effects of deforestation on wildlife essay

What is deforestation and how does it impact wildlife?

Deforestation is one of the most critical issues threatening biodiversity and the health of our planet. The loss of forests jeopardises the survival of countless plant and animal species worldwide. In this blog post, we explore everything you need to know about the causes and effects of deforestation and what urgent conservation action is needed to protect our planet’s rich biodiversity.

IFAW is an international organisation that works to protect wildlife and their habitats around the world. As deforestation is one of the biggest threats to wildlife, some of our projects involve tree-planting and protecting forests where endangered and threatened species live. Read on to learn more about deforestation’s impact on wild animals and how IFAW is working to mitigate it.

What is deforestation?

Deforestation is the process of clearing or thinning forests by humans to make the land available for other uses. This can involve cutting down trees, clearing land for agriculture, or building roads and neighbourhoods. It is a significant environmental issue, impacting the balance of ecosystems, climate, and biodiversity.

We have a responsibility to understand its causes and consequences and to develop effective strategies to protect our remaining forests.

What causes deforestation?

Deforestation is driven by a variety of human activities and natural events, each contributing to the rapid loss of forest cover around the world. Let’s look at some of the primary causes in more depth.

Agriculture

Expanding agricultural activities—including large-scale commercial farming and small-scale farms—is the leading cause of deforestation. Forests are often cleared to plant crops or graze livestock. For instance, vast areas of the Amazon Rainforest have been cleared for soybean farming .

Palm oil is a prime example of a crop that is causing mass deforestation and impacting wildlife. The growing demand for palm oil, used in a wide range of products from food to cosmetics, has led to the establishment of large palm oil plantations. Indonesia and Malaysia, in particular, have seen significant deforestation as a result of palm oil production.

Clearance for livestock

Raising livestock requires large tracts of land, so significant portions of natural forests are cleared to create pastures for cattle. But this livestock doesn’t just need space to graze. Animal agriculture also needs space to grow crops to feed these farmed animals.

The demand for wood and wooden products leads to extensive logging operations, causing widespread deforestation as trees are cut down at a far faster rate than they can grow. Illegal logging is also an issue, accounting for 15% to 30% of global timber production.

Fires, both natural and human-caused, contribute to deforestation. Natural wildfires can spread rapidly in dry conditions, while humans often set fires intentionally to clear land for agriculture or development. In recent years, uncontrolled fires in the Amazon have garnered global attention for their destructive impact. In late 2023, IFAW supported the rescue and rehabilitation work of local organisation Tamanduá Institute in Brazil, which saved wild animals from these fires.

Extractive activities such as mining for minerals, oil, and gas require clearing forests to access the resources beneath them. The Amazon and Congo basins in particular have both seen extensive deforestation due to mining operations .

In addition to the forest that has to be cleared to build a road, studies show that the construction of roads and highways facilitates further deforestation, as it provides easy access to previously remote forest areas. This often leads to increased logging, agricultural expansion, and settlement.

Urbanisation

As urban areas expand, forests are cleared to make way for new homes, commercial buildings, and infrastructure. Rapid urbanisation in countries like India and China has resulted in a significant loss of forest land to accommodate growing cities.

The effects of deforestation on climate change

Deforestation significantly contributes to climate change by disrupting the global carbon cycle and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Removes carbon sinks

Forests act as carbon sinks , absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it in their biomass. When trees are cut down or burned, this stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere. More CO2 in the air contributes to the atmosphere’s greenhouse effect, trapping heat and increasing global temperature.

Deforestation accounts for about 10% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation also reduces the number of trees available on earth to absorb carbon dioxide in the air, worsening the problem and accelerating climate change.

Disrupts the water cycle

The loss of forests also impacts soil carbon storage and disrupts local water cycles. Forests play a crucial role in the water cycle by regulating rain, evaporation from the soil, and groundwater recharge. Deforestation disrupts these processes, causing changes in weather patterns, reduced rainfall, and altered climate conditions.

Creates negative cycles

The effects of deforestation can create feedback loops that worsen climate change. For instance, increased temperatures from global warming can lead to more frequent and severe forest fires, which in turn cause more deforestation and release more CO2, further increasing global temperatures.

These interconnected processes underscore the critical role of forests in maintaining climate stability. To mitigate the effects of climate change, we need to drastically reduce the amount of deforestation that is currently occurring around the globe.

Deforestation is not just a local environmental issue but a global problem with far-reaching consequences for climate stability and the health of our planet. 

The impacts of deforestation on wildlife

Deforestation causes significant problems for wildlife by leading to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation , and increased human-wildlife conflict .

When forests are cleared, countless species lose their homes and the resources they need to survive, leading to population declines and, in some cases, extinction. Habitat fragmentation divides continuous forests into smaller, isolated patches, which can limit species’ movement, reduce genetic diversity, and disrupt breeding patterns.

Additionally, as human activities encroach on natural habitats, the likelihood of human-wildlife conflict increases, often resulting in harm to both animals and humans.

What animals are most affected by deforestation?

Let’s look at some of the species that are currently most impacted by deforestation, on every continent across the world.

Palm oil production in Borneo and Sumatra, where orangutans are found, poses a major threat to orangutans’ habitats, as the demand for this cheap and versatile oil has skyrocketed.

As their forest habitats are cleared, orangutans lose their homes and sources of food, leading to sharp population declines. As they are forced into closer proximity with humans, there has been an increase in orangutans being injured or killed, and young orangutans are sometimes captured for the illegal pet trade . 

Sumatran rhinos

This endangered rhino species is native to Southeast Asia, with only about 30 individuals left in the wild. Just like the orangutans, as forests are cleared for palm oil on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, these rhinos lose the dense, tropical forests that provide them with food, shelter, and breeding grounds.

Additionally, deforestation opens up previously inaccessible areas, increasing the risk of poaching.

Chimpanzees

Deforestation is a major cause of habitat loss for chimpanzees . They live in trees and rely on them for food, shelter, and protection from predators. In West Africa, where many chimpanzees live, more than 80% of native forests had been totally cleared for agricultural expansion by the 2000s.

As forests are cleared, chimpanzees lose their natural habitats, and venture closer to human settlements in search of food, increasing the likelihood of human-wildlife conflict and the transmission of diseases.

Pygmy sloths

Pygmy sloths are found only on the tiny Isla Escudo de Veraguas off the coast of Panama. This small island’s mangrove forests provide the pygmy sloths with their primary habitat, offering food and shelter. Deforestation for development and timber extraction significantly reduces the limited forest area available to these sloths, leading to habitat loss and fragmentation.

As their habitat shrinks, pygmy sloths are driven out of their nesting sites, leaving them vulnerable to hunters and predators. Their population has collapsed from around 500 in 2001 to only 70 at the last official count in 2012.

Monarch butterflies

Beautiful monarch butterflies are known for their impressive migrations, but not many people realise that the species’ status was recently updated to endangered by the IUCN because of threats from habitat destruction and climate change.

These butterflies rely on specific forest areas, such as the oyamel fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico, to survive the winter months. Deforestation makes it more difficult for monarchs to find the sheltered, cool conditions they need to survive the winter.

Additionally, they face habitat loss in their breeding and migratory routes across North America. Pesticides and herbicides used in intensive agriculture across this range kill the butterflies and the milkweed plants its larvae feed on.

These iconic marsupials may be a symbol of Australia, but they’re significantly threatened by deforestation of the eucalyptus trees they depend on for food and shelter.

Deforestation reduces the available habitat for koalas , fragmenting their populations and limiting their ability to find suitable food and mates. Additionally, it increases the risk of koalas encountering predators and road traffic as they search for new habitats. The loss of eucalyptus trees also reduces the availability of food, leading to malnutrition and starvation among koala populations.

These primates are found only on the island of Madagascar, where forests are rapidly disappearing due to agricultural expansion, logging, mining, and charcoal production. Between 2000 and 2016, it is estimated that over 3 million hectares of forest were lost, causing the extinction of 61 species of lemurs .

Lemurs face increased competition for resources and predation risk as they are forced into smaller and more fragmented areas. The loss of forests also exposes lemurs to human activities, such as hunting and capture for the pet trade.

Jaguars , the largest big cats in the Americas, are one of the many species under threat from extensive deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. These apex predators rely on large, contiguous forest habitats for hunting and breeding, which are rapidly disappearing.

Furthermore, habitat loss forces jaguars into closer proximity to human settlements, encouraging them to target farmers’ crops and livestock for food, and increasing the risk of retaliatory killings and poaching .

African elephants

The deforestation of their habitats for agriculture and livestock farming poses a major threat to African elephants , which rely on large swathes of land for finding food, water, mates, and adequate breeding ground. The habitats of elephants across Africa are increasingly becoming fragmented, leading to a lack of resources and space for these large animals. This pushes elephants closer and closer to humans and sparks human-wildlife conflict .

How is IFAW helping animals impacted by deforestation?

IFAW is actively involved in numerous projects that aim to relieve animals of the devastating impacts of deforestation around the world.

Our Room to Roam initiative focuses on reconnecting fragmented habitats to facilitate the movement of elephants and other wildlife in Africa. By restoring and protecting critical corridors and landscapes, IFAW’s Room to Roam initiative helps ensure that animals can access essential resources such as food, water, and breeding grounds.

Over 330,000 elephants benefit from Room to Roam, which is implemented in 10 key landscapes across East and southern Africa.

Additionally, IFAW collaborates with local communities, governments, and other stakeholders to implement sustainable land-use practices and conservation strategies. For example, in Assam, India, we have supported the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in helping families become less dependent on the forest.

A decade ago, it wasn’t uncommon for villagers to lose their lives when coming face-to-face with elephants in the forests. WTI trained locals to install stoves in home kitchens that allow villagers to cook food without needing to go into the forest to collect wood. Not only has the introduction of these stoves saved more than 10,000 trees from being felled for fuel but the cleaner fuel has also reduced in-house smoke significantly.

IFAW also works with partners in Australia to rescue and protect the habitats of koalas. Our projects involve community engagement, landscape conservation, and policy work to ensure koalas’ long-term welfare and conservation. We collaborate with organisations including Friends of the Koala and Mosswood Wildlife to provide veterinary treatment to hundreds of animals every year, and with the Koala Clancy Foundation and Bangalow Koalas to restore wildlife corridors where they live. We also partner with the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Detection Dogs for Conservation to seek out sick and injured koalas and perform health and habitat surveys.Our work involves planting trees to help restore their habitat and providing access to more food sources, as well as rescuing koalas impacted by bushfires .

IFAW is working across the globe to safeguard vulnerable species and their habitats from the adverse impacts of deforestation. And we can’t do it without your help.

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Essay on Effects of Deforestation for Students and Children

500 words essay on the effects of deforestation.

The world is losing most of its natural resources as and when you read this. There are many factors which are making this happen, however, one major concern is that of deforestation. Human activities are resulting in deforestation at a very rapid rate. Moreover, the effects of this activity are very dangerous. We do not realize the damage we are causing to living beings as well as the vegetation by cutting down trees. It will be clearer if we understand the impact of deforestation and make attempts to prevent it.

Impact of Deforestation

When we cut down even a single tree , the impact it has is huge. Now imagine if we clear out whole forests only altogether, how damaging would that be. We cut down forests to meet the needs of humans. In order to fulfill the agricultural , commercial , industrial , residential and other needs we remove forests . Most of the earth was covered with forests until a hundred years ago, however, now we don’t have much of them left.

Deforestation causes disruption in the ecological balance. Moreover, it also interferes with the lives of wildlife and human beings as well. Firstly, when there won’t be many forests left, the water cycle of the earth will get disturbed. There won’t be enough trees left to absorb the water. Moreover, it will cause floods and droughts too. Similarly, soil erosion will be another effect of deforestation.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Other than that, the climate will experience massive change. Global warming is also happening partly due to deforestation only. The oxygen level in the atmosphere will drop down by a great number and thus naturally carbon dioxide levels will increase. Most importantly, the wildlife is losing their habitats due to deforestation. Forests are their only home and with no place left to go, they either lose their lives or wreak havoc in the cities.

Therefore, we must all come together to stop this from happening and saving our earth as well as our lives. Humans must not be so selfish so as to make other animals homeless to shelter themselves. We must not damage our vegetation to create a beautiful garden for ourselves.

How to Prevent Deforestation?

We can do a lot of things that will contribute to preventing deforestation. To begin with, do not waste paper. The more demand there will be the more supply will happen. This way, trees will keep getting cut to meet these needs.

Similarly, the government must put a ban on deforestation so the big firms can find other alternatives instead of clearing forests for commercial and industrial needs. The laws must be made stringent enough and also implemented properly to prevent it.

Moreover, there must be measures taken to control the increasing population . As there are more mouths to feed and fewer resources, our nature and forests are getting burdened. There is not adequate supply to meet the ever-increasing demands of the population. Thus, the lesser the demand, the better the conditions of the forests as well.

FAQs on Effects of Deforestation

Q.1 What is the impact of deforestation?

A.1 Deforestation has many seriously damaging effects. It disrupts the water cycle and increases the level of carbon dioxide and decreases oxygen levels. Further, it also causes floods, droughts, soil erosion and more.

Q.2 How can we prevent deforestation?

A.2 We can do a joint effort to prevent deforestation. Do not waste paper so there will be lesser cutting of trees. The government must put a ban on deforestation. The government must practice population control so as to not burden forests to meet the ever-increasing needs.

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How Does Deforestation Affect the Environment?

Forests, a vital component of life on Earth, cover approximately 31% of our planet’s land area . However, more than 75% of the Earth’s surface has been modified and degraded by human activities such as deforestation. Destroying forests alters weather patterns, destroys habitats, and negatively affects rural communities, leading to food insecurity and causing irreversible damage to entire ecosystems. So how does deforestation affect the environment and what threats does it pose to living species?

To answer the question of how deforestation affects the environment, it is important to look at why humans need forests in the first place. Deforestation is the purposeful cleaning of forest land for other uses. Among the main reasons for this damaging practice are agricultural expansion and cattle breeding as well as to obtain raw materials such as palm oil, a key ingredient in cosmetics and food products widely used around the world, and timber used for fuel, manufacturing, and infrastructure development. Studies show that 15,3 billion trees are chopped down every year and over the past 12,000 years, nearly 50% of the world’s trees have been purposefully cleared by humans. This practice threatens our environment, from altering the climate and various ecosystems to compromising the existence of millions of humans and animals.

You might also like: 10 Deforestation Facts You Should Know About

1. Effects on Climate Change

The scientific consensus on deforestation is that it intensifies climate change at a dramatic rate. The Global Forest Watch made it clear: protecting tropical rainforests is essential for achieving the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Trees are known for their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Healthy forests act as extremely valuable carbon sinks, with the Amazon rainforest being one of the world’s most important ones. However, deforestation is turning these sinks into huge net emitters , something that can have huge implications for slowing the pace of climate change and contributing to a steep rise in global temperatures. The current rate of rainforest-loss generated emissions is nearly 25% higher than those generated in the European Union and just slightly below US levels. Deforestation also increases the risk of uncontrollable wildfires because of humans burning vegetation. This, in turn, contributes to destroying forests, intensifying deforestation even more.

2. Effects on Soil Pollution and the Water Cycle

In addition to their role as carbon sinks, forests are a crucial component of the water cycle and have the all important function of preventing desertification. Cutting down trees can disrupt the cycle by decreasing precipitation and affecting river flow and water volume. In the case of the Amazon rainforest, research shows that at least 80% of its trees would be needed in order to keep the hydrological cycle going. With nearly 17% of the forest lost already, the Amazon is currently at its tipping point . Statistics show that deforestation in the tropics reduces precipitation over the Amazon by around 10% , or 138 millimeter, every year. In the South Asian Monsoon region, the reduction in rainfall is even higher, with around 18% less rain recorded in India in a single year.

Aside from their contribution to the water flow, trees help the land retain water and sustain forest life by supplying the soil with rich nutrients. Deforestation deprives the land of its cover, leaving the soil exposed to wind and rain. This makes soil vulnerable to being washed away, and prone to erosion. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as much as half of the world’s topsoil has been lost as a consequence of the nearly 4 million square miles of forest that have been lost since the beginning of the 20th century.

3. The Effects on Humans 

In answering the question of how does deforestation affect the environment, you may discover that in fact, it also has a direct impact on the human population. With the loss of trees and entire forests, homelands are also being destroyed in the process. Indigenous communities who live in forests and depend on them to sustain their life bear the brunt of impacts from deforestation. As their houses are destroyed and resources compromised, these tribes are forced to migrate elsewhere and find other ways to sustain themselves. The Amazon rainforest is home to over one million Indigenous people , mostly of Indian descent, divided into more than 400 indigenous tribes. They live in settled villages by the rivers, and grow and hunt their food. These “uncontacted” tribes live by the rules of nature but are becoming increasingly vulnerable to deforestation, which has forced many of them to migrate. While some of them move into areas occupied by other tribes, straining the land’s resources, others are forced to relocate to urban settings and completely change their way of living.

4. The Effects on Animals and Plants

Along with Indigenous tribes, animals are some of the biggest victims of deforestation. Forests around the world are home to more than 80% of all terrestrial animal, plant, and insect species . However, the rapid destruction of forests is contributing to a decline in biodiversity never seen before. The main effect of deforestation on animals and plants is the loss of their habitat. Many factors related to cutting down trees contribute to driving species to extinction. Through land erosion, the soil is depleted of its nutrients, a huge source of nourishment for animals and plants. Furthermore, many animal species are heavily reliant on specific plants and their fruits for food sources. When these resources are lost, animals become weaker, more vulnerable to diseases and often succumb to starvation. Another important role of trees is to regulate the temperature of forests and maintain it constant. When deforestation occurs, temperature variates more drastically from day to night and this extreme change can often prove fatal for many animal species.  

5. The Effects on Food Security

One last major effect of deforestation is its impact on food security through the loss of biodiversity. While food availability for Indigenous tribes and animals that live in forests is reduced in the process of deforestation, its effects on weather patterns and soil degradation also drastically decrease agricultural productivity. Populations located in the proximity of tropical forests are mostly impacted by the worsening trend. Indeed, millions of people living in these areas depend almost entirely on agriculture and are thus extremely vulnerable to the impact of deforestation on food security, struggling to grow enough food and prevent crops from damage. It has been shown that the deforestation of the Amazon contributes to a decline in pasture productivity of about 39% as well as a drop of soy yields of nearly 25% in over half of the Amazon region and of a staggering 60% in a third of the area.

You might also like: 12 Major Companies Responsible for Deforestation

Can We Halt Deforestation?

Knowing how deforestation affect the environment more than one way and its catastrophic effects on the planet, it is crucial that people around the world take action to mitigate its impact. This can be done on an individual level, for example by reducing meat consumption, going paperless and recycling products as much as possible, opting for natural products that do not contain ingredients such as palm oil and supporting organisations and sustainable companies that are committed to reducing this dangerous practice. On a governmental level, the consequences of deforestation can be mitigated by introducing policies that protect natural forests and regulate mining and logging operations as well as other operations that require the destruction of tree plantations.

Featured image: Global Water for Sustainability 

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How does deforestation affect biodiversity?

Forests contain some of the richest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet. But between 1990 and 2020, around 420 million hectares of mainly tropical forest has been lost and  a further 10 million hectares, an area the size of Scotland and Wales combined, is being lost each year. Without the shelter, food and water the forests supply, the many thousands of species that coexist within and beneath the canopy of trees also vanish. 

Forests are home to a huge array of different tree, amphibian, bird and mammal species but they are facing a combination of threats. The Amazon – the world's biggest rainforest – has an estimated 15,000 species of trees, an estimated 3,000 species of fish in the river system and there are currently 1,300 described species of birds. But about 17% of it has been deforested.

Logging for timber and the clearing of tropical and subtropical forests to make way for agriculture and grazing are the two main causes of destruction to forest habitats. Fire is also a major threat to forests. In rainforests such as the Amazon, fire is usually used to clear land for farming. 

Much of the tropical and subtropical forest that remains around the world has become fragmented, with 20% of global forest scattered across 34 million smaller patches affecting species that require large territories, but also increasing the isolation of animals and plants, limiting their gene pools.

Despite the huge annual losses caused by deforestation, there have been some improvements in keeping some parts safe. Some tropical rainforests, subtropical dry forests and temperate oceanic forests are now located within protected areas, including indigenous reserves, with studies showing these are often capable of slowing deforestation.

Forest loss does not simply mean all biodiversity is wiped out, but it often results in a significant change in the mix of species that live there since some species will thrive while others will be lost. So-called generalist species such as some deer, foxes and white storks have been seen to increase in forests that have been disturbed by human activity. Small, light -loving plants can also flourish in cleared patches of forest.

To find out more: Amazonia’s future: Eden or degraded landscapes? | Royal Society ; Past and future decline and extinction of species | Royal Society

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Deforestation: Causes, Effects and Control Strategies

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Why deforestation matters—and what we can do to stop it

Large scale destruction of trees—deforestation—affects ecosystems, climate, and even increases risk for zoonotic diseases spreading to humans.

As the world seeks to slow the pace of climate change , preserve wildlife, and support more than eight billion people , trees inevitably hold a major part of the answer. Yet the mass destruction of trees—deforestation—continues, sacrificing the long-term benefits of standing trees for short-term gain of fuel, and materials for manufacturing and construction.

We need trees for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that they absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale and the heat-trapping greenhouse gases that human activities emit. As those gases enter the atmosphere, global warming increases, a trend scientists now prefer to call climate change.

There is also the imminent danger of disease caused by deforestation. An estimated 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases come from animals, and a major cause of viruses’ jump from wildlife to humans is habitat loss, often through deforestation.

But we can still save our forests. Aggressive efforts to rewild and reforest are already showing success. Tropical tree cover alone can provide 23 percent of the climate mitigation needed to meet goals set in the Paris Agreement in 2015, according to one estimate .

Causes of deforestation

Forests still cover about 30 percent of the world’s land area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Since 1990, the world has lost more than 420 million hectares or about a billion acres of forest, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations —mainly in Africa and South America. About 17 percent of the Amazonian rainforest has been destroyed over the past 50 years, and losses recently have been on the rise . The organization Amazon Conservation reports that destruction rose by 21 percent in 2020 , a loss the size of Israel.

Farming, grazing of livestock, mining, and drilling combined account for more than half of all deforestation . Forestry practices, wildfires and, in small part, urbanization account for the rest. In Malaysia and Indonesia, forests are cut down to make way for producing palm oil , which can be found in everything from shampoo to saltine crackers. In the Amazon, cattle ranching and farms—particularly soy plantations—are key culprits .

Logging operations, which provide the world’s wood and paper products, also fell countless trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting illegally , also build roads to access more and more remote forests—which leads to further deforestation. Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban sprawl as land is developed for homes.

Not all deforestation is intentional. Some is caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees.

Why it matters

There are some 250 million people who live in forest and savannah areas and depend on them for subsistence and income—many of them among the world’s rural poor.

Eighty percent of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests , and deforestation threatens species including the orangutan , Sumatran tiger , and many species of birds. Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which blocks the sun’s rays during the day and retains heat at night. That disruption leads to more extreme temperature swings that can be harmful to plants and animals.

With wild habitats destroyed and human life ever expanding, the line between animal and human areas blurs, opening the door to zoonotic diseases . In 2014, for example, the Ebola virus killed over 11,000 people in West Africa after fruit bats transmitted the disease to a toddler who was playing near trees where bats were roosting.

( How deforestation is leading to more infectious diseases in humans .)

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Some scientists believe there could be as many as 1.7 million currently “undiscovered” viruses in mammals and birds, of which up to 827,000 could have the ability to infect people, according to a 2018 study .

Deforestation’s effects reach far beyond the people and animals where trees are cut. The South American rainforest, for example, influences regional and perhaps even global water cycles, and it's key to the water supply in Brazilian cities and neighboring countries. The Amazon actually helps furnish water to some of the soy farmers and beef ranchers who are clearing the forest. The loss of clean water and biodiversity from all forests could have many other effects we can’t foresee, touching even your morning cup of coffee .

In terms of climate change, cutting trees both adds carbon dioxide to the air and removes the ability to absorb existing carbon dioxide. If tropical deforestation were a country, according to the World Resources Institute , it would rank third in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, behind China and the U.S.

What can be done

The numbers are grim, but many conservationists see reasons for hope . A movement is under way to preserve existing forest ecosystems and restore lost tree cover by first reforesting (replanting trees) and ultimately rewilding (a more comprehensive mission to restore entire ecosystems).

( Which nation could be the first to be rewilded ?)

Organizations and activists are working to fight illegal mining and logging—National Geographic Explorer Topher White, for example, has come up with a way to use recycled cell phones to monitor for chainsaws . In Tanzania, the residents of Kokota have planted more than 2 million trees on their small island over a decade, aiming to repair previous damage. And in Brazil, conservationists are rallying in the face of ominous signals that the government may roll back forest protections.

( Which tree planting projects should you support ?)

Stopping deforestation before it reaches a critical point will play a key role in avoiding the next zoonotic pandemic. A November 2022 study showed that when bats struggle to find suitable habitat, they travel closer to human communities where diseases are more likely to spillover. Inversely, when bats’ native habitats were left intact, they stayed away from humans. This research is the first to show how we can predict and avoid spillovers through monitoring and maintaining wildlife habitats.

For consumers, it makes sense to examine the products and meats you buy, looking for sustainably produced sources when you can. Nonprofit groups such as the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance certify products they consider sustainable, while the World Wildlife Fund has a palm oil scorecard for consumer brands.

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• DEFORESTATION
• ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION
• RAINFORESTS

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103 Deforestation Essay Topics & Paper Examples

Issues related to ecology require that you put more thought into essay writing than merely penning ideas that build up into a coherent argument.

Creating a good deforestation essay relies on achieving a superb structure that helps your audience apperceive your subject quicker and with a more sympathetic outlook.

Thus, recognizing the far-reaching effect of various events becomes an admirable attempt at drawing attention to possible future developments of a human impact environment. In this article you will learn the essentials of writing a deforestation essay, as well as 97 brilliant topic ideas for your paper.

📃 The Deforestation Essay Structure

🏆 remarkable deforestation topics & essay examples, ✍️ interesting deforestation essay topics, 🔖 good essay topics on deforestation, ❓ research question about deforestation.

Doing research is an essential aspect of pre-writing. It allows you to understand how you can best develop your central theme through the creation of a deforestation essay outline.

Writing a topic sentence for each of your planned paragraphs will help you gauge how much information you have for each sub-theme. In turn, doing so will demonstrate your coverage of the full issue.

Searching for appropriate and credible book and journal titles, as well as research papers and interviews with scientists, will allow you to form a comprehensive overview of a pollution issue.

Depending on your chosen problem, you may need to delve into a historical explanation of its creation, its development, and future implications. A sample outline may look like this:

• An introduction, where you give the audience a brief overview and present a deforestation essay thesis statement;
• A historical overview that helps you set the scene for your issue;
• An outline of the on-going process, depending on your chosen approach to the topic;
• A demonstration of its implications that relies on scientific studies and research predictions;
• A conclusion, where you tie together all your previous arguments into one, which acts as an answer to your thesis statement.

You may divide and increase the number of paragraphs in a manner that suits your particular approach, but the basic structure necessitates establishing the problem’s continuity.

For example, if you are writing about the process of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, you can approach it from an economic, sociopolitical, and even scientific viewpoint.

However, whichever you pick, you should always be ready to counterargument your readers’ thoughts, which is something you should keep in mind as you write.

A deforestation essay introduction and conclusion should mirror each other. In your first paragraph, you should present some possible inferences and interest the readers with a lack of specific answers, while the last one should leave no problem unaddressed. Initially, you should engage your readers; finally, they must be satisfied with the level of your conclusions.

If you still feel unsure how to start, you can look at examples of papers online. Deforestation topics are widely covered, and you can judge for yourself what structural approaches work and which ones are useless at effectively convincing the audience. Pay attention to the way these authors structure their issue and how they present its problem.

A title is another aspect of essay structure that writers often overlook. Compare “A Future with No Environment” to “Dustbowl: Who are the Losers of a Conservation Competition?”

Both titles serve a purpose, as the former hints at the conclusion of the paper, while the latter acts more as an introduction.

Understand what you want to achieve before writing out some deforestation essay titles and picking one that best suits your means.

Use IvyPanda to get more help on essay writing. Advice and tips for all kinds of students!

• Deforestation Causes and Effects The challenge of deforestation has existed for centuries, leading to the loss of a huge percentage of forest cover across the world.
• Deforestation Problem Deforestation is the cutting down of trees for the purpose of converting the land to none forest use. Forests initially covered a quarter of the earth planet, but the encroachment of human activities leaving bare […]
• Deforestation and Effective Ways to Prevent It The most effective way of solving the problem and preventing deforestation is through large-scale actions that would necessitate industries to comply with standards for deforestation minimization.
• The Impact of Logging and Deforestations on an Ecosystem Finally, using the market to address the problem of deforestation and logging, the paper indicates the opportunities that can be assimilated to promote sound environmental practices that are equally sustainable while maximizing the returns to […]
• Deforestation and Its Man-Made Causes The process of deforestation can be justified as a possibility to meet the needs of the population, including feeding or manufacturing.
• Deforestation Causes in the Amazon The composition and appearance of the humid tropical forest of the Amazon amaze with the abundance of plant life forms, the exceptional richness of the species composition, and the density and complexity of the canopy.
• The Campaign Addressing the Issue of Deforestation Contrarily, the brown color is a symbol of death, and the brown stands for the adverse consequences of deforestation for the whole of humankind and the environment.
• Deforestation: Biological Concepts The three biological concepts/processes essential to life relevant to the topic of deforestation include sensitivity or response to the environment, homeostasis, and adaptation. Homeostasis is essential to consider in the context of deforestation because forests […]
• History of Deforestation Alternatively, they would cut vital elements of the tree in order to cause the upper part of the tree to fall off gradually. The birth of the naval store affected the pattern of deforestation in […]
• Deforestation in the Tropical Rainforests This study aims at analyzing the causes of deforestation in tropical rainforest, the impacts of the same and the methods of controlling deforestation.
• Linking the Global Economy to Deforestation This involves the removal of trees, the degradation of the forest’s aesthetic value, and the loss of productive land. From a global point of view, other countries will take an example and adopt a policy […]
• Over-Exploitation and Deforestation Effects With this goal in mind, the European powers were forced to look for wood supplies from different parts of the globe.
• Deforestation of the Amazon: Amazon Fires The problem of deforestation is one of the most acute environmental problems on the planet, and its impact on the environment can hardly be overrated.
• Deforestation Processes, Areas and Species Affected The issue represents an important study topic in the fields of biology and ecology because the cutting down of forests has significantly changed landscapes on a global scale. Deforestation is the most prevalent in tropical […]
• The Deforestation Issue and Future Directions Sensitivity or response to the environment refers to the reaction of living beings to changes occurring due to deforestation, while homeostasis is the ability of an organism to function despite changes. In terms of the […]
• Deforestation Impact on Environment and Human On a larger scale, it is important to reduce the consumption of paper and engage in raising awareness of the issue to strengthen the actions for addressing it.
• Analysis of Tesco’s Deforestation Problem The focus of this paper is to explore the conflict involving global meat production and its link to deforestation and to evaluate Tesco’s response to the issue from a stakeholder management perspective.
• What Should the Brazilian Government Do About Reducing Amazon’s Deforestation? Political developments in Brazil and the ineffectiveness of existing policy proposals to mitigate the effects of deforestation on the forest have largely contributed to the ecological destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
• Wolves and Deforestation: Thinking Like a Mountain For example, to the Deer, the echo makes it alert due to awaiting danger, whereas to the hunter the bawling is a warning of the awaiting dangers.
• Deforestation in South East Asia Introduction The wave of globalization has transformed the way human beings consume different materials and produce products that are marketed hundreds of miles away. The increasing demand for energy, food, bio-fuels, and tropical wood has affected the global environment. In southeast Asia, different forces and factors are currently driving the process of deforestation. The discussion […]
• Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon Forest Furthermore, the recent forest fire in the Amazon forest turned the world’s attention to how current Brazil’s government is handling the deforestation issue.
• Deforestation Crisis in Mexico This term refers to the intentional destruction of the forests through the logging process and the burning of the other remains of trees after the logs are gotten.
• Soybean and Deforestation in the United States Economists and planters collaborate to identify additional areas for soybean production, neglecting the threat of elimination of rainforests and the inability for researchers to find out new ways of cultivating this plant.
• Brazilian Amazonia: Biodiversity and Deforestation Secondly, the mayor persuaded the people to stop deforestation to save the Amazon. Additionally, deforestation leads to displacement of indigenous people living in the Amazonia.
• Amazonian Deforestation, Its Causes and Trends The huge destruction in the rainforest happens disregarding the fact that the Amazon is the source of life to thousands of species and is oftentimes referred to as the lungs of the planet.
• Deforestation Effects and Solutions Excessive clearing of vegetation on the earth’s service results to an alteration of the equilibrium in gaseous volumes in the atmosphere, and the current levels of greenhouse gases are alarming, especially in the urban areas.
• Environment: Tropical Deforestation Causes in Indonesia As indicated, one of the major causes of the deforestation in the Indonesian Sumatra rainforest is the logging for timber trade.
• Central Africa Deforestation However, even though the rate of deforestation is relatively low in this part of Africa compared to other major forest regions in the planet, the trend poses serious threats to the well being of the […]
• Environmental Stewardship of Deforestation Environmental stewardship refers to the act of protecting and conserving the environment. According to Aldo Leopold, environmental stewardship is promoted through the improvement of the relationship between humans and the environment.
• Human Impact to the Environment – Cuba Deforestation Issue One of the most significant aspects during the political eras in the nation that characterized the political development was the fluctuation in deforestation.
• Deforestation in Thailand The environmental value of the forests in Thailand is evident in the efforts the government and other stakeholders undertake to conserve the environment.
• Deforestation Issue in the Dominican Republic The difference is brought about by the actions the countries’ leaders and citizens took or failed to take to preserve the environment.
• Physical Domain, Deforestation and Trends In the political domain there is conflict in the effort to conserve the forests since some say the industrialization and urbanization have to take place first before conservation until Brazil provides jobs for people who […]
• The Effects of Deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest
• Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation
• Deforestation And Its Effects On The Climate, Wildlife, And Human Civili
• Technical Efficiency, Farm Size and Tropical Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazonian Forest
• Land Reform Policies, the Sources of Violent Conflict, and Implications for Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
• Investigating the Impact of Agricultural Land Losses on Deforestation: Evidence From a Peri-urban Area in Canada
• What Deforestation Can Do To Our Environment
• Deforestation and Minimal Logging Advantages
• Why is Deforestation a Global Concern
• The Role of Tenure Security and Private Time Preference in Neotropical Deforestation
• Balancing Risks from Climate Policy Uncertainties: The Role of Options and Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
• The Impact of Settlement Design on Tropical Deforestation Rates and Resulting Land Cover Patterns
• Exchange Rates, Soybean Supply Response, and Deforestation in South America
• What Are the Consequences of Deforestation?
• An Analysis of the Issue of Deforestation and Its Threat to Environment
• Deforestation And Global Climate Change
• Environmental Problems Of Deforestation And Environmental
• The Effect of Deforestation on the Climate and Environment
• Modeling Amazon Deforestation for Policy Purposes
• Foreign Transfers and Tropical Deforestation
• Creating Policies To Contain Unproductive Deforestation
• The Impact Of Deforestation On Bird Communication Biology
• The Negative Effects of Deforestation on the World
• The Devestating Effect of Deforestation and the Alternatives for Helping Our Planet
• Tragedy Of Deforestation In Brazil And Indonesia
• The Effects Of The Land Change Made By Tropical Deforestation
• How Deforestation Causes Global Warming And Negatively Impacts The Environment
• The Two Major Issues of Deforestation, Its Causes and Effects to the Environment
• Tropical Deforestation And Its Effect On Global Climate
• The Role of International Law Concerning Deforestation
• An Analysis of People’s Responsibilities for Rainforest Deforestation
• Effects Of Deforestation On The Philippines
• Global Warming, Deforestation, Nuclear Waste, And Pollution
• Transport, Economic Growth, and Deforestation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Causes And Effects Of Deforestation In Environmental Sciences
• Poverty and Tropical Deforestation by Smallholders in Forest Margin Areas: Evidence from Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
• The Role of Government Spending on Deforestation and Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Land Use Change
• The Dangerous Global Issue of Deforestation and Its Impact on the Environment
• Urban Deforestation and Urban Development
• Modelling Land Use, Deforestation, and Policy Analysis
• What Are the Biggest Drivers of Tropical Deforestation?
• Why Tackling Deforestation Is So Important for Slowing Climate Change?
• How Deforestation Causes Global Warming and Negatively Impacts the Environment?
• How Does Deforestation Impact Birds?
• Can “Fragile States” Decide to Reduce Their Deforestation?
• Does Deforestation Increase Malaria Prevalence?
• Does Free Trade Increase Deforestation and the Effects of Regional Trade Agreements?
• Does Poverty Constrain Deforestation in Peru?
• How Does Deforestation Lead To Frequent Floods and Droughts?
• How Does Household Food Insecurity Experience Impact Deforestation in Cameroon?
• How Does Deforestation Impact Wildlife and Biodiversity?
• Who Initiated a Movement Against Deforestation?
• What Are the Reasons Behind Deforestation?
• How Does Deforestation Affect Living Things?
• What Has Driven Deforestation in Developing Countries Since the 2000s?
• Who Is Responsible for Deforestation?
• What Forest Is Most Affected by Deforestation?
• How Does Deforestation Affect the Plants?
• How Is Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest Affecting Biodiversity?
• What Systems Is Deforestation Affecting?
• How Has Deforestation Upset the Balance in Nature?
• How Forest Loss Is Leading to a Rise in Human Disease?
• Is Deforestation Necessary for Development?
• What Is the Cost of Deforestation?
• Does Deforestation Contribute to Food Insecurity?
• Why Deforestation Is the Main Cause of Environmental Degradation?
• Why Is Deforestation a Problem in Developing Countries?
• How Does Deforestation Lead To Famine?
• What Habitats Are Being Destroyed by Deforestation?
• Why Does Deforestation Affect Animals?
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The Global Impacts of Habitat Destruction

Habitat destruction is one of the biggest threats facing plants and animal species throughout the world. The loss of habitat has far-reaching impacts on the planet’s ability to sustain life, but even with the challenges, there is hope for the future.

Habitat destruction, defined as the elimination or alteration of the conditions necessary for animals and plants to survive, not only impacts individual species but the health of the global ecosystem.

Habitat loss is primarily, though not always, human-caused. The clearing of land for farming, grazing, mining, drilling, and urbanization impact the 80 percent of global species who call the forest home. Approximately 15 billion trees are cut down each year. According to a study about tree density published in Nature , the number of trees worldwide has decreased by 46 percent since the start of civilization. In addition to the loss of habitat, deforestation reduces the ability of forests to provide the critical benefit of absorbing carbon, which helps to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The situation is even worse in waterways, coastal areas, and the ocean. Coastal estuaries and marshes provide breeding grounds for the majority of marine species. As they, along with inland wetlands, are dredged and filled, species are less able to birth and support their young. Pollution and effluents from the land travel easily through streams and rivers to the ocean, where they impact the health of fish, birds, and marine plants. Deforestation far from shore can cause erosion that enters the water and deposits silt into the shallow marine waters, blocking the sunlight that coral reefs need to survive.

Despite the habitat loss that has occurred globally to date, there is still hope. Studies reveal that by protecting 50 percent of the land and ocean around the world, plant and animal species could thrive. Today, only 15 percent of the land and 7 percent of the ocean is protected, leaving us with a challenging yet attainable goal.

The Campaign for Nature calls upon world leaders to take action in helping to protect 30 percent of the Earth’s land and ocean by 2030, on the way to 50 percent of the planet in a natural state by 2050. This commitment represents our best opportunity to preserve the ecosystems necessary for our survival.

The National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit organization that uses the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Since 1888, National Geographic has pushed the boundaries of exploration, investing in bold people and transformative ideas, providing more than 15,000 grants for work across all seven continents, reaching 3 million students each year through education offerings, and engaging audiences around the globe through signature experiences, stories and content.

To learn more, visit www.nationalgeographic.org or follow us on Instagram , LinkedIn, and Facebook .

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The Causes and Effects of Deforestation, Explained

A big aspect of climate change, summarized briefly.

Explainer • Climate • Environment

Words by Seth Millstein

Deforestation is the process of clearing forests and using the land for other purposes. Although it’s been a part of human society for thousands of years, the pace of deforestation has exploded in recent years, and the planet is paying the price. The causes and effects of deforestation are complex and intertwined, and the impacts are far-reaching and undeniable. Let’s take a closer look at how deforestation works , and how it negatively impacts the planet, animals and humanity.

What Is Deforestation?

Deforestation is the permanent clearing and repurposing of previously forested land. Though there are a number of motivations behind deforestation, it’s generally carried out to repurpose the land for other uses, mainly agriculture, or to extract resources.

Deforestation itself is nothing new, as humans have been clearing forested land for millennia . But the rate at which we destroy forests has increased dramatically: half of all deforestation that’s occurred since 8,000 BC took place in the last 100 years .

In addition to deforestation, forested land is also lost through a similar process known as forest degradation. This is when some, but not all, of the trees in a forested area are cleared, and the land is not repurposed for any other use.

While forest degradation isn’t a good thing by any measure, it’s much less harmful in the long-term than deforestation. Degraded forests will grow back over time, but the trees lost to deforestation are usually lost forever.

How Much Land Has Already Been Deforested?

When the last Ice Age ended around 10,000 years ago, there were roughly six billion hectares of forest on Earth. Since then, around a third of that forest , or two billion hectares, has been destroyed. Around 75 percent of this loss occurred over the last 300 years.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that currently, humans destroy around 10 million hectares of forest every year.

Where Does Deforestation Occur?

Although it happens around the world to some degree, around 95 percent of deforestation occurs in the tropics , and one-third of that takes place in Brazil. Another 14 percent occurs in Indonesia ; collectively, Brazil and Indonesia account for about 45 percent of all deforestation worldwide. About 20 percent of tropical deforestation takes place in South American countries other than Brazil, and another 17 percent occurs in Africa.

By contrast, around two-thirds of all forest degradation occurs in temperate regions , primarily North America, China, Russia and South Asia.

What Are the Biggest Drivers of Deforestation?

Humans deforest land for a number of reasons, but the biggest by far is agriculture. According to the United Nations, 90 percent of global deforestation is carried out to repurpose the land for agricultural use — mostly to raise cattle, grow soybeans and produce palm oil.

Beef Production

Beef production is the single-biggest driver of deforestation , tropical and otherwise. Around 39 percent of global deforestation , and 72 percent of deforestation in Brazil alone, is carried out to create grazing pastures for cattle.

Soy Production (Mostly to Feed Livestock)

Another significant driver of agricultural deforestation is soybean production. While soy is a popular meat and dairy replacement, only around seven percent of global soy is directly consumed by humans. The majority of soy —  75 percent — is used to feed livestock , meaning that most soy-driven deforestation is carried out to aid in agricultural expansion.

Palm Oil Production

The conversion of forested land to palm oil plantations is another primary motivation behind tropical deforestation. Palm oil is a versatile ingredient that’s used in a wide variety of everyday products, including nuts, bread, margarine, cosmetics, fuel and more. It’s derived from the fruit of oil palm trees, and is grown mostly in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Paper and Other Agriculture

Beef, soy and palm oil are collectively responsible for 60 percent of tropical deforestation. Other notable drivers include forestry and the production of paper (13 percent of tropical deforestation), rice and other cereals (10 percent), and vegetables, fruits and nuts (seven percent).

What Are the Environmental Impacts of Deforestation?

Deforestation impacts the environment in a number of negative ways, some more obvious than others.

Global Warming and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Deforestation emits massive amounts of greenhouse gasses, and is a significant contributor to rising global temperatures, in a few different ways.

Trees trap carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their trunks, branches, leaves and roots. This makes them a crucial tool for reducing global warming, as carbon dioxide is a potent greenhouse gas. When those trees are removed, however, that carbon dioxide is then released back into the air.

The greenhouse emissions don’t end there, however. As we’ve seen, the vast majority of deforested land is converted for agricultural use, and agriculture itself is a huge contributor to global warming as well. Animal agriculture is especially damaging, with scientists estimating that between 11 and 20 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock farms .

Finally, the absence of trees on deforested land means that carbon dioxide that’s emitted from other sources, such as vehicles or local communities, is no longer being stored by trees. As such, deforestation increases net greenhouse emissions in three ways: it releases the carbon that’s already stored in the forest, it prevents the trapping of additional carbon from other sources and it facilitates the release of “new” greenhouse gasses through its conversion to agricultural land.

Loss of Biodiversity

Earth is a vast, interconnected ecosystem, and a certain level of biodiversity is required to ensure that it maintains its equilibrium. Deforestation is reducing this biodiversity every day.

Forests are teeming with life. Millions of different animals, plants and insects call the forest their home, including three million different species in the Amazon rainforest alone. Over a dozen animal species can only be found in the Amazon rainforest .

Destroying these forests destroys these animals’ homes and, in the long term, threatens the continued survival of their species. This isn’t a hypothetical concern: every day, about 135 plant and animal species go extinct because of deforestation , and an estimated 10,000 additional species — including 2,800 species of animal — are at risk of extinction due to deforestation in the Amazon alone. Palm oil production in particular has driven orangutans to the brink of extinction .

We are living in a period mass extinction — the sixth to occur during Earth’s lifetime. This matters not only because it’s sad when cute animals die, but rather, because accelerated periods of extinction threaten to disrupt the delicate equilibrium that allows Earth’s ecosystem to continue existing.

A 2023 study found that over the last 500 years, entire genuses have been going extinct at a rate 35 times higher than the historical average. This rate of extinction, the authors of the study wrote, is “destroying the conditions that make human life possible.”

Soil Erosion and Degradation

It may not get as much attention as oil or gold, but soil is a vital natural resource that we and countless other creatures rely on to survive. Trees and other natural vegetation shield soil from the sun and rain, and help hold it in place. When those trees are removed, the nutrient-rich topsoil becomes loosened, and is more susceptible to erosion and degradation by the elements.

Soil erosion and soil degradation have a number of dangerous effects. In the most general sense, degradation and erosion make soil less viable for supporting plant life, and reduces the number of plants that the land can support. Degraded soil is also worse at retaining water, thus increasing the risk of flooding . Sediment from eroded soil is also a major water pollutant that imperils fish populations and human drinking water alike.

These effects can continue for decades after deforested land is repurposed, as the crops grown on deforested land often don’t hold onto the topsoil as firmly as the natural vegetation did.

What Can Be Done to Reduce Deforestation?

Government regulation.

In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has reduced deforestation rates in his country significantly since taking office in 2019. His administration has accomplished this largely by empowering regulatory agencies to more closely track and monitor illegal deforestation, increasing enforcement of anti-deforestation laws, and in general, cracking down on illegal deforestation.

Industry Pledges

There’s also some sign that voluntary industry pledges can help curb deforestation. In 2006, a collective of major soybean traders agreed to no longer buy soy that was grown on deforested land. Eight years later, the share of soybean expansion on previously-forested lands fell from 30 percent to one percent.

Reforestation and Afforestation

Lastly, there is reforestation and afforestation — the process of planting trees on deforested land or new land, respectively. In China, afforestation initiatives enacted by the government in the late 1970s have increased the country’s tree cover from 12 percent to 22 percent, while local reforestation programs have planted at least 50 million additional trees around the Earth in the last 35 years.

The Bottom Line

Deforestation’s environmental impact is clear: it releases greenhouse gasses, pollutes the water, kills plants and animals, erodes the soil and reduces the planet’s biodiversity. Unfortunately, it’s also become more and more common over the centuries, and without focused, aggressive action to curb it, deforestation will likely only get worse over time.

Independent Journalism Needs You

Seth Millstein is a writer and musician living in the Bay Area. He has helped launch several early-stage journalism startups, including Bustle and Timeline, and his work has been published in Bustle, Huffington Post, The Daily Dot and elsewhere.

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How Does Deforestation Affect Animals?

Forests cover 31 percent of earth’s land surface and house a majority of the plants and animals found on earth. It is estimated that these diverse ecosystems house 80 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity [1] . Rainforests have especially high species density, covering 2 percent of earth’s surface, but housing nearly 50 percent of all plant and animal species [2] .

These plants and animals are integral to forest ecosystems and provide countless ecosystem services to humans. If forests ceased to exist humans would be unable to survive.

As important as forests are both environmentally and economically, many of our global forests are severely affected by deforestation. Deforestation is one of the leading causes of climate change and species extinction.

Deforestation defined as “the cutting down of trees in a large area, or the destruction of trees by people,” is a huge problem and it is estimated that between 3 and 7 billion trees are cut down each year.

Why is deforestation happening?

Forests are often cut or burned to make way for farming or cattle grazing. Commercial logging also contributes to deforestation, and forests are cut down for development [4] .

Deforestation in developing nations is primarily due to a competitive global economy, where poorer countries sell their natural resources to pay their debts to wealthy countries. The poor in these countries also utilize the land for farming and sustenance , and these pressures continue to increase as population levels increase.

Clear-cutting can be particularly devastating to forest ecosystems, especially in rainforest ecosystems. Rainforest deforestation negatively affects the whole ecosystem because the clear-cut land is much more vulnerable to soil erosion when no trees remain to hold the soil in place.

The most affected regions

Some of the most affected regions of the world are the Amazon Rainforest, Sumatran Jungles, and forests of British Columbia. These forests have been specifically target for deforestation for a few reasons, but overall for human gain.

• The Amazon rainforest is being clear cut at a rate of 20,000 square miles per year mostly to create more land for farming and pastures for cattle ranching [5] .
• Sumatran rainforests are being destroyed and replaced by massive palm plantations to help feed human obsession with palm oil.
• Canada’s British Columbia is a hotspot for old growth forests that contain some of the most sought-after lumber in the world [6] .

These examples are just a few of the most publicized areas dealing with the problem of deforestation and there are many less well known regions being just as dramatically affected.

Effects of deforestation on animals

Deforestation has real consequences for animals. The most serious impacts of deforestation on animals are listed below.

#1 Habitat loss

Deforestation can lead to a direct loss of wildlife habitat as well as a general degradation of their habitat.

The removal of trees and other types of vegetation reduces available food, shelter, and breeding habitat. Wildlife habitats become fragmented, where native species must live on remaining habitat islands that are surrounded by disturbed land that is being used for agriculture and other uses.

Habitat fragments may be too small to maintain viable populations of animals, and an animal living in one population may no longer be able to freely breed with individuals in other populations. Animals may not be able to find adequate shelter, water, and food to survive within remaining habitat.

Animals may also encounter dangerous situations such as increased human-wildlife conflicts and being hit by vehicles when they attempt to migrate between habitat fragments.

With increased habitat edge, wildlife may experience an increased vulnerability to predation, poaching, wind, sunlight, invasion of exotic plant and animal species into remaining forest habitat, and other factors such as direct exposure to natural disasters that were not as much of a threat prior to the deforestation event.

Some animal species are entirely dependent upon old growth forest habitat, such as the Northern Spotted Owl in the Western United States, and cannot survive in secondary forest habitat. This means that in places where is any deforestation happening, these species cannot thrive and will gradually disappear.

#2 Changing climate

Trees play a vital role in controlling climate.

Because forests store a large amount of the world’s carbon dioxide, deforestation contributes 15 percent of global greenhouse emissions . When forest trees are burned, the carbon that they were storing gets released into the atmosphere.

Climate change leads to new weather patterns, changing levels of precipitation and temperature fluctuations [4] . These climatic changes can have many negative impacts, not only on local populations, but also on wildlife populations around the world as global climate change alters the habitat they depend on.

#3 Higher risk of wildfires and droughts

Deforestation may reduce the remaining forest area’s resilience to threats such as wildfires.

Local hydrological cycles can be dramatically altered, since trees and other vegetation in forests help to retain atmospheric moisture through evaporation and evapotranspiration processes.

With no tree canopy present after deforestation, such changes in the water cycle can lead to much drier and warmer conditions, leading to even further impacts on wildlife habitats [4] .

#4 Starvation

When trees are destroyed, an integral piece of the forest ecosystem disappears suddenly.

All animals, in one way or another, get energy from plants. Plants make energy from the sun and herbivores eat plants. Carnivores eat herbivores, which gained their energy from plants.

If no plants are present, there is no food in the ecosystem and animals starve [7] .

#5 Increased interaction with us

Deforestation usually means that we are claiming areas which we haven’t previously inhabited.

This means that there will be more interaction between wildlife that lives there and us.

Generally, wildlife interaction with us is negative and can have disastrous consequences for the animals. One of the best examples of our problematic co-existence with large carnivores are wolves. Wolves, once the most widely distributed mammals in the world , were for centuries regarded as our worst enemy for hunting our livestock. The conflict got so far that wolves were extensively hunted down and became a rare sight in many areas of the world.

What animals does deforestation affect the most?

Deforestation has dramatic effects for all animals, whether they live in rivers, oceans, forests, mountains, or skies.

The most affected group of animals are those that are endemic to a specific area or ecosystem, which is directly or closely linked with the forest. This represents animals that are adapted only to their specific habitat. They are often found in remote and isolated areas, like on islands or deep in the rainforest.

Very specialized animals fill a single niche found in an ecosystem. Sometimes the niche is so specialized that it is only found in a small region, like a single lake or one square kilometer of forest. A perfect example of such an animal is the endangered Phillipine Tarsier .

When deforestation occurs in these areas the plant and animal species are unable to move or adapt to a new region, almost always causing their extinction.

How does deforestation affect biodiversity overall?

Habitat destruction is single handedly the largest destroyer of biodiversity.

Since forests contain the largest percentage of the terrestrial biodiversity, deforestation is considered the leading cause of biodiversity loss on the planet.

As deforestation increases, the number of unique species of plants and animals plummets. This can be seen by the increasing rates of extinction across the globe, with extinction rates now higher than at any point in the last 65 million years [3] .

How can we stop deforestation?

Perhaps one of the most effective solutions to the problems of deforestation around the globe is to change the valuation of products that are obtained through deforestation to the valuation of global forests for the important ecosystem services and other important resources they provide, including the storage of carbon in a carbon-constrained future.

Stopping deforestation will take an international effort, as it is a widespread problem that is present on all continents. To be most effective, we cannot focus completely on stopping all logging because it is an integral part of many communities.

Instead, we need focus on using forests in sustainable ways, like limiting logging in old growth forests, not clear-cutting, and increasing the number of seedlings planted.   This is done in four main ways:

• combating illegal logging
• reforming trade agreements
• protecting forested areas
• educating local communities

The maintenance of ample viable forests around the world requires policies and laws and their necessary enforcement to protect the forests that remain and to restore forest habitat globally. By creating government regulation to protect forests and halting illegal logging , local communities are forced to reassess their use of forests.

Economic opportunities should be developed for those reliant upon forest ecosystems for their livelihood in ways that promote forest conservation instead of exploitation. Sustainably managed ecotourism activities may provide some of these opportunities, as well as fair trade products that support sustainable economic uses of forests.

Additionally, trade agreements push governments to use only sustainable products. The use of sustainable forestry certifications schemes, such as the Forest Stewardship Council , is one way to support the sustainable management and preservation of forests around the world.

Finally, planting seedlings to offset trees that are cut down is integral in maintaining tree populations for a sustainable future [2] .

Smart land management practices should be in place to ensure that viable forest resources will remain in the future, and land management techniques such as the creation of wildlife corridors can help to connect wildlife populations in a fragmented landscape.

We know that deforestation is a serious problem for earth. This means it is our responsibility, as a species, to do what we can to prevent the issue from creating a lasting impact on our planet. This requires swift action from local and national governments to make changes that protect the forests we still have.

As individuals we need to make it a priority within our communities to work towards a sustainable future for ourselves, our children, and the earth.

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Essay on Effects of Deforestation | Effects of Deforestation Essay for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Essay on Effects of Deforestation: The diverse effects of deforestation are mainly causing our environments worse, such as soil erosion, biodiversity impacts and social effects.

Deforestation has varieties of social effects on our society; its impact affects us not only humans but also animals, plants and the surrounding environment. Deforestation forces and causes the surrounding to adapt in order to survive such difficult situations.

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long and Short Essays on Effects of Deforestation for Students and Kids in English

We provide students with essay samples on Effects of Deforestation essays of 500 words and a short piece of 150 words on the same topic for reference.

Long Essay on Effects of Deforestation 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Effects of Deforestation is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

The word deforestation is defined as the process of burning and cutting down the trees in woodland and forest and converting the land to other use. Forests still cover about 30 per cent of the Earth’sEarth’s surface, but each year about 13 million hectors of forest (approximately 78,000square miles) are converted to agricultural land or cleared for other purposes.

There are actually two key issues that surround the process of deforestation. Trees absorb carbon dioxide CO2, helping to reduce the number of carbon compounds in the atmosphere. Carbon reduction will help to slow and stop the greenhouse effect, as it is one of the key causes of global warming. The diverse effects of deforestation are mainly causing our environments worse, such as soil erosion, biodiversity impacts and social effects.

In the monsoon season, washing away of soil are some immediate effects of deforestation. This is because trees are no longer binding and anchoring the soil and so mudslides take place. By the large amounts of water, the EarthEarth is leached of minerals. Although tropical forests cover only about 7 percent of the Earth’sEarth’s dry land, they probably harbour about half of all species on EarthEarth. Many species can only be found in small areas and are so specialized to microhabitats within the forest. Their specialization makes them vulnerable to extinction.

Deforestation has varieties of social effects on our society; its impact affects us not only humans but also animals, plants and the surrounding environment. Deforestation forces and causes the surrounding to adapt in order to survive such difficult situations. Every day, the use the timber as a major source of fuel, building material, and paper products, a hundred thousands of trees are cut down all over the world. Urbanization has forced a man to acquire huge forest areas. As the population grows, the need for agricultural land has also increased over the years. A basic statistic showing population growth as the population grows so makes the rise, which leads to deforestation and the demand of more forests to be cut down. This is a break-down of land area per sq. km 2002 / 2008.

Some of the possible solutions to deforestation are:

• Due to public awareness, there has been a new development in most parts of the world that enforces reforestation. Especially in countries around Asia, we have seen some major changes.
• Due to new regulations and laws passed, we have also seen huge development as old trees are not allowed to be cut down, and new trees have been planted.
• Sanctuaries are actually very important, not only to save the entire wildlife but also to save leftover trees. In protecting all wildlife, sanctuaries go a long way.
• All cities do let alone new cities and have to be properly managed. The new projects need to be planned and controlled accordingly making sure new trees are planted.
• For all the wood or forest that is needed for the industry, there can be special forest plantations. This way, the wood can be harvested and cut in a regulated and controlled environment.
• In a big way, improper water management affects deforestation. If the wildlife doesn’t have water, then the entire ecosystem will falter.

Short Essay on Effects of Deforestation 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Effects of Deforestation is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide CO2, helping to reduce the number of carbon compounds in the atmosphere. Carbon reduction will help to slow and stop the greenhouse effect, as it is one of the key causes of global warming.

The diverse effects of deforestation are mainly causing our environments worse, such as soil erosion, biodiversity impacts and social effects. In the monsoon season, washing away of soil are some immediate effects of deforestation. This is because trees are no longer binding and anchoring the soil and so mudslides take place. By the large amounts of water, the Earthis leached of minerals.

Deforestation has varieties of social effects on our society; its impact affects us not only humans but also animals, plants and the surrounding environment. Deforestation forces and causes the surrounding to adapt in order to survive such difficult situations. There has been a new development in most parts of the world that enforces reforestation. Especially in countries around Asia, we have seen some major changes.

10 Lines on Effects of Deforestation in English

• Deforestation is a process cutting down its trees and bushes and removal of forest.
• Forests satisfy us in numerous ways, and it is not ethical to destroy them completely.
• Making land available for the habitation of human is the major reason behind deforestation.
• Another big reason for deforestation is to get the costly item like oil from the Palm tree.
• Deforestation is a very slow process, but it is done by cutting down every single tree.
• The burning of trees is one of the faster processes of deforestation.
• Deforestation helps and promotes the increase of the Green House Gases like Carbon dioxide CO2, which are hazardous as well as dangerous.
• Trees actually reduce the soil erosion to almost zero levels which do increases after the process of deforestation.
• Deforest forces the wild animals like panther, lion, and tiger to run towards the villages and towns.
• Deforestation has increased rapidly in the past few decades, and its effect can be clearly seen.

FAQ’s on Effects of Deforestation Essay

Question 1.  What are the effects of deforestation Class 8?

Answer:  The percolation of rainwater into the soil is reduced when the forest trees are cut down. A lot of water of heavy rain from deforested soil due to deforestation rushes into the rivers quickly, causing floods.

Question 2. What are the effects of deforestation on humans?

Answer:  But deforestation is having another worrisome effect: an increase in malaria and dengue fever, which are the spread of life-threatening diseases.

Question 3. Why is it important to stop deforestation?

Answer:  Keeping forests drought by regulating regional rainfall and intact also help prevent floods. And because many forest and indigenous peoples rely on tropical-forests for their livelihoods, investments in reducing deforestation provide without deforestation them with the resources they need for sustainable development.

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The Effects of Deforestation: its Role on Climate Change and Impact on Ecosystems

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Essay on Deforestation

Deforestation is cutting down a large number of trees and clearing out forest areas. The various reasons behind these human activities are increasing the space for human usage like logging or wood extraction, agricultural expansion, infrastructure expansion etc. Deforestation is harmful to the environment because it causes a lot of carbon emissions and alters the natural ecosystem. It also contributes to global warming and climate change because plants release the stored carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide when they are cutting down. The deforestation essay urges us to learn the causes, effects and preventive measures of deforestation.

Deforestation is a severe problem, and we must stop cutting down precious trees. Trees are destroyed to make way for urban development and the cultivation of crops. To expand the land area and construct buildings, production houses and manufacturing plants, we are cutting down trees, and the government is trying its best to avoid deforestation. The process of deforestation also increases the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change on the planet. Once the kids have understood the causes and effects of this issue, you can engage them in writing an essay on deforestation by referring to BYJU’S deforestation essay pdf.

Table of Contents

Causes of deforestation, effects of deforestation, preventive measures to avoid deforestation.

Deforestation is a global phenomenon, and one of the leading causes of deforestation is the expansion of cities. People want to live in cities, but they often don’t realise how dangerous this can be to the environment and contributes to environmental pollution . Let us learn the causes that have led to deforestation and destroying the planet by reading the deforestation essay in English.

Other causes of deforestation are urbanisation, farming and a massive population explosion at a global level. As the population increases at a tremendous rate, the space for people to live is shrinking. Hence, people destroy forests to create living space, roads and excellent infrastructure.

As our wants and greed have increased, it has destroyed the environment. Mining is one of the main causes of deforestation and is destroying mother Earth . Another cause of deforestation is wood harvesting or logging for domestic fuel (charcoal).

As we have learned about the causes of deforestation, let us move on to the next segment – the effects of deforestation by reading the deforestation effects essay.

Deforestation has had many adverse effects on the planet. Significant effects of deforestation are climate change, soil erosion, global warming , wildlife extinction and underground water depletion. Besides, there are other consequences such as flooding, shrinking wildlife habitats, and reduced water quality. The essay on deforestation explains the negative effects of deforestation on the Earth.

The decrease in trees and vegetation can lead to an increase in the emission of greenhouse gases and other forms of pollution . Moreover, trees are essential and provide habitats for countless species, and they lose their habitats because of these human activities. They also store large amounts of carbon that can be used as a renewable energy source. When forests are destroyed, carbon is released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change and global warming.

After learning about the adverse effects of deforestation by reading BYJU’S deforestation effects essay , let us move on to learn how to prevent deforestation.

To maintain the ecological balance, we need to take preventative measures to avoid deforestation. Deforestation can be eradicated by taking the necessary steps to save Earth . The government has to take strict action against deforestation and encourage people to plant more trees. This certainly helps in resolving the after-effects of the loss of trees. In addition, we can start growing plants at home and help our environment heal from the loss of trees and forests .

To conclude, deforestation is a major concern. Hence, we all must join hands in eradicating this issue and help our planet retain its ability to thrive. Provide the little ones with a deforestation essay pdf, and for more kids learning activities, visit BYJU’S website.

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Home — Essay Samples — Environment — Deforestation — Deforestation, Its Effects, And Strategies To Deal With

Deforestation, Its Effects, and Strategies to Deal with

• Categories: Deforestation Environmental Issues

About this sample

Words: 603 |

Published: Jan 28, 2021

Words: 603 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

​​​​​References

• Jules N. Pretty, Stella, W., and Camilla, T., 2012. Sustainable Intensification: Increasing Productivity in African Food and Agricultural Systems. 2 ed. London: Routledge.
• Peter C., David, M., Axel, O., and Steven, S. 2017. Global Carbon Pricing: The Path to Climate Cooperation. 3 ed. Cambridge: MIT Press.
• Philipp, H. and Fariborz, Z., 2015. Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Governance and Politics. 2 ed. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Willi, W., and Simon, Y., 2013. Lessons from Vernacular Architecture. 4 ed. London: Routledge.

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