What are you doing about deforestation?
Deforestation
Trees make up the bulk of the biomass on the Earth. Deforestation is the clearance of forest either to use the wood or to make way for agriculture. Logging is not considered deforestation if the forest is able to regenerate afterwards. Logging does degrade the quality of forest, however, by leaving only young trees and perhaps reducing the number of different species left. Selective logging of the most valuable trees does less harm, even though it creates considerable disturbance. Once loggers have moved on, the roads they build and leave make it more likely that other people will move in and further exploit the forest.
In some parts of the world, particularly Africa and Asia, the main purpose of deforestation is for subsistence farming. When land was plentiful, slash and burn farming could be sustained, but as populations increase, the forest does not get the chance to recover. Soil infertility and erosion follows, and increased run-off of water.
Another reason for clearing forests is to make large ranch lands for cattle, particularly in Brazil and Central America (often for beef burgers for the U.S. market).
One example of major deforestation occurred in New Zealand, which was settled by Polynesians (Maori) only 700 to 800 years ago, then by Europeans starting in the 1840's. By that time the number of Maori was no more than 200,000 (they declined to under 50,000 by 1881) and that of Europeans was 2,000. Since then the number of people of European decent has grown rapidly. The population is now over 4 million of which the Maori form 7.9%. The main reason for deforestation was to make way for cattle and sheep. 27% of New Zealand's forests (13% of the total land area) were cleared in the decade from 1890 to 1900 alone. Since humans arrived in New Zealand the indigenous forests have reduced from about 85% of the land area (23 million hectares) to 23% (6.2 million hectares). The forests that are left are fragmented, which reduces biodiversity. Many species on New Zealand were to be found nowhere else. Flooding increased after the wholesale clearance of forests and is a continuous drain on the New Zealand economy.
Other reasons for clearing forests are to plant crops such as rubber, oil palm, coffee and coconut, to exploit natural resources such as mineral deposits, and to make way for dams and roads and other large projects. Some crops can be very thirsty and need fertilizers and pesticides, causing further problems.
Some times the fires set to clear forest can get out of hand, particularly during major droughts such as in Indonesia in 1997, and cause the loss of huge tracts of forest as well as causing smog. This causes major problems for the wildlife, too.
Forests may also die off as a result of acid rain caused by sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and ozone.
The United Kingdom and many other industrialised countries also used to be heavily forested. Some of the older trees were used to build ships in the past. A lot of the forests went to fuel the industrial revolution.
Deforestation is not without consequences. Tropical forests contain 50 to 90% of the world's terrestrial species, so a loss of forest means a loss of biodiversity. One example where this is happening is shown by the plight of Monarch Butterflies in hte Americas. Deforestation in the parts of Mexico where the butterflies overwinter has reduced the numbers of monarchs in the eastern and central USA. Of course, this is not the only threat to the species.
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Deforestation can cause soil erosion, as can the damage done directly to the soil by the machinery used for selective logging. The erosion leads to increased sedimentation in rivers, interfering with the flow of rivers and with irrigation. Forests take up huge amounts of carbon dioxide (the remaining forests hold about 430 billion tonnes of carbon), so their loss contributes to global warming. It would take 70 or more years of fossil fuel burning to produce this amount of carbon. Whether the trees are burnt or allowed to rot, a good deal of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Global warming itself could cause changes to forests, as their composition changes with temperature.
Other nutrients in the plant are often lost through leaching leading to loss of fertility. Often local tribes such as those which have lived in the Amazon rain forest for millennia lose out, both in the land and their food sources and even spiritually and in their way of life. In India, traditional village forest management has been ruined by commercial cutting and there are shortages of wood for fuel and building. Legal ownership of the forests can be a problem, with native peoples having little recourse to the law even when they have been managing the forests for hundreds of years or more.
On Easter Island (Rapa Nui) the inhabitants kept on cutting down trees so they could move their huge statues until there were no trees left, not even for making the boats they needed to travel to other islands, so they became cut off. Mauritius and St. Helena also suffered greatly from deforestation. On islands, the silting up of rivers as a result of soil erosion is a particular worry since it can mean the loss of fresh drinking water altogether. It can also cause water shortage on areas of the mainland. These islands gave European colonists some of their first lessons in the need to work with nature rather than just exploit it.
About half of the rainfall in the Amazon is returned to the atmosphere by the trees, so deforestation reduces the amount of rainfall. In parts of Africa which are more than 1,000 km from the southern coast, it is believed that virtually all the rain comes frm the trees rather than the ocean. Mature trees can lift large quantities of water from deep underground. If the forests were lost it might be impossible to restore them.
Many of the world's major lakes and rivers have lost more or less 100% of the forest cover in their watersheds, including lake Chad and Lake Titicaca and the Limpopo, Niger, Volta, Amu Darya, Tigris, Euphrates and Rio Colorado rivers. The Nile has lost 91%, the Indus 90% and the Seine 93%. The Congo and the Yangtze have lost over 1 million km2, and the Ganges, Mekong, Ob, Volga, Mississippi, Amazon and Paraña rivers have lost between 500,000 km2 and 1 million km2.
The tropical rain forests of Central Africa, Central and South America, and South and South-east Asia account for nearly half of the world's forests now. Much of the remainder is a coniferous belt of forest across Canada, Russia and northern Europe.
The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) keeps statistics on the world's forests and deforestation. It estimates that between 1900 and 2000, a net of 12.5 million hectares of natural forests were lost per year. Defining what "forest" is, and measuring how much of it there is not an exact science, so there is some debate about the figures. Unfortunately how the estimates are made has varied over time, so it is not always easy to compare figures from different years, but the trends are often clear enough. These dasy satellites are often used for remote sensing of land usage.
Deforestation is adding to global warming, so it affects us all. One of the reasons for deforestation is our demand for products such as wooden furniture, beef burgers, rubber, palm oil, coffee and coconuts. Another is due to growing humans populations in some parts of the world, demanding more food, electricity and other resources. We can't simply blame the people doing the deforestation, even if some do it out of greed rather than necessity. We need to solve the underlying problems, whether by reducing our demands, or supplying contraceptives to burgeoning populations, or at least passing on the price. Loggers could be made to pay for the loss of carbon, and that cost could be passed on to their customers. Continued population growth won't help.
Brazil: Amazon Destruction Down Sharply
The government of Brazil estimates that 3,551 square miles of rain forest was destroyed in the past year, half of the estimate for the previous year. The Amazon in Brazil has already lost 20% of its 1.6 million square miles. The destruction is said to contribute to global warming.
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Recent news stories involving deforestation include:
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Evacuations Planned As Katrina Nears Coast, Hurricane Katrina aims for U.S. Gulf coast, A Look at the Impact of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricanes to Hit Fla. Since August 2004
Much of New Orleans and other low-lying Louisiana communities were being evacuated as hurricane Katrina approached as a category 4 storm. The Superdome in New Orleans was one of several shelters for people unable or unwilling to leave. Katrina killed 7 people in Florida before heading across the Gulf of Mexico. The last category 4 hurricane to hit Florida was Charley on August 13 2004 with maximum wind speeds of 150 mph and 35 deaths.
Residents return as Europe's flood waters recede
Flood waters are receding in Europe and people are beginning to return to their homes. There is a lot of clearing up to do and many are still without electricity and clean water.
Wildfire Burns Rural Homes in Oregon
A fast-moving 1,800-acre wildfire in southwestern Oregon has destroyed 5 homes and more have been evacuated.
Man, Dog Fend Off Bear Attack in Alaska
A man and his dog fought off a grizzly sow and her cub only 1,200 yards from suburban homes and lawns. The man was scratched and scraped; the dog was apparently unharmed.
Search for 'Spooked' Gator Is Called Off
The alligator released into Harbor City's Lake Machado, southern California, has not been seen since August 21. The search has been called off for now.
Animals in Advertising
A variety of animals have been used for advertisements. Which is your favourite?
Index of topics in this series.
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Here's the part of FEMA's National Situation Update for Saturday, August 27, 2005 relating to hurricane Katrina:
At 5 a.m. EDT, the eye of Hurricane Katrina was located by radar near latitude 24.4 north and longitude 84.4 west, about 435 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and about 165 miles west of Key West, Florida.
Katrina is moving toward the west-northwest near 7mph and a gradual turn to the west and west-northwest is expected during the next 24 hours.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 115 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 40 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 150 miles. Estimated minimum central pressure is 963 mb or 28.44 inches.
Katrina is now a Category Three hurricane and some strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours. Reconnaissance aircraft data indicates that the Katrina has also become a larger hurricane.
Storm surge flooding of 2 to 4 feet above normal levels can be expected along the southeast coast of Florida in areas of onshore flow east of Cape Sable and in Florida Bay. Storm surge will gradually subside today.
Rainfall from Katrina is expected to slowly diminish across the lower Florida Keys though an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible in some of the heavier rain bands. Isolated tornadoes are also possible this morning over the Florida Keys. (National Hurricane Center, media sources)
According to Gov. Blanco, Lake Pontchartrain is a very large lake that sits next to the city of New Orleans and if the hurricane winds blow from a certain direction, there are dire predictions of what may happen in the city.
Robert Latham, director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said evacuations of tourists along the coast could begin late Saturday afternoon, followed by mandatory evacuations of coastal residents on Sunday. The National Guard had been activated to help with storm preparations, he said.
The last time Mississippi or Louisiana saw landfall from a storm classified as Category 4 or stronger was in August 1969, when Hurricane Camille roared ashore with winds in excess of 155 mph, killing 143 people.
In the Gulf of Mexico, six oil companies operating offshore facilities evacuated at least 150 people as a precaution. However, most of those employees were described as "non-essential" to production, and rigs and platforms continued to operate.
At least 12 platforms and nine oil rigs in the Gulf have been evacuated -- a small portion of the 953 manned rigs and platforms operating there, according to the Interior Department's Mineral Management Service.
Friday afternoon, the Air Force began evacuating aircraft from at least two bases in the Florida Panhandle to minimize any possible damage. (Various media sources)
FEMA Headquarters:
The FEMA National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) remains at modified Level II operations with Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) 1 (with an Air Operations Element), 3, 4, 5, 7, 15, and a Military Liaison.
On Saturday, the NRCC will transition to a 24-hour Level I on Saturday, August 27 at 07:00 a.m. EDT. ESFs 2, 6, 8, 9, 10-15 and the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) are being activated.
FEMA Headquarters is conducting daily video-teleconferences with FEMA Region IV, the National Hurricane Center, Florida, and other potentially affected States.
FEMA Region IV:
The Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) remains at Level II operations. In addition to ESFs 1, 3, 4, 7, 14, 15 and the Department of Defense (DOD), ESF 6 has been activated. ESFs 2, 8, 9, 11, 12 and Rapid Needs Assessment are being activated.
RRCC Level I will be established on Saturday, August 27 at 12 p.m. EDT. Beginning Sunday, August 28 the RRCC will go to 24-hour operations.
An Emergency Response Team-Advance Element (ERT-A) from Region IX has been activated and will arrive to pre-stage in the RRCC on Saturday.
A request for a disaster declaration has been received from the Governor of Florida and acknowledged. Preliminary disaster assessments (PDAs) are being scheduled.
Alabama: Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will move to Level 1 (full activation) on Saturday. A FEMA Liaison and a full ERT-A has been requested and is scheduled to arrive on Saturday.
Florida: Florida’s EOC is at Level 1 (full activation). An ERT-A from the Long Term Recovery Center in Orlando has been sent to the EOC in Tallahassee.
Mississippi: EOC is at Level 1 (normal) Operation.
Georgia: EOC continues operating at Level I (monitoring).
South Carolina: EOC currently operating at Level 5 (normal). (FEMA Region VII)
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South: Scattered thunderstorms will move down through the Tennessee Valley on Saturday ahead of a cold front. Isolated, strong thunderstorms may show up around the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. It will be hot in areas from Texas to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.. Midwest: A cold front will trigger showers and thunderstorms through the Midwest from the eastern Great Lakes to the middle Mississippi Valley on Saturday. A few thunderstorms could turn severe from the Ohio Valley to the eastern Great Lakes. The Plains will be dry, allowing flood waters across Kansas and Missouri to recede and river levels to lower. High temperatures will range from the 70s from the eastern Great Lakes back to Minnesota with 80s in most other locations.
Northeast: In central to northern New England it will be warm to hot with plenty of sunshine raising the high temperatures 5 to 10 degrees above average. Although the majority of the region will be dry, showers and some thunderstorms will track eastward into western Virginia, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, and southwestern New York, especially during the afternoon hours.
West: Except for southern Colorado and parts of New Mexico, the West will be dry on Saturday. Temperatures will be very hot in the Southwest with a possible high of 110 degrees around Phoenix. Highs may also reach 100 degrees over parts the Sacramento Valley while the LA Basin will hover in the low 90s. A cold front will bring much cooler temperatures and showers to parts of the Pacific Northwest late in the weekend into Monday. (Various media sources)
Here's the press release for President Bush's declaration of a state of emergency in Louisiana relating to hurricane Katrina. Note, it does not appear to include the counties nearest the coast.
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