Deforestation

Deforestation

• Deforestation means cutting down a forest. Humans do this to make space for industries such as agriculture, as well as using the resulting timber as building materials and fuel. Some of the land is also used to build houses or factories.
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• Caption: Building a road through a deforested area.

Consequences

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• Caption: Slash-and-burn deforestation technique means pollution
• Habitats are destroyed causing many animals to become endangered, or even extinct.
• There is an increase in soil erosion, leading to more floods, landslides and incredibly barren land.
• Burning the forest causes increased air pollution, impacting not only that area but the rest of the world.

Loss of Biodiversity

• Deforestation also means less biodiversity in the area. This means we are in danger or destroying organisms that we could have utilised in the future. For example it is hypothesised many rainforest plants can be used as medicines.
• Aside from this most people would say that we have a moral obligation to look after life on this planet, for us and future generations. Many organisations like Greenpeace have been campaigning against deforestation for years.