World Forests: From Deforestation to Transition?
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Our Sustainable Planet » Wildlife
• The ocean is immense but not a reservoir of unlimited life, and it is concentrated in coastal zones teeming with diversity. These coastal zones are subject to commercial exploitation, the polluting refuse of our rivers and rising sea levels from melting glaciers due to global warming. • The coastal zones are the source of 80% of marine species and these wetlands and mangrove forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate through violent storms, erosion from human encroachment and agricultural expansion, pollution and global warming. • Coral reefs are reservoirs of biodiversity with 4,000 species of fish and they are rapidly disappearing. 70% of the coral on the earth is threatened by global warming, pollution and human activity. Most coral lies in shallow water that is easily warmed by rising temperatures from global warming. • The ocean floor is becoming littered with debris (plastic, non-biodegradable materials), which drowns birds, turtles and seals who ingest the material.
Forests, jungles, woods & their trees
If asked to define a forest, most of us will straightaway think of trees. While it is true that trees dominate - they are the biggest organisms present there and there are many of them - a forest is in fact a community of not just plants and animals, but of micro-organisms as well. Throw into the mix the non-living, abiotic components like soil, climate and water, and take in the complex interrelationships among the organisms and the environment, and we are closer to an actual understanding of this ecosystem. With one third of the Earth's surface is covered with forests it is no surprise that they are among the most notable storehouses of biological diversity on the planet. Forests for people Forests have a variety of uses to humans, including wood from trees, nutrition from animals, grazing, recreation, medicinal plants and so on. At the present time, conservationists are still arguing about a 'technical' definition of a forest. The forest ecosystem Forest variety and distribution
Deforestation: A major threat to the destruction of our planet | Earth Reform
By KARUN BADWAL Published April 21, 2012 Deforestation – a process by which forest areas are removed and the land is utilized for other uses including agriculture, industrialization, resources, or settlements – has stark implications on our environment in the near future. Despite the rising awareness of the destructive threat to forests and its implications for the planet, the rich abundance of resources in the forest and the short-term monetary benefit of acquiring these resources have created corruption that has pervaded government institutions, corporations, and local communities. Some of the reasons for the practice of deforestation include extracting lumber for commercial materials, farming and grazing cattle for today’s growing population, extracting charcoal as fuel for cooking and heating, extracting oil, mining, and building roads and settlements. Unfortunately, the damage does not end there. Corruption continues to stifle African governments and their need for self-sustenance.
Ethiopia: Deforestation and monoculture plantations behind the fires
Ethiopia: Deforestation and monoculture plantations behind the fires A mountainous tropical country with altitudes of over 4,000 metres, Ethiopia has many regions which were once rich in vegetation and are now rocky, desert areas. Desertification and erosion have further increased within the past decade. Almost all the forests in Ethiopia have been destroyed in the last 40 years, according to a study by the United Nations. Less than 3% of the entire country is now covered with trees, compared to the 40% of a century ago and 16% in the early 1950s, prompting fears of an impending environmental disaster in this country which is home to coffee and one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world, now with large areas exposed to heavy soil erosion. The most threatened vegetation zones of the country are not found in the wildlife designated areas; these are the moist evergreen forests and the dry evergreen forests, the most extensive and most widely used forest resources. top
Unsustainable cattle ranching
Habitat conversion, commonly referred to as deforestation, lies at the crux of what is shaping the future of the Amazon Biome. Extensive cattle ranching is the number one culprit of deforestation in virtually every Amazon country, and it accounts for 80% of current deforestation (Nepstad et al. 2008). Alone, the deforestation caused by cattle ranching is responsible for the release of 340 million tons of carbon to the atmosphere every year, equivalent to 3.4% of current global emissions. Beyond forest conversion, cattle pastures increase the risk of fire and are a significant degrader of riparian and aquatic ecosystems, causing soil erosion, river siltation and contamination with organic matter. Trends indicate that livestock production is expanding in the Amazon. Brazil has 88% of the Amazon herd, followed by Peru and Bolivia.
Rainforest Concern - What can we do to stop deforestation?
There are lots of other things you can do that will make a difference to the world’s rainforests, as well as your local environment. Below are listed a few of them: click on a heading to find out more. You will be surprised how your choices in a local shop or supermarket can affect forests half way across the world! And remember that it is just as important to look after your local wildlife and environment as it is to save rainforests. Next time you buy a hamburger from a big fast food chain, think about where the meat has come from... Travelling By cycling or walking instead of driving you will be reducing pollution and carbon dioxide emissions and therefore helping to combat global warming... Wood and timber - are they rainforest friendly? Once you start looking you'll be surprised at just how many wood products are made from rainforest trees such as mahogany or teak... Recycling Click here to find out more about recycling... Sponsor your own acre or more of rainforest!
The Health of the Earth & Its People
The wholesale industrialized exploitation of nature for short-term gain cannot be sustained; it is a major component of what we have termed agricide. The crime of agricide is perpetrated on a variety of fronts, and it's far-reaching consequences show that the health of earth and its inhabitants cannot be separated. EROSION & DEPLETION OF RESOURCES Agricide includes escalating soil erosion; the impoverishment and poisoning of the soil; the pollution of lakes, rivers, and oceans from the runoff of topsoil contaminated with chemicals; the destruction of groundwater sources from pollution and overuse; the use of nitrogenous fertilizers that are also implicated in the destruction of the earth's ozone layer; and the development of fast growing, high yield hybrid strains of crops and animals that are more susceptible to disease. The USDA estimates that cropland erosion is occurring in the United States at a rate of two billion tons of soil a year. According to Dr. H.
