Weekend Engagement - The Price to Pay for Deforestation

The Legitimacy of Deforestation

The prompt for this week's post is on the legitimacy of a number of topics which I have chosen Deforestation.

Is it legitimate? I certainly do not think so. In this post, I will discuss some possible reasons that could justify its legitimacy but in the later sections I will also be sharing on why I strongly feel that Deforestation is illegitimate.

Some Possible Legitimate Reasons

1. Creating space for housing or infrastructure
   When there is a growing population, there will be need to build new homes or expand existing urban areas. Corresponding amenities also expand in the form of roads, malls, power stations, airports etc. And in order make space to build these houses and amenities, forested areas will be cleared, reducing our green spaces.

2. Land Requirement for Farming
   This is another area that results in forest being cleared up. With a growing population, we also need to keep them well fed, hence more land has to be cleared in order to create farm spaces for crops or animal rearing.

3. Land Requirement for Mining
   The ever growing demand in technology means there will be mining activities to seek out rare metals because these are being used in the manufacturing of semiconductor products. In order to set up mining sites, land will be cleared.

My Response to these Possible Legitimate Reasons
The below mentions the various methods to overcome the above needs as there can be more ways to meet the needs above.

1. Responsible Land Planning and Sustainable Development
   Urbanization/Home Building/City Planning needs to be done in a careful and sustainable manner. There should be a comprehensive plan that takes into account the environmental impact of the development, and efforts should be made to minimize the amount of forest land that is cleared. City planning also need to prioritize infill development. This involves using existing urban spaces more efficiently, rather than expanding into undeveloped land. Another option is to explore green infrastructure options that incorporate natural areas and preserve important ecological features instead of clearing them.

2. Agroforestry
   Moving towards agroforestry that integrates trees, crops, and livestock. It can help to reduce deforestation by providing farmers with an alternative to clearing forests for agriculture. Trees can be used for shade, timber, fuelwood, and other products, while crops and livestock can be grown or raised between them.

3. Sustainable Mining Practices
   Adopt sustainable practices that minimize the impact of mining activities on the environment, such as reducing waste, using less water, and restoring mined areas to their natural state.

Price to Pay for Deforestation
While needs can have alternative methods to make land clearing more sustainable, the price to pay for deforestation is huge.

1. Climate Change
   Loss of forest results in the lack of a carbon dioxide sink, thereby carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, with more of it in the atmosphere, worsens greenhouse effect, which leads to further global warming.

2. Water Cycle Disruption
   Forest plays a part in water absorption after rainfall. Without forest, there will be a disruption in the water cycle across places, leading to increased flooding and soil erosion in some areas, and drought in others.

3. Soil Erosion/Degradation
   Forest play a major role in maintaining soil fertility, and their removal can lead to soil erosion, reduced soil quality, and decreased agricultural productivity. With the worsen of the soil quality, desertification will occur, which is irreversible.

4. Biodiversity Loss/Animal Extinction
   The forest is home to many animals and plants. Deforestation destroys many living habitats and ecosystem and will lead to extinction of these animals and plants. Quoting World Wildlife Fund website, "The rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. Experts calculate that between 0.01 and 0.1% of all species will become extinct each year."

Concluding Words
While we cannot totally eradicate the need to clear land for livelihood, space for living, food production and obtaining materials, deforestation is an irreversible process which is really illegitimate. Conservation efforts needs to ramp up and time is not on our side. The speed of deforestation is way faster than how conservation efforts. Thus in view of this, more efforts needs to be around to deter and regulate against deforestation so that conservation/renewal efforts can be truly replenish the harm that mankind had done to the environment.

I still remember as a student, during Geography lesson, my teacher always asked how can we prevent deforestation and one of my classmates always will shout out, "Plant more trees!" So while we recognize the need for more trees, trees needs time to grow and we need to slow down all the uprooting we are doing to the forest.

Thank you for reading my post and hope you'll also keep a lookout towards sustainable products and reduce wastage to prevent more land required to be cleared up. And when there are conservation causes being put up, give them your support! Cheers and have a blessed weekend.