Todd Nichols

Deforestation is a difficult environmental issue for us to solve that effects all life on earth, with consequences coming from whether we choose to try solve it or whether we choose to ignore it.

Firstly, deforestation will deplete a majority of our essential resources. It devastates biodiversity and destroys our natural habitats. With a constant rising in today’s population people are depending on forests for their food, fuel and livelihoods.

The real economic value of forests is far greater than the short-term benefits of deforesting, in other words Deforestation has caused $ 2 trillion to $4.5 trillion dollars in loss of biodiversity each year. By the year 2030 there may only be 10% of the world’s rainforests left.

Also, deforestation will cause thousands of animal and plant species to become extinct. Like previously mentioned companies are cutting down trees and destroying habitats to create more space to grow crops and build more housing to accommodate for the fast growth in population. Which in doing so also destroys the habitats of many species of animal forcing them to relocate. Due to these animals not being able to adapt to their new surroundings they die out and become extinct.

As evidence Indonesia and Malaysia produce more than 85% of the world’s palm oil, but the area they are destroying to do so is the only remaining home for the Sumatra orangutans. Their habitat is under constant threat of deforestation and as few as 13,000 still exist today.

Finally, Deforestation is leading us into a climate emergency. These trees that are getting chopped down are not just providing us with resources but are also keeping us alive. Trees filter out carbon dioxide from the air we breathe, with fewer trees on our planet the less oxygen with be produced. Furthermore, trees and plants soak up water from our soil to prevent it from becoming oversaturated therefore deforestation will also increase flooding.

Tropical rainforests are often called the “lungs of our planet” because they draw in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, with the amazon forest being a big contributor.

Without a doubt, deforestation is very harmful to our community we can try slow it down by recycling and living a more sustainable lifestyle. But if we wish to truly stop it, we’ll need to first address overpopulation so we will have less need to cut down our forests in the first place.