How,when and why did Deforestation start?

Deforestation started because people began living in wooded areas. People cut down forests for houses, farms, and even for wood needed for big cities. Thousands of forests covered the earth many years ago. But, because of these reasons, only a few of the original forests remain to this day.

The earth’s population is increasing every second. Therefore, there is a need for more wood for houses, businesses and also for firewood. People clear the land to make room for new buildings. Deforestation mostly occurred in the 20th century. Today, only 30 % of the Rain Forests remain. Believe it or not, 10,000 years ago half of the world's land mass was covered with Rainforest.

They are cutting down valuable hardwood trees at an alarming rate. The trees provide the wood that the community needs. Also, people are taking the hardwood trees and using it to build buildings and they are wasting the hardwood! They use the valuable hardwoods to build new furniture, for firewood, and homes.

Another very important reason why Deforestation is occurring is that people are using the “slash and burn” agricultural technique to clear all of the land for farming, to make room for homes. “Slash and Burn” happens when the people chop down all of the trees, and then they burn the land to create more space. And last, but not least, after years the soil will eventually get poor. They will have to repeat the process over and over again. This will just keep on diminishing all of the land the forests have to offer, which is currently not much.

In Brazil

In two states, Mato Grosso and Para, where about 70 percent of Brazil's deforestation has taken place in recent times, the area converted to farmland in the first quarter of this year spiked to 214 square kilometres from 77 years ago.

Although it was the rainy season, the early time of year when the chainsaws are usually less active, an area equivalent in size to 21,400 football pitches was cleared of trees between January and March, the Brazilian environmental authorities say.

The world food crisis has actually weakened the hand of environmentalists in Brazilian politics who are trying to conserve the untouched forests as a biodiversity treasure trove.

Mato Grosso's governor, Blairo Maggi, responded to the figures by defending deforestation as necessary to feed the world.

"You can't grow more food unless you put more land into production by chopping down trees," declared Maggi, who is nicknamed the "soya king" in Brazil.

This I think is an excuse so he can keep on chopping trees.He might give some land to the Farmers but the most reason why Forest's get chopped of because they wanna built buildings.

Is deforestation coming to an end????

The Brazilian government has announced suggesting that deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has fallen by 50 percent this year.
The government says this is the result of new protection policie.

But environmental groups warn it is too soon to be sure there has been a long-term reversal in the destruction of the world's largest rainforest.

Environment Minister said 9,000 square km of forest was felled in the last year.

This compares with more than 18,000 square km in 2003 to 2004.

The Environment Minister said she believed this fall was the result of not only greater government control but also because of more development projects.

Deforestation in Indonesia:

In an article in Newsday, Edward A. Gargan, says that in Bangsri, Indonesia has the last great teakwood forests. The wood ends up in places like Abdul Jambari's garden furniture workshop. For about $100, Jambari's chair will sit on a patio or deck somewhere in the United States or Europe. But that chair and the 4,000 others that are part of Jambari's latest export shipment, have left behind a swath of utter devastation, one of thousands that afflict this archipelago and spell the end of the majestic forests that once blonged to Indonesia.

Their disappearance also means the extinction of innumerable animal and plant species indigenous to this country. One-tenth of the tropical forests are located in Indonesia. In an unpublished report, the World Bank found that all the lowland forests in one of Indonesia's largest islands, Sumatra, will be extinct this decade, and that unless the government acts immediately to stop rampant illegal logging, the only extensive forests that will remain in Sumatra and Kalimantan in the second decade of the new millennium will be the low-stature forests of the mountains.

Deforestation in Costa Rica:

In Costa Rica, people have denuded the forests to provide pastureland for cattle ranching. Pristine forests fell to make way for a world-wide demand for beef. Since the end of World War II, approximately 80% of the forests of Costa Rica have disappeared. Many people considered bananas or coffee, or even sugar cane, as the prime exports of Costa Rica. Sadly, the fact became apparent that top soil, the very life source to Costa Rica's agriculture, was becoming the prime export. Down from the denuded hills into the streams and out to the oceans, top soil was disappearing from the land mass, year after year. The deforestation of tropical rain forests is a threat to life worldwide. Deforestation has profound effects on global climate and causes the extinction of thousands of species annually. Stopping deforestation in the tropics has become an international movement and has promoted the search for ways to reverse its effects.

Deforestation!!!!!!!!

That people just chop off beautiful trees here on this picture everything used to be forest now every thing was chopped off!! They are normal people like us but they don't understand the world we need trees!!!


SAVE THE TREES!!!!!


Go to this site to see how bad our trees are!!!