Reasons For Deforestation Flashcards
What are the six reasons for deforestation
Mining, crop growing, logging, energy production, cattle farming and road building
Why do people do it for road building
Roads are needed to bring equipment and transport products to markets, but road building means cutting great trails through the rainforest. In 1972, the trans american highway was built which is over 4000km long. This allowed for more people in the forest and more deforestation
Why do people do it for cattle farming
Large areas of the amazon have been cleared to make way for livestock rearing. The quality of the cattles feeding land (pastures) declines quickly, and they must move the cattle onto new areas which means cutting down more trees. This accounts for 65-75% of deforestation in Brazil
Why do people do it for energy production
An unlimited supply of water and ideal river conditions have encouraged dams to be built to generate hydro-electric power (HEP). This involves flooding vast areas of rainforest. This makes up 1-2% of deforestation in the amazon.
Why do people do it for logging
Logging is one of the smaller causes for deforestation with only 3% of the total loss coming from timber products. Timber companies are most interested in trees such as mahogany and teak and sell the wood to other countries to make furniture.
Why do people do it for crop growing
The forest is cleared to make way for vast plantations, where crops such as bananas, palm oil, pineapple, sugar cane, tea and coffee are grown. Around 20-25% of deforestation is due to crop growing
Why do people do it for mining
In the amazon, mining is mainly about gold. In 1999, there were 10,000 hectares of land being used for mining. Today, the area is over 50,000 hectares. The Rainforest suffers badly as large amounts are being cut down to make way for the mines. This only accounts for 1-2% of deforestation in the amazon
