deforestation and case study EVS (Krishnaveni).pptx

deforestation

1. Deforestation and case study Environmental Science Ms.R.Krishnaveni

2. Deforestation and case study Deforestation : It is putting our planet at risk, as the following case studies exemplify. It is responsible for at least 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions1 and wipes out 137 species of plants, animals and insects every day. The deplorable practice degenerates soil, losing half of the world’s topsoil over the past 150 years. Deforestation also leads to drought by reducing the amount of water in the atmosphere.

3. Deforestation and case study Deforestation case study: Nearly two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest – the largest rainforest in the world – is within Brazil’s national borders. 8 Any examination of deforestation case studies would be incomplete without considering tree felling in Brazil.

4. Deforestation and case study Industrial activities and large-scale agriculture began to eat away the southern and eastern fringes of the Amazon, from the 1950s onwards. Deforestation in Brazil received a significant boost in 1964 when a military dictatorship took power and declared the jungle a security risk. By the 1970s, the government was running television ads encouraging land conversion, provoking millions to migrate north into the forest. Settlements replaced trees, and infrastructure began to develop. Wealthy tycoons subsequently bought the land for cattle ranches or vast fields of soy.

5. Deforestation and case study By the turn of the 21st century, more than 75 per cent of deforestation in the Amazon was for cattle ranching. But, environmentalists and Indigenous groups drew international attention to the devastation caused and succeeded in curtailing it by 2004. Between 2004 and the early 2010s, annual forest cover loss in Brazil reduced by about 80 per cent. The decline is attributed to “increased law enforcement, satellite monitoring, pressure from environmentalists, private and public sector initiatives, new protected areas, and macroeconomic trends”.14

6. Deforestation and case study Brazil’s deforestation of the Amazon rainforest since 2010 Unfortunately, however, efforts to curtail deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon have stalled since 2012. Tree felling and land conversion have been trending upwards ever since. The economic incentive for chopping the rainforest down has overcome the environmental benefits of leaving it standing. Political movements and lax government legislation have leveraged this to their advantage.

7. Deforestation and case study However, there is still hope for the Amazon rainforest. Bolsonaro’s principal international ally was US President Trump. Now that environmentally-conscious Joe Biden has replaced him in the White House, international pressure regarding deforestation will increase heavily. Biden has made this clear with a promise of USD $20 billion to protect the Amazon.

8. Deforestation and case study The impact of continued deforestation: For its three million plant and animal species and one million Indigenous inhabitants, it is imperative that Amazonian deforestation is massively and immediately reduced. As much as 17 per cent of the Amazon has been lost already. If this proportion increases to over 20 per cent, a tipping point will be reached. This will irreversibly break the water cycle, and at least half of the remaining forest will become savannah.24

9. Deforestation and case study Impact on climate change: Losing the Amazon would also mean losing the fight against climate change. Despite the rampant deforestation in recent years, the remaining Amazon rainforest still absorbs between 5 to 10 per cent of all human CO2 emissions. Cutting trees down increases anthropogenic emissions. When felled, burned or left to rot, trees release sequestered carbon. A combination of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preserving existing forests is crucial to preventing dangerous levels of global warming.

10. Deforestation and case study Deforestation case study: The Congo Basin is the second-largest rainforest in the world. It has been described as the ‘second lungs’ of the Earth because of how much carbon dioxide it absorbs and how much oxygen it produces. But, just as the world’s first lungs – the Amazon – is being destroyed by humans, the Congo’s rainforest is also suffering heavy casualties.

11. Deforestation and case study 60 per cent of the Congo Basin is located within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The DRC is one of the world’s largest and poorest countries, though it has immense economic resources. Natural resources have fuelled an ongoing war that has affected all the neighbouring countries and claimed as many as six million lives. The resultant instability combined with corruption and poor governance have led to an ever-increasing rate of deforestation within the DRC’s borders.

12. Deforestation and case study 80 million people depend upon the Congo Basin for their existence. It provides food, charcoal, firewood, medicinal plants, and materials for building and other purposes. But, this rainforest also indirectly supports people across the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. Like all forests, it is instrumental in regulating rainfall, which can affect precipitation hundreds of miles away.