Positive And Negative Impacts Of Deforestation In Malaysia

It is easy to think that as an individual one has extremely limited power over the situation, however through wonderful organisations such as the WWF we are able to stand united to reduce deforestation, and finally boost the sustainability of the earth’s resources by a significant amount. Every small bit counts! Be a smart customer when shopping for anything made of wood, like furniture, as it is often made of trees from the Amazon rainforest. Be aware of where your meat, coffee or shampoo comes from, because if deforestation continues as it is today, you might one day not have the privilege of enjoying it

Deforestation: Good or Bad? By Tristan McDermott (Final Copy) Deforestation is a controversial environmental issue, with some people believing that it is necessary to cut down trees to make room for things such as buildings and roads, while others believe that it is bad because it is destroying the environment. I believe that deforestation, while it does have a few positive effects, mainly has negative effects that massively outweigh the positive effects. According to an article written by National Geographic, (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/) deforestation is a major contributor to global warming: “Trees also play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming.

The trees will also contribute to new wildlife habitats, restore water cycles, and rebuild carbon storage. The new trees will help store some of the carbon that was released from the cut down forests. A drawback to this concept is that although replanting trees is good, the lost ecosystems will not be able adapt back after losing their

This includes forests or ecosystems that are presumed to be of 'high conservation value' are protected from palm oil plantations, potential timer industries or deforestation. Collaborating with timber organisations in North Sumatra, specifically the rain-forests which are located on Lake Toba and the town of Medan, to reduce potential negative effects on habitats and the specific Sumatran Orangutan population. For instance, various studies suggest that orangutans can survive in cleared forests if the extent of damage and impact is mitigated and diminished through actions such as selective logging, such as ensuring that a number of trees are left for this species to thrive as well as ensuring that fruit trees are still available. Mitigating human and orangutan interaction. Working with local governments, various timber, palm oil and logging organisations on practical methods to ensure that orangutans are kept out of these plantations.

The reason people clear the forests is because they lack access to more sustainable jobs, such as farming. Finding alternate professions for the people who clear the tropical rainforests in Borneo would be very helpful, because the people who live off of illegal forest clearing, only do this because they do not have nay another choice. The solution will not solve everything, however, because illegal logging is not the only problem in the rainforest. This way of helping will not completely stop deforestation, but it will certainly slow it down, which can already make it easier to put a stop to illegal logging and deforestation. An example of a company using this method is Health in Harmony, who has recently started an initiative called ‘The buyback entrepreneurship program’ this program focuses on couples wanting to begin their own business.

Effects such as these can have unpredictable effects on the environment. The effect of reduced forest size has already had a measurable impact on the composition of our atmosphere in the relatively short amount of time we have been cutting them down(6). Ironically however it is the conversion of forest land to urban and agriculture use that has a more permanent and detrimental impact. Logging and urbanization lead to forest succession. Forest succession happens when there are changes to an environment that causes the composition of plant and animal species to change.

Negative Human Impacts on Tropical Rainforests One of the major negative human impacts touching the tropical rainforests currently is deforestation. Deforestation is clearing large areas of forest land for non-forest uses. The main purpose land is cleared is for agricultural reasons. Farmers need this land to grow their crops on and to feed their cattle with. Due to the fact that the soil in tropical rainforests is fertile for only a few years, land has to be constantly cleared to make more space for farmland.

Evidence suggests that the local people care about conserving the forest. In a poll it was shown that 94% of participants believe that conservation of the forest is important (Guthiga and Mburu 22-23). Guthiga and Mburu believe that the people are glad that the KWS is conserving the forest, but the locals would like to also share the benefits with the KWS (23). Thus, if the people were able to run programs like the KEEP’s tree nurseries and eco-tours, they would be gaining the benefits, which would also detract from the massive poverty issue in the area. Both of these benefits would promote conservation by the

opportunities, a higher value ascribed on forests by the general public and the government, or the government’s expanded capacity to implement forest protection. Given the hypothetical relationship, income levels in most developing countries are well below the threshold levels at which deforestation decreases (Angelsen and Kaimomitz, 1999). The forest transition theory started with the work of Mather (1992), a professor from Aberdeen University, who proposed that initially, a country’s forest cover goes through a phase of deforestation as it develops economically and socially, reaches a point of inflection, then eventually turns around and enter a phase of reforestation and stabilization in the forest cover (Zhang, 2000). This “forest transition” as Mather coined it, is an inverted “U-shaped curve” for forest cover as a function of time. During the period of deforestation, loggers and cultivators clear forest lands and convert them into agricultural lands to meet the increasing demand for food and raw materials of the economically growing nation.

This means that a larger quantity of trees need to be planted than what are cut each year. This would allow for the services which the ecosystem provides such as the storage of carbon dioxide, keeping the balance between the water on the land and in the atmosphere and providing habitats for animals to keep being offered. Reforestation is, however, not a sustainable solution since there would be a need for a severely great effort if we were to be able to reduce the negative effects of deforestation. Reforestation furthermore won’t prevent species from becoming extinct since it wouldn’t be done near their habitats due to the presence of e.g. agricultural farmers.