What is Deforestation

• Deforestation is the cutting down and removal of all of most of the trees in a forested area
• Trees are a renewable resource BUT if the rate of deforestation is faster than the rate of replanting, we will lose trees forever
• Rainforests are disappearing at alarming rates
• Due to Agriculture, Cattle ranching, Logging, Mining, Land clearance
• Agriculture is the growing of crops and raising of animals to provide food. Large scale commercial agriculture activities on plantations (Burn and clear large areas of the rainforest, Crops are grown for cash and are sold to meet both local and global needs.) Thus the rate of deforestation increased greatly
• Cattle Ranching involves operating large farms to raise cattle. Large areas of rainforest are cleared to create land for the cattle food (unable to grow in rainforests due to lack of sunlight)
• Logging is the cutting down of trees for timber. Commercial logging of tropical hardwoods (teak, mahogany, rosewood) to make furniture, building materials and charcoal. (Growing demand for timber products — increases logging activities) Logging reduces the number of trees and damages the rainforest as a whole. 
• Mining for precious metals and gemstones (gold, copper and diamonds) are found beneath  many tropical rainforests. Forests are cleared to establish the mines and construct roads to transport the mined materials*
• Human activities have led to deforestation however some may view these activities as the Key to development
• The clearing of forests provides land for communities to build houses, factories, offices
• Roads can be built and this makes trade and transport easier
• Land can be converted to agriculture land to allow the production of more food
• Environmental impact - loss of biodiversity, water catchment areas, increased risk of flooding, soil erosion and enhanced greenhouse effects
• Loss of biodiversity is the loss of variety of plants and animals. Millions of species have become extinct. Thus there is lesser variety of resources that we can obtain from the rainforest. Plants of medicinal value are lost when a single tree is cut down in a tropical environment, thus it increases the likelihood of of insect-borne diseases
• Loss of water catchment areas. Forests play an important role in maintaining our water supply. As water is able to be collected and stored within a water catchment area.
• Increased risk of flooding, soil erosion, sedimentation - Soil erosion is the removal of the top layers of soil. 
• Enhanced greenhouse effect (diff from greenhouse effect and has nth to do with ozone layer depletion) - The earth atmosphere keeps the earth warm enough for us to survive. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap some of the heat and prevent it from escaping into space. (This causes warming of the atmosphere known as greenhouse effect - not related) The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased due to human activities. This led to a rise in the earth average temperature as more heat is trapped in the atmosphere —> Enhanced greenhouse effect. Cutting down trees causes the increase in Co2. Deforestation increases the amt of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
• Economic impact - Depletion of natural resources
• Natural resources - Natural resource is anything from the natural environment that people can use to satisfy their needs such as food, shelter, clothing, air and water. Tropical rainforests provide important natural resources that contribute greatly to the economic growth
• Social Impact - Effects of indigenous people
• Indigenous people - Cutting down of rainforests to create land for plantations or mining affects the lives of indigenous people. Thus they lose their homes and are forced to adapt to a new way of living to survive. Traditionally they live in harmony and obtain everything they need from the forest. This displacement often causes indigenous tribes to disperse and cultures to disappear. 

Cause of haze - Slash and burn of trees as it provides timber and wood thus farmers would cut down the trees to obtain these materials. Left with undergrowth.