Scope of the Problem of Deforestation

SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM OF DEFORESTATION 3

BACKGROUND 8

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC CONFLICTS 11

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15

Deforestation is a global issue, which makes it a more difficult problem to address than if it were strictly a domestic one or even if it were occurring only in one region of the world. Deforestation not only takes place in various regions of the world, it also affects everyone, with the potential for worldwide ecological devastation. The size of the problem has been accelerating in recent years. Many of the developed nations of the world have decimated their own forests, and though today they are involved in attempts at preserving vast tracts of the forest they have left, they have already contributed to the problem by the destruction wrought during their formative period. This makes it all the more difficult for them to complain when developing nations are faced with the issue of preservation versus jobs and a viable economy, which is usually the way the issue unfolds. Still, governments of both developed and developing nations have a stake in the long-term survival of forests, notably the rainforests of tropical regions, and governmental action at both levels is necessary. In add

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tions with high rates of loss include Cameroon, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Vietnam, followed by Colombia, Ivory Coast, Thailand, Laos, and Nigeria. Walsh (1989) states that about half the world's forests are temperate, and half tropical, and throughout much of history, forestlands have been declining. In the temperate regions, the hectares of forest are expanding, but the increases have been more than offset by decreases in the tropical regions. The majority of the world's forests are closed, meaning their branches form a canopy overhead that creates shade and prevents the growth of grasses and shrubs on the forest floor. Open forests and woodlands occupy drier locations and are more resistant to drought and fire, and grasses and shrubs grow between the trees. The figures on destruction only hint at what is actually happening in the forest. A number reflecting the rate of deforestation does not even begin to convey the impact of an eroded field where a rainforest once stood, an impact which extends beyond the immediate area. Temperate forests recorded a modest expansion because of trees growing on abandoned cropland, but these forests of the temperate zones showed the effects of a crisis facing the developed nations: e
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Approximate Word count = 3743
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)

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