User talk:Westine001

Author: Eastine Charles Taneo

Date published: March 10, 2012

Deforestation has important implications for life on this planet. The transformation of forested lands by human actions represents one of the great forces in global environmental change and one of the great drivers of biodiversity loss. The impact of people has been and continues to be profound. Forests are cleared, degraded and fragmented by timber harvest, conversion to agriculture, road-building, fire, and in other ways. The effort to use and subdue the forest has been a constant theme in the transformation of the earth, in many societies, in many lands, and at most times.

Forests are habitats and shelters to millions of species, reduce flooding, soil conserver, provide products for human use and consumption, give valuable ecosystem services. They are home to more than half of all species living on land. They also play several roles in the flooding because trees hold and use more water than farms or grasslands. With enough water, the river must rise above its banks and flood. The faster water runs from the watershed into the river, the higher a flood will be. Tree roots hold the soil in place, reducing the movement of sediment that can shrink river channels downstream and it can prevent soil erosion. Forests provide useful wood products. Roundwood can be processed into building materials, or made into plywood products, furniture, etc.

The following are factors of deforestation: logging, fires, urban construction, agriculture and commercial purposes.

The first factor of deforestation is logging. Logging, both legal and illegal, is the cutting, skidding of trees in the forest. It is one of the major causes of deforestation in the world today. Trees that are cut-down are usually used by humans to trade. The logs are then generally transported to a saw mill to be cut into timber, a paper mill for paper pulp, of for other purposes like fence posts (Glastra, 1999). Logging is also tagged to the term “clearcutting”. It is a harvest method that removes essentially all the standing trees in a selected area (Glastra, 1999). A “clearcut” may or may not have reserve trees left to attain goals other than regeneration.

There are different logging methods applied and some of these are “tree-length logging”, “full-tree logging”, and “cut-to-length logging”. Tree-length logging is a mechanized form of logging that involves felling and topping trees at the stump inside the cutblock or by the roadside (Wiki, 2009). The felled trees are then transported to the roadside or a landing site for hauling to a mill. Full-tree length is defined as trees are felled and transported to roadside with branches and top intact (Pulkki, no date). Transporting trees to the roadside is mainly by cable or grapple skidders. Cut-to-length method is trees are cut-off above the stump with stump height less than one-half butt diameter and bucked to various assortments directly in the stump area.

The second factor of deforestation is fire. Forest fire is often used to signify an uncontrolled intense fire that breaks out in the wooded areas, grasslands, bushes, scrublands and peats due to many factors ranging from natural to man-made causes. It can easily spread to a vast area. It can also change its direction and overcome barriers like rivers and roads. Some of the causes of forest fires are natural such as lightning, and human activities and negligence like camp fire, lighted cigarettes (Bora, 2011) and kaingin system. Natural causes like lightning burns the trees and fire easily spread into the area. About 14% of forest fires are due to lightning strikes (Dunn, 2009). Human activities and negligence are about 86% of forest fires (Dunn, 2009). Tourists or smokers sometimes leave camp fires or drop lighted items like cigarettes and matches in the forests which can easily set nearby bushes on fire and further develops into huge forest fire. On the other hand, kaingin or “slash-and-burn farming” system is an agricultural technique which involves intentional cutting and burning of trees in the forests to create fields. It includes a diverse collection of farming systems from long fallow shifting cultivation to short fallow shifting cultivation to forest pioneer farming. Unlike traditional farming methods that were used in harmony with the forests recuperative capacity, current slash-and-burn farming depletes the very soil resource upon which all agriculture and forestry depend. One of the strong commonalities of all slash-and-burn farmers is that they are among the poorest, most marginalized groups of their societies and have little or no influence on the important land use policy decisions made in their countries.

The third cause of deforestation is urban construction. Forests are the way for residential houses, building and factories. Roads are building for trading and easier transports. This has made possible the needs of the social groups in the society. The cutting down of trees for lumber that is used for building materials, furniture, and paper products have a major impact on forest life. Forests are cleared to accommodate expanding urban areas.

The fourth cause of deforestation is converting the forest to agricultural land. Trees in the forests are cut down to clear land for growing crops, build farms, ranches and other food growing lands. The economic consequences of deforestation and the process of becoming peasants are devastating. In contrast to the rich variety of foods the forest people are accustomed to plowing fields and peasants specialize in just four crops: rice, corn, tomatoes, and onions (Schelgel, 1999). Hunting and fishing and gathering played almost no role at all in the cleared regions. The forests are gone and the rivers and creeks are seriously depleted. Commercial agriculture's role in deforestation is two-fold. First, agribusiness can indirectly result in deforestation. Commercial farms occupy the best and most fertile agricultural soils located in the valleys. This land is not available to the growing rural population that depends on agriculture for their subsistence. Without access to farmland in their immediate area, farming families have had to relocate to less fertile and less productive forested land. Second, agribusiness can be a direct cause of deforestation. Through a concession agreement, land purchase, or an informal land occupation; companies take possession of forested land with the intention of converting it to another use.

The fifth cause is cattle ranching and livestock grazing. A cattle ranching is a major cause of deforestation. Ranchers occupy large tracts of forests and clear the land themselves or they buy the improvements made by small farmers. Traditionally, ranchers favored the more easily managed range and pasture lands of the dry forest zones, but for the last four decades there has been intensive clearing of the forests. Open-range grazing as is practiced in the dry woodlands can be a major contributor to deforestation when herd populations exceed the carrying capacity of the range. It can also seriously degrade the composition and quality of the forest when practiced too intensively. The sixth cause of deforestation is mining and oil exploration that are locally important to deforestation. Large mines consumed vast quantities of indigenous woodlands to supply fuel to their smelting operations before plantations of fast-growing species were established (Lovekar, 2011). Oil exploration activities, such as the clearing of the seismic lines in the forests not only destroy the forests but also open them up to colonization by subsistence farmers who follow the exploration crews. The impact of gold mining has been widely publicized but its negative impacts have affected the indigenous peoples and the quality of the water more than the adjacent forests.

The effects of deforestation may include loss of topsoil, disruption of the water cycle, loss of biodiversity, loss of potential discoveries, flooding and drought and climate change.

First effect of deforestation is the loss of topsoil. Deforestation results in rapid degradation of nutrient rich topsoil. Heavy rainfall and high sunlight quickly damage the topsoil in clearings of forests. When these forests are cut-and-burnt, nutrients are released in the form of ash (Schlegel, 1999). This allows for a year or two of good crop on the newly cleared virgin land but eventually the nutrients will be washed away by the heavy tropical rain.

Second effect of deforestation is the disruption of the water cycle. In the water cycle there are only a few processes that give water back to the atmosphere, such as transpiration, expiration and evaporation. Transpiration is the process by which water is loss from plants to the atmosphere (Starr, 2006). So, if plants are removed, especially at a high rate such as deforestation, there will be less water returning in the atmosphere. This will eventually cause a reduction in the amount of water returning the earth's surface such as the seas, lakes, rivers etc.

Third effect is the loss of biodiversity. Biodiversity is the sum of all species occupying a specified area during a specified interval, past as well as present (Starr, 2006). Deforestation affects biological diversity by the destruction of natural habitats, which forces species out of their native areas. Isolation and fragmentation restrict their range, forcing them into unnatural and restrictive habitats, which may lead to their extinction. Temperature changes caused by loss of the protective canopy of the forest also contribute to this. Deforestation through clear-cutting creates a patched look to the landscape. Not only is this unpleasant to the eye, but it is terrible to the local wildlife. For other species, fragmented landscapes become population sinks that are sustained by immigration from nearby forest tracts (Schlegel, 1999).

The fourth effect is the loss of potential discoveries. There is the possibility that the basic elements of potential medical treatments, cures and vaccines may lie undiscovered within these environments. The key active ingredient in one-fourth of the world’s prescription and non-prescription drugs come from plants growing in tropical rain forests. Fewer trees translate into an insecure future for forest workers. Some indigenous peoples’ way of life and survival are threatened by the loss of forests. Often, the stakeholders associated with forest areas are not always consulted before clearcutting occurs. This has sometimes lead to non-violent and violent confrontation and fueled bitter rivalries between area residents, the forest sector and environmentalists.

The fifth effect is flooding and drought. One of the functions of forests is to absorb and store great amounts of water quickly when there are heavy rains. When the trees are cut down, it will not regulate or hold the flow of the water which leads to flooding and alters to drought. Deforestation causes a lack of soil cohesion and, because tree roots absorb water from the soil and allow it to absorb more water, it creates an ideal environment for flooding. A flat, treeless surface is perfect for flash floods. Flash flood has been the deadliest disaster that struck and killed hundreds of people in the cities of Cagyan de Oro and Iligan (Villanueva, 2011) last December 2011.

The sixth effect of deforestation is global warming. Global warming is a phenomenon (greenhouse effect) whereby solar radiation that has reflected back off the surface of the earth remains trapped at atmospheric levels, due to the build-up of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, rather than being emitted back into space (Starr, 2006).

The major greenhouse gases and their sources/causes are:

Carbon dioxide (CO2) -Fossil fuel, deforestation, animal respiration.

Methane (CH4) -Cattle, rice paddies, gas leaks, termites, mining

Nitrous oxide (N2O) -Burning of fossil fuels, deforestation.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) -Air conditioning, solvents

Ozone (O3) and other trace gases -Car exhaust, power plants, photochemicals.

Global temperature is also rising. Different studies have shown the world’s average temperature has risen by 0.5o F-1.0o F on an average (Lovekar, 2011). The rise in the mean surface air temperature over the past hundred years supports this long term estimate. It is unknown whether the rise is part of Earth’s natural climate cycle or a result of the increase in greenhouse gases from human activity. A study in Canada, analyzing ground surface temperature, has found a one to two degree increase in ground surface temperature at the time of deforestation at each site (Swemson, 2011).

The possible ways to protect and preserve the forests may include the following: reforestation, educating the farmers about deforestation, strict implementation of law about the problem, sustainable forest and water management.

The first way is reforestation. It is causing a forest to occur again. This can be done by letting deforested land go fallow for several years or by replanting native species in open areas or adjacent to remaining forest. Here in Mindanao, some government and non-government organizations are doing tree planting projects. They plant trees to lessen the effect of climate change and recover what has been damaged by logging in the forest. The Philippine government supplies the seedlings but according to Pres. Benigno Aquino III there is an inadequate supply of seedlings that we could use in the country (Porcalla, 2011).

The second way is educating the farmers. There are peasant farmers who have left their traditional farm lands in search of new opportunities on the forest frontier. With a growing local population, restricted access to arable land, and few economic alternatives they have been forced to migrate to forested state lands to establish a new farm and homestead. They become prisoners of illiteracy and endemic poverty, and driven by the lack of access to arable lands and the lack of alternative employment opportunities, subsistence farming families must survive by clearing the forests to plant their crops. Though education, they can be responsible farmers. They must know the importance of our forests. The government may also give them alternative source of income like sustainable livelihood projects instead of clearing the forest to be converted in agricultural lands.

The third way is the strict implementation of the laws concerning about deforestation. The authorities must strictly impose penalties to the one who breaks the law. Here in our country, Philippines, these are examples of the law of our government to fight deforestation: DENR Memorandum No. 52 and Executive Order No. 23.

DENR(Department of Environment and Natural Resources) Memorandum No. 52 is limiting the processing of application permits of forest tenure holders within their plantation sites only (Villanueva, 2011). Environment and Natural Resources Ramon Paje announced last year, 2011, that chainsaws, bulldozers graders, and other logging tools and implements are now off-limits in natural and residual forests nationwide.

Executive Order No. 23 is declaring a logging ban. President Benigno Aquino III issued the ban after visiting the provinces hit by floods and landslides in the country.

The fourth way is sustainable forest and water management. According to Dr. Victor Rex Cruz, dean of the UP College of Forestry and Natural Resources, a sustainable forest management program to put in a place to assure sustainable harvest from natural forest, more investments in plantations and tree industries, and protection of watershed and protected areas while assuring the continuity of forest products and environmental services from all types of forests (Porcalla, 2011).

Therefore, deforestation has a great impact in our society. It threatens not only biodiversity but it also endangers us humans which should protect the forest. It is true that it gives economic improvement to us but it also gives bad environmental effects. Controlling the problem is not a simple matter of enacting new laws and enforcing new regulations because laws and regulations already exist. What we need to do is to follow and obey this laws and regulations to lessen the bad effects of deforestation. We should be part of the solution and not adding to the problem.

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