Deforestation Flashcards
Definition
Long term reduction of tree canopy cover to below 10-30 per cent
Explain how this process leads to changing land cover
Lead to deforestation of land cover, which results to fragmentation
- removal of vegetation and tree canopy
human interconnection to process
Human
- Agriculture, agriculture expansion contributes to approximately 74% of the worlds population
- issues of land rights
- Wars and civil disruption
- economic growth, forests as a mean of alleviating poverty
:logging contributes to 19% of global deforestation, and fuel wood collection to 6%
:infrastructure projects
: between 1960 to 2000 population has doubled, leading to increase in industrialisation and agriculture
Natural causes
- wildfires
- climate change and El Niño
- pest invasions and disease outbreaks
Human significance
It is estimated that over the last 5000 years, humans have been accountable for approximately 1.8 billion hectares of deforestation.
In recent years the rate of deforestation has reached an annual loss of 13 million hectares world wide
Spatial technology
Aerial imaging- allows large areas of forest to economically and accurately surveyed
- remote sensing (aerial photography, radar, drones, satellite and lastly scanners)
Goes, can be used to classify and monitor forest cover and detect change
Impacts of deforestation
Resources and services (timber, water filtration, climate stability, erosion control, preservation or quality)
- crucial to sustenance of many natural processes on which life depends
Recreational, aesthetic, and cultural values
Refuge for wildlife
Benefits of intact forest
ENVIRONMENTAL
Mangroves protect coastal habitats from storms and tsunamis
- forests influence climate by providing shade, shelter from wind, and a source of atmosphere moisture
- forests contains approximately 80% or all terrestrial species
Benefits
ECONOMIC
Worldwide over 13.7 million people are employed on the formal forestry sector
- forest tourism has a positive effect in the economy, especially in the incomes of poor households
Benefits
SOCIAL
Approximately 60 million indigenous tribes maintain a connection with the land.
- live inside forests and are dependent on forests for their subsistence
Negative impacts
Ecosystem services forests
- humans have increased species extinction by 1000 times, 10% to 30% of mammal, amphibian, and bird species are currently threatened by extinction
- declining water quality
- carbon emissions, deforestation contributes to 10% of the worlds total carbon emission
Plants act as carbon sinks, reduces green house gas emissions
Responses to deforestation
UNFF, REDD
UNFF (United Nations Forum on Forests)
Established in 2000, it specifically addresses forest conservation on a global scale as its primary purpose
2006 4 global objectives of the UNFF
- Reverse the loss of forest cover worldwide through sustainable forest management
- Enhance forest- based economic, social and environmental benefits
- Increase significantly the area of sustainable managed forests
- Reverse the decline in offical development assistance for SFM and mobilise increase financial resource for implementation of SFM
2007, aims of initiative
- Strengthen political commitment and action at all levels to implement effectively sustainable management of all types of forests and to achieve the shared global objective on forests
- Enhance the contribution of forests. To the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the millennium development goals, imparticular with respect to poverty eradication and environmental sustainability
- To provide a framework for national action and international cooperations
