My Short Stories

Deforestation Around the World (Essay)

Works Cited can be provided upon request. This is not peer reviewed.

Most everyone knows what deforestation is. Many, if not all, have heard about the environmental issues we face today. It's a big dark black hole of depression that tells everyone the world is doomed. "There is no planet B." Furthermore, depending on who you ask, a solution is either impossible; or we're at least another decade from finding the answer. But which is it? Or are we closer to a fix than we thought? Is deforestation an issue that could, potentially, be stopped, and what would it take to get there?

First off, where is it happening? Going by continent, the leading continent is South America, at a whopping 103 million hectares (mha) in the last 20 years. Not that surprising when remembering the Amazon rainforest is there. After that, it's North America at 86 mha. Nearly tied with North America is Northern Asia. (Russia, China, India, etc.) Not including Southeast Asia of Vietnam and Thailand, they have cut down 84 mha in the last 20 years. Then, going in order, the rest follows like so: Southeast Asia (53 mha), Africa (50 mha), Europe (23 mha), and Oceana (11 mha). (World Resources Institute)

Going by continent once more, let's look at the why. Why are they cutting down trees? In Southern America, 63% of their deforestation is for pasteurization. In other words, farming cows for dairy and beef. (Butler) Specifically, "in 2020, Brazil was the largest exporter of beef worldwide with exports amounting to a value of 7.4 billion U.S. dollars." (Shahbandeh) When trying to research possible alternatives, no clear answer came up. However, one idea could be Brazil buying land in another country, allowing them to double their land and half their deforestation rates. But, one thing that did show up in research was that "more sustainable farming systems are being encouraged by new international and national regulations." (Veiga et al.) They listed a few examples of farmers around Brazil who would plant trees around their pastures to improve land productivity. It doesn't solve the problem, but it shows that they want to change.

After that, there's North America. 57% is for lumber and paper products, and 42% is from wildfires. (World Resources Institute) Now, lumber can be anything from firewood to building materials. As far as a solution for firewood, there's not an easy fix. There is alternative gas for fires, but it's more expensive than regular wood. The price has even gone significantly higher over the last year. (U.S. Energy Information Administration) So if the goal was to completely stop using wood for fires, it would be way more harmful and expensive than simply sticking with wood. Building materials, on the other hand, have more alternatives to wood. Concrete, metals, glass, gypsum, and even plastics. By comparing the prices on an article published by the NAHB, the prices of these alternatives compared to wood is significantly cheaper. (Logan) Though, there is something that might be important to note. There's a term called 'tree farming.' It's the planting of trees to cut them down once it's at full size for wood and paper. Which ties into the alternative options for paper products. To avoid going into the debate of paper versus plastic, and to put it simply, there's no clear solution for this either. If you replace paper with plastics, it will solve one issue but spark up another, and vice versa. It's a whole other issue in and of itself, and we don't have time to analyze it.

The other thing contributing to the large amounts of deforestation in North American countries is wildfires. No wonder Smokey the Bear is a well-known American figure. With wildfires, the only solution is to stay aware of your actions and be educated on preventing one from happening. Wildfires can be started by anything from a cigarette butt to a campfire, to fireworks. (Bureau of Indian Affairs) All anyone needs to do is take a moment to calculate risks and ask local authorities for the policies in your area.

But these things previously mentioned aren't the only causes for deforestation. Forests are often cut down and replaced with agriculture, such as wheat, corn, and tobacco crops. There's also urbanization, making room for cities and towns. And finally, a lesser-known cause is climate change. With all three of these, an answer to that is less complex than one might think. Microbiologist Willie Smits shared his story about deforestation in East Borneo, "[It was] a biological desert. When I stood there in the grass, it was hot -- not even the sound of insects -- just this waving grass." What was once a large, green forest was all cut down for oil companies. 50% of people were jobless, no one had food or water, and wildfires were rampant because of the dead, dry land. But with a bit of planning and only a few years of hard work from the local people, there were nearly 3,000 new jobs, 1,000 unique species of animals, increased rainfall, and a nursery that grows hundreds of unique species of plants. (Smits) With the issues of making room for agriculture and urbanization, Dr. Smits worked around what was already there and made room for everything. There was room for the town to grow, as well as enough space for the wildlife. As far as climate change goes, the annual temperature of Borneo was reduced by nearly 5 degrees Celsius, leading to fewer droughts and wildfires.

Another thing worth mentioning with the issue of agriculture. The plan Willie Smits created is not nearly as complicated as some might think. There's a large farm/museum complex in northern Utah called Thanksgiving Point. It's a nonprofit that offers education classes, volunteer opportunities, or a fun stroll through its massive botanical garden. One of the more popular courses is a 6-week long training for children (ages 3-5) where the kids can explore the garden and farms, or even go on field trips, to explore the outdoors. Things like this can get kids excited about the outdoors, and when they're older, be passionate about protecting it. But that isn't the only thing. One class, in particular, allowed teens (ages 14-17) to plan out and plant a garden. Under adult guidance, these kids organized a chart containing watermelons, strawberries, tomatoes, garlic, and even some potatoes. Barely taking up 100 square feet, the whole garden grew a feast fit for a king. Most of the kids there didn't know much about gardening at first, but by the end of that summer, when the harvesting began, both their confidence and knowledge were boosted.

Next, to address a question that some might have with this topic. Quoting the 2012 film The Lorax, "how bad can this possibly be?" (Chris Renaud) Or, why does it matter? Well, there are numerous side effects to deforestation, according to environmentalist Rinkesh Kukreja. To list a few: it's a catalyst in global warming, it can lead to flooding from the lack of protection trees provide, loss of trees can also lead to wildlife extinction, food insecurity, soil erosion as nutrients are lost, and overly acidic oceans as the earth tries to compensate with the massive amounts of carbon dioxide. (Kukreja) Also, during an interview with biologist Dr. O'Brien, she said, "climate change, unfortunately, is creating droughts in places where droughts have not occurred historically." (O'Brien) If there's not enough water, the forests aren't getting watered either, and they will start to die off.

Moving on from the larger issues to focus on what anyone can do to help. There are numerous nonprofit organizations dedicated to deforestation, including Team Trees, Conservation International, and Trees for the Future. With a simple online search, anyone can donate to these organizations to help them push for more protection of the forests or become a volunteer and go plant new trees. Another easy way to get involved is to stay up to date on the political side. Read articles and do research, and vote on preservation policies. One nonprofit organization that has news articles about these issues is Greenpeace. They also have volunteer opportunities and petitions on environmental issues. Finally, perhaps a more controversial solution is to buy less. Using a business term to best explain this, vote with your wallet. Support green companies by buying sustainable lumber/paper and limit purchases on single-use plastics.

In conclusion, deforestation is a huge and complicated issue, with numerous overlapping concerns. Going back to the original question, is this an issue that can be stopped? Well, to come to a complete stop on all deforestation worldwide would be impossible. But to decrease or even half the deforestation rates is very much attainable. It would take global participation and some lifestyle changes, but it's very doable. To quote the Lorax once more, "unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." (Renaud)