they have high levels of
annual rainfall. Many of the
world’s species are native to
rainforests, and tropical
rainforests have been
dubbed “the Jewels of the
Earth”. More than 50% of
the world’s flora and fauna
can be found in rainforests.
Also, more than one quarter
of the world’s natural
medicines have been found
in rainforests.
Rainforests can extract
carbon dioxide and
pollutants from the air,
which is very important to
the stability of our
biosphere.
Rainforest truly are essential
to many aspects of the
environment.
Deforestation is present all over the world, but it can be found here
in Trinidad too. It is estimated that with our current rate of
deforestation (1% being depleted each year) our rainforests can
disappear within our lifetime. This is very frightening considering all
that rainforests provide us with. Like was stated in the definition I
found, logging and burning are two major causes of deforestation,
but in Trinidad, squatting and even the indifference of us citizens
can spell the end for our forests.
Deforestation causes loss of habitat for its many species as well.
At the world’s current deforestation rates, 75 plant and animal
species may become extinct each day. Deforestation also
contributes to global warming. In fact, tropical deforestation
contributes to 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Sadly, very little is being done to stop rainforest depletion. Here
in Trinidad, only 32% of our natural forest cover remains.
There are many causes of deforestation, which include logging,
burning, squatting and the indifference of us humans.
Simply put, logging is the cutting down of trees, and it happens non –
stop. However, many people do not take an interest in the harm it
does to rainforests.
Burning can occur from forest fires or slash and burn, in which forests
are burnt to create fields for agriculture and for many other purposes.
Forest fires mainly result from carelessness, squatting and severe dry
seasons and are a major threat to our forests.
Squatting is a serious problem facing our forests. Many trees are cut
down and land is burnt to make way for these illegal homes. It is
threatening many of Trinidad’s forest reserves.
Unfortunately, public indifference is a challenge towards the
conservation of our rainforest. Many are unwilling to help save our
forest resources and are unaware of how their actions affect them.
Most people know that deforestation harms wildlife that call
rainforests their home, but we humans are affected by
deforestation as well. Rainforest maintain the Earth’s balance,
and when they are depleted, this affects us all. We are now in
our “rainy season” and with less vegetation to hold back
rubble and mud when the rains come down, there will be
much erosion. Also, as rainforests remove pollutants and
carbon dioxide, our air will be more polluted making it harder
to breather and causing further damage to our atmosphere. It
also affects the world economically, as while cutting down
forests for agriculture may help the economy in the short term,
in the long term it usually leads to loss of income. Illegal
logging can cause billion dollar losses to nationwide
economies. Deforestation also means that much of our natural
medicines, from simple spices to life saving ones will be gone.
Rainforest depletion definitely does affect us greatly.
In conclusion, we can see that rainforests are essential to life
on Earth, and our life can be jeopardized if they continue to
deplete. What, however, can we do to stop them from being
destructed further? Firstly, there is reforestation, in which forests
which have been depleted are restored. It helps cancel out
the effects brought on by deforestation, thus improving the
quality of our life. We can also recycle as much as possible, to
cut down on the amount of materials extracted from
rainforests. We should cut down on our use of paper or use
recycled paper, as most of our paper comes from trees. Also,
we can use less plastic and gasoline as they are made from
petroleum or oil, which is taken from rainforests a lot of the
time through extraction which is harmful to rainforests. We can
re – use our plastic containers and carpool or walk whenever
possible. We can also educate people about deforestation
and teach them by example to conserve our rainforests too.
Newspaper article: Gaskin, M.R. (2010, June 6) Ignorance is not Bliss.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday. Retrived June 28, 2010 from
http://www.newsday.co.tt/features/0,122017.html
Magazines: Shand, E. (2003). Samaan appeal to save our forests.
Samaan. Rainy Season 2003, 24 – 25.
Websites: Stock, J., & Rochen. The Choice, Doomsday or Arbor day. In Umich.edu.
Retrieved from http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htm,
Ways you can help save the rainforest and be enviromentally responsible.
Retrieved on June 28th, 2010 from
http://www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_002.htm
Seven things you can do to save the rainforest. Retrieved on June 28th, 2010 from
http://ran.org/fileadmin/materials/education/factsheets/RAN_SevenThings.pdf