In a recent survey, only 28% of people were correct in knowing that 6 billion trees are cut down each year.
Deforestation is the clearing of the earth’s forests on a huge scale, often resulting in environmental and ecological damage. Forests cover about 30% of the world’s land scale, but are being dramatically decreased every year.
The most common reasons for deforestation include: making more land available for housing and urbanization and to harvest timber to create commercial items such as paper, furniture and materials for building a home. Methods for deforestation include the unethical practice of burning trees and clear cutting. Both processes leave the land completely barren and cause ecological trauma for both the nature and any surrounding animal habitats. 70% percent of the earth’s land animals and plants live in forests and many species cannot survive deforestation, resulting in species extinction.
Deforestation is also a major contributor to climate change. Forest soils retain moisture, but begin to lose this when trees no longer block and protect the soil from the absorption of direct sunlight. Trees also help perpetuate the water cycle by recycling water vapor back into the atmosphere. Without these important roles, the forest land can quickly become a barren desert. Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide gathers to form a layer in the atmosphere, trapping radiation from the sun. Plants remove and store carbon in the form of carbon dioxide during the process of photosynthesis. When deforestation occurs, trees release this carbon dioxide back into the environment, increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air.
Forests are complex ecosystems that affect all of the world’s species. Only 16.5% of a recent survey* were correct in thinking that 50,000 species are becoming extinct every year due to deforestation. With over 70% of the world’s plants and animals losing their habitats to deforestation, many species are becoming extinct. This also has an adverse effect on medicinal research and societies who rely on the animals and plants to live.
Many believe that in order to counter deforestation, we need to begin planting more trees. However, this action would not solve all of the existing problems. You can also attempt to prevent deforestation and lessen its existing impacts on the environment by:
- Planting your own trees
- Going paperless
- Recycling regularly and buying recycled products
- Considering the materials that you buy, especially when building or restoring your home. Look for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified products.
- Attempting to eat vegetarian food as often as possible.
More companies and major organisations are becoming aware of the issues, and are tackling the current problem by taking into account the methods listed above. If it’s something you are worried about, there are many initiatives all over the world in place to help combat the problems. Visit Green Peace, the Conservation Trust, the Tropical Forest Alliance and more.
*Online survey conducted for Oakwood Doors, created November 2016 and completed by 400 independent respondents. Oakwood Doors are an environmentally considerate company and hold a selection of FCS certified oak doors.