Impacts of deforestation

Question 1

Environmental impacts

Answer 1

• Deforestation leads to the loss of biodiversity by destroying the natural habitats of living species, separating connecting areas of rainforest and interfering with plant reproduction. This leads to a loss in the variety of plant and animal species found within the tropical rainforest.
• When canopy trees are removed as timber, many smaller trees and plants dependent on them for shade, support or moisture vanish. Animals dependent upon trees or other vegetation for food, shelter, water and breeding sites will also disappear.
• In addition, many rainforest species are restricted to relatively small areas and are found nowhere else. When these areas are logged or burned, they will also disappear.

Question 2

Economic

Answer 2

• Deforestation can rob a country of potential renewable revenues while replacing valuable productive lands with virtually useless grasslands and shrubs.

Logging activities are carried out in rainforests to meet the timber demand. However, most logging activities are not sustainable, as the rate of logging is more than the rate of forest regeneration. In the long run, less trees will be available for logging, resulting in less resources countries can make earnings from, decreasing profits made.

Besides timber products, tropical countries lose potential earnings from renewable forest products like Brazil nuts from the Amazon. Countries reliant on exports of rainforest materials will be negatively affected because of the dwindling availability of the materials from high levels of logging, as less money can be used for its developments and for some, removing their only means of accessing the cash economy.

Question 3

Social

Answer 3

Deforestation results in the loss of homes of the indigenous people, causing them greater hardship in their lives.
* The tropical rainforests serve as a home to millions of indigenous people, who make their living from using forest resources, by hunting and gathering food.
* * However, deforestation by loggers, colonizers or refugees sometimes triggers violent conflict. This also permanently removes these resources, also displacing the people from the forest.
* Without food and shelter, many of these indigenous cultures will disintegrate as the people will struggle to survive.

Question 4

list:

impacts of deforestation

Answer 4

environmental: depletion of water resources, climate change, loss of biodiversity, increased flood frequency
economic: destruction of renewable resources
social: impact on indigenous people