Causes
Deforestation is caused by a variety of factors that are frequently related. They encompass both direct human actions and indirect socioeconomic variables that lead to forest clearance and deterioration. The primary reasons are listed below:
1. Agricultural Expansion
The expansion of agriculture is one of the main drives of deforestation. The demand for food, fiber, and fuel is rising due to the ongoing expansion of the globe’s inhabitants. The conversion of woodlands into farmland is brought about this need. Both small-scale subsistence farming and large-scale commercial agriculture, such as cattle ranching and the cultivation of cash crops like soy and palm oil, are the major contributors. To create space for soyabean farms and grazing pastures, significant sections of rainforest are destroyed annually in places like the Amazon. Agricultural expansion and activity are associated with shifting cultivation, slashing and burning, inorganic chemicals like weedicides and insecticides are causing havoc. These end up rendering farmlands degraded incapable of producing more crops leading to the clearing of virgin forests annually, including the cutting down of naturally occurring economic forest trees like rosewood and shea trees CITATION Kye21 \l 4105 (Kyere-Boateng , Marek, 2021).
2. Logging (Legal and Illegal)
One major reason is logging behind the forests are being destroyed logging – cutting down trees for wood, paper, and other products. Some logging is legal and can be done in ways that protect the forest, but illegal logging is a major problem in many parts of the world. It happens mostly in places where the rules and regulations are not followed by people. In some tropical countries, over half of the wood comes from illegal logging, and the worldwide, it makes up around 30% of the industry.
Many trees are cut down because people want expensive hardwoods like teak, and rosewood. This high demand leads to too many trees being taken, often in ways that are not safe for the forest. Even selective logging, where only certain types of trees are removed, can still harm the forest. It creates paths and roads that break up the forest and make it easier for more people to come in and cut down even more trees (Deforestation. (2022). In World Book Student. World Book Inc.)
3. Urbanization and Infrastructure development
As more people move into cities and countries continue to develop, the demand for land grows. Unfortunately, this often means cutting down forests to make room for new buildings and roads. Urbanization is one of the main reasons forests are being destroyed today.
Although the expansion of highway infrastructure can explain part of the deforestation in 1970s and 1990s, when this expansion basically came to an end, but the rates of deforestation remained high CITATION Wil05 \l 4105 (William F. , Laurance, Schaeffer, 2005). The expansion in infrastructure is probably a consequence.
4. Fire (Natural and Human-Induced)
Fire plays a big role in the loss of forests, and it can be both caused by nature or started by people. In many parts of the world. Especially places like Brazil and Indonesia, farmers and landowners intentionally set forests on fire to clear the space for farming and for shelters. This is known as slash and burn farming. People cut down trees and the burn what’s left to make the soil ready for farming.
From a report, Brazil ranks among the top five largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. Seventy-five percent of Brazil’s emissions result from land use changes, mainly deforestation of tropical forest (UNFCCC 2004). The Brazilian amazon forest measured 4.18 million km square in the early 1970s. of this, 650000 km square or 15% - larger than France – has already been deforested CITATION Oli10 \l 4105 (Oliver Springate, 2010).