Deforestation is one of the biggest threats of direct destruction to our environment perpetuated predominately by humans. The goal of this Ecological Dangers series is to highlight some of the threats to overall sustainability around the globe and shine light on ways to fight back.

What is Deforestation?

As you might already know, deforestation is simply the act of removing a forest. This means chopping down all trees and leveling the land, which is then used for things like farmland, livestock grazing, and construction of roads and other infrastructure. It can also be used for industrial or residential purposes. A wooded area may also be deforested by a logging company that utilizes the wood. A lot of times, more than one of these possibilities are true.

You may be thinking: farmland, new roads, and space for livestock all sound like good things. Even industrial purposes can be useful, right? We all shop at stores run by large scale corporations. A lot of us even work for them. However, deforestation has been going on for many decades and has now come to a point of crescendo. If something isn’t done soon, we will lose all of our forests completely (aside from those protected by state and national parks and wildlife reserves.) After that, even those protected forests may be in jeopardy.

The Benefits of Our Forests

To highlight the danger of deforestation, I’ve compiled a short list of the benefits our forests bring to us.

• Air and water purity
  • Trees and other forest-bound plants purify our oxygen and water, acting as a natural filter to the many pollutants in our world.
• Biodiversity
  • Many creatures can only live in the forests, and without their habitat, they will go extinct. This is especially true for rare animals living in tropical rainforests. In the past 50 years, over 17% of the Amazon rainforest has been removed from existence.
• Cultural Preservation
  • Many Indigenous communities have deep connections to the American forests being chopped down every day. They are a deep part of our history that should not be overlooked.
• Rural Life
  • Without forests and other natural features of the earth, we will slowly devolve into a dystopian cityscape. By neglecting nature, the man made will rule. Hundreds of millions of people have forests on their property. Without these, our way of life will not be the same.
• More
  • These few reasons are just the tip of the iceberg for why forests matter. Check the references at the bottom of the page for more places to research!

How You Can Help

• Buy land to preserve
  • There are thousands of acres of forest currently for sale in the United States and beyond. If you are in a position to purchase land, consider a wooded area that may need your help to stay that way!
• Donate to national parks and other forests funds
  • There are plenty of funds out there that can be found by a simple google search. Many are nonprofit organizations that need donations more than ever.
• Take action in your community
  • If deforestation is happening in your area, say something! Petition your local government and find like-minded people who care about the environment.
• Plant trees
  • Although no one person can match the number of trees being cut down, every tree planted is a step in the right direction.

References

‌Slavikova, S. P. (2018, March 16). 15 Strategies to Reduce Deforestation | Greentumble. GreenTumble; GreenTumble. https://greentumble.com/15-strategies-to-reduce-deforestation

World Wildlife Fund. (2018, December 4). Deforestation and Forest Degradation. World Wildlife Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation

‌