Causes of Deforestation and How to Prevent It

Deforestation is a growing threat in every country throughout the world and, while the issue poses specific dangers in various areas around the globe, the many reasons for the eradication of lush forest regions can be traced back to humanity’s influence on our home. Mankind is wiping out the planet’s forestry at alarming rates through a wide range of destructive methods. Certain parts of the world are suffering these losses more significantly than others, but these harmful impacts are evident in just about every corner of the globe.

Being able to identify the major causes of deforestation is the first critical step in finding a solution to the problem before it grows exponentially more threatening.

Agricultural Impacts

Forests have been leveled to make room for agricultural use as major corporations have replaced large swaths of land with plantations and factories dedicated to food production for everything from corn to soybeans. It’s not just crop growth, either, as livestock are raised in these areas as well.  The once dense forestry is now being replaced with grazing fields for cows and other animals raised expressly for food products.

Urban Sprawl

As populations grow, urban centers begin to spread farther out and the rural sections surrounding metropolitan areas are affected. Forests are razed to make room for more housing and retail development.

Logging and Lumber

The forests aren’t just destroyed to make room for business and shelter, the trees and other resources that are found in the forests are taken for consumer use. Wood is a part of everything we use from furniture to paper to fuel and it is often cut down and taken illegally.

Oil and Mining Impacts

It’s not just wood that’s being removed the forests. Companies are tapping resource-rich areas for oil and coal and the methods by which they extract these items can have a devastating negative impact on the forests. Not only are actions such as fracking and fracturing harmful to the environment, but trees are often felled to make room for roads so that vehicles can take people to and from the site as well as transporting the resources that have been extracted away from the area.

What Can You Do?

There are many ways for you to get involved. It can be as easy as planting a tree in your backyard to replace the many that have been eliminated throughout the world, boycott the companies that have made the most detrimental impacts on forests, appeal to lawmakers to pass more stringent restrictions on land use, and buy more products made from recycled materials. Change starts with you; become an advocate for the preservation of our forests.