Background:

Picture this:  Tall trees all around while walking through a warm tropical climate.  Leaves underneath your feet, you gaze with astonishment at the scenery, and just take in the magnificent diversity of the environment.  Hey!  Watch your step… you don’t want to step on the barely visible Montage d’ Ambre or the marvelously camouflaged poison arrow frog!  You wouldn’t want to ruin this one-of-a-kind atmosphere, would you?

                                

                     Montage d’ Ambre                                                                          poison arrow frog

Unfortunately, upon where one decides to step during their journey through the tropical rainforest bears little significance. However, what does have an impact?  Rainforest destruction or deforestation has been occurring since the beginning of time with rates reaching their highest in the past 30 years (Mowbray, 2000).  Rainforests, which once covered 14 percent of the earth’s land surface, now cover a mere 5 to 7 percent of it due to these occurances.  In fact, experts estimate that if the rates of deforestation, as well as the current behavior of human beings continues, the last remaining rainforests could be exhausted in less than 40 years! (Gillian)

Reasons for and Impacts of Deforestation:

 Reasons for Deforestation:

"Deforestation is the inevitable result of the current social and economic policies being carried out in the name of development." -- from An Emergency Call to Action for the Forests and Their Peoples (Revington, 1992)

            Deforestation, which is defined as “the process in which a forest is cut down, burned, or damaged,” occurs for numerous reasons – one of the major reasons being commercial logging, which is “cutting [down] trees for sales as timber or pulp” (MSU).  Commercial logging is the main cause of rainforest destruction in South East Asia and Africa.  In fact, commercial logging is solely responsible for the clearing of over 5 million hectares worldwide per year.   (Revington, 1992).  Next, commercial logging depends on heavy machinery and the use of “bulldozers, road graders, and log skidders,” to carry out the destruction of rainforests.  These machines cause irreversible damage to the rainforest and the overall mutilation is comparable to the effects a “chainsaw” has on a single “tree”  (Urquhart).  Equally important, The World Rainforest Movement (WRM) claims that “virtually all rainforest lands are managed by and provide for local cultures.”  In commercial logging, however, the “manage[ment]” of the rainforests by the local cultures (who have a sincere interest in preserving their habitat) shifts to those who are “interested only in destroying” the rainforest for a “short  term profit”  (Revington).    

Another reason for why deforestation occurs is cattle ranching, which is especially prevalent in Central and South America.  Since 1950, “two-thirds of lowland tropical forests have been turned into pastures” (Revington).  Typically, poor farmers “[destroy] a small area of land and burn the tree trunks” – a process known as “slash and burn” agriculture (MSU).  While these ranches often provide to the world market of meat, in Brazil, cattle ranching is used as a way to claim title to land (Revington). 

A few other reasons for deforestation include the building of new towns, in which tropical forests are chopped down to make room for and provide supplies for developing these towns. Secondly, although accounting for a small fraction of deforestation, flooding, caused by the construction of dams also contributes to the destruction of the tropical rainforests. 

Impacts of Deforestation:

 

            According to Keith Cleversley (2004), “we are losing Earth’s greatest biological treasure [tropical rainforests] just as we are beginning to appreciate their true value.”  Rainforests, which once covered 14 percent of the earth’s land surface now cover a mere 5 to 7 percent.  Some estimate that “one and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second” (Cleversley, 2004).  In support of this, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that “an area of tropical forest large enough to cover North Carolina” is destroyed every year due to deforestation (Urquhart, 2003).  Most importantly, it is estimated that if the rates of deforestation continue, the rainforests could be depleted in less than 40 years (Cleversley, 2004). 

Adverse Effects on Terrain:

            As stated earlier, one of the main reasons for deforestation is long-term farming and ranching.  The land of the tropical rainforests, however, does not support this activity.  According to CIDA Forestry Advisers Network (CFAN), the carrying capacity of tropical rainforest soil cannot sustain the intensive annual cropping, and this activity only leads to irreversible damage to the earth.  Furthermore, the sad fact remains that the “intensive cattle grazing” which is going on in developing countries cannot be supported by the inarable land that does not support the same “productivity levels” of grass growth (CFAN, 2003).

Social consequences:

            The consequences for the locals of tropical rainforests are disastrous, which is exemplified by the earlier mentioned fact that the local cultures who should be maintaining their land are not empowered to do so.  Even big companies including Mitsubishi Corporation, Gerogia Pacific, Texaco and Unocal participate in the deforestation of tropical rainforests for their businesses (Cleversley, 2004).

            For the indigenous communities of the rainforest, the onset of “civilization” actually means the “destruction” of the local people’s culture, traditions, and “social institutions” (CFAN, 2003).  These outsiders, who are shortsightedly focused on the monetary value of deforestation, do not consider the damaging impacts they have on the societies of the rainforest.  The inhabitants of the rainforest find themselves in “violent confrontations” against slash-and-burn farmers and ranchers simply to prevent their land, “customs,” and “religious beliefs” from being further obliterated.  This violence, which is brought about by deforestation, further illustrates the turmoil which deforestation has brought to the societies of the rainforest.  (CFAN, 2003).

As devastating as these consequences are, there is one outcome of deforestation that some argue is the “most serious and most short-sighted consequence” of all (CFAN, 2003).  This most serious of consequence is the biodiversity loss that occurs as a result of tropical deforestation.

Deforestation and Biodiversity:

There are estimates ranging from 2 to 100 million species of plants and animals making up the “biodiversity” of the world (most scientists believe the actually number of species to be between 10 and 30 million)!  The tropical rainforests, which currently cover 2 percent of the entire Earth’s surface and 5 to 7 percent of the total dry surface, hold over half of all the species on the planet (Lovejoy 1997).  Amazingly, of the millions of species believed to be in the tropical rainforest, scientists have only given names to about 1.5 million (Stork 1997).  Even fewer of these species have been studied in depth (less than one percent of the total species) disregarding their possible significance to mankind (Raintree,1996).  (MSU)

Next, consider these astounding facts:

• A single pond in Brazil can sustain a greater variety of fish than are found in all of Europe's rivers;

• A twenty-five acre plot of rainforest in Borneo may contain over seven hundred species of trees - a number equal to the total tree diversity of North America;

• A single rainforest reserve in Peru is home to more species of birds than the entire United States;

• One single tree in Peru was found to harbor forty-three different species of ants, approximately the entire ant species in the British Isles.

• Scientists have a better understanding of how many stars there are in the galaxy than how many species there are on Earth!!!                                                                    
  • (Raintree, 1996)

    So, how many species are lost every year?  Experts have estimated that we are losing 137 plant, animal, and insect species every day due to tropical deforestation.  This equates to about 50,000 species per year, many of which that have “never been catalogued scientifically” (CFAN, 2003).  Additionally, many plants and animals of the rainforest require the specific environment of the tropics for survival.  For this reason, many species are extremely susceptible to extinction due to tropical deforestation.  (MSU)

Importance of Biodiversity:

"The worst thing that can happen during the 1980's is not energy depletion, economic collapses, limited nuclear war, or conquest by a totalitarian government. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired within a few generations. The one process ongoing in the 1980's that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly that our descendants are least likely to forgive us for."  (Raintree, 1996)

                                         - Edward O. Wilson, Hardvard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist

As advocated by Wilson, the biodiversity loss due to deforestation is not only one of the “worst” things that can happen to the future of our planet, but something that cannot be “repaired within a few generations.”  With the limited knowledge of the rainforest, there have already been major discoveries that affect everyone worldwide.  At least 80 percent of developed nation’s diets originate from the tropical rainforest.  Some of the many foods and beverages in this diet include coconuts, oranges, lemons, bananas, corn, rice, sugar, chocolate, and coffee!  More amazingly, the developed nations only consume 200 of the 3,000 different fruits in the rainforest (Raintree, 1996).

As the rainforest species disappear, so do many possible cures for illness and life-threatening diseases.  Presently, there are 121 prescription drugs sold worldwide that come from plant-derived sources.  Moreover, 25% of “Western pharmaceuticals” contain elements derived from “rainforest ingredients” (Raintree, 1996).  As mentioned less than one percent of the total species and their possible significance to mankind have been studied.  Next, the U.S. National Cancer Institute has identified 3000 species of plants that are active against cancer cells – 70 percent of which have been found to be in the rainforest. Additionally, 25 percent of the active ingredients in cancer fighting drugs used today come from species found solely in the
rainforest (Raintree, 1996).

What the Future holds:

            The deforestation of the tropical rainforests is a threat to all life worldwide.  Albert Einstein once claimed, “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.”  This is definitely true with tropical deforestation and it is suggested that because the “loss of rainforests” are driven by such “complex factors,” the solution to these problems must be equally, if not probably more complex.  (Urquhart, 2003)

            The future requires solutions considering the logic of Edward O. Wilson and Keith Cleversley; realizing the importance and benefits of sustaining tropical rainforests as opposed to destroying them and losing incalculable opportunities.

            Finally, I challenge the reader to picture this:

Not a tree in sight as you shuffle over the ashes where culture and diversity once flourished.  Your child looks at the ground and wonders “where did all this ash come from?”  Hey…  Watch your step!  You don’t want to stumble on all the debris and fragments left over by deforestation…

 

Reference:

CIDA Forestry Advisers Network (CFAN) (August 2003).  Deforestation: Tropical
Forests in Decline. Retrieved April 15, 2004, from
http://www.rcfa-cfan.org/english/issues.12-1.html
 

Clear-Cutting (2002).  Retrieved April 15, 2004, from
http://www.junglephotos.com/conservation/deforestation/lonehut.html

Cleversley, Keith (n.d.).  The Disappearing Rainforests.  Retrieved April 15, 2004, from
http://www.cleversley.com/rainforeststats.htm

Gillian, S. (n.d.) Tropical Rainforests and Their Vulnerability. 
Retrieved April 15, 2004, from
http://www.main-vision.com/richard/tropical1.htm

Lovejoy, T. E. 1997. Biodiversity: what is it? Pp. 7-14 in M. L. Reaka-Kudla et al. (Eds) Biodiversity II: Understanding and Protecting our Natural Resources. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.

Mowbray, Robert (2000, June 23).  Re: Rainforest Truth!  Retrieved April 15, 2004, from
http://csf.colorado.edu/bioregional/2000/msg00434.html

MSU.  Rainforest Report Card:  Deforestation of Tropical Rain Forests.
Retrieved March 17, 2004, from
http://www.bsrsi.msu.edu/rfrc/deforestation.html
 

Revington, John (1992, February).  The Causes of Tropical Deforestation:
World Rainforest Report.  Retrieved April 15, 2004, from
http://www.ru.org/32defore.html

Urquhart, Gerald, W. Chomentowski, D. Skole, & C. Barber (2003 August).  National Air and Space Administration: Tropical Deforestation.  Retrieved March 17, 2004, from
http://www.policyalmanac.org/environment/archive/tropical_deforestation.shtml