How Does Deforestation Concern Me?

and what we can do to stop it

Have you ever wondered: What is a forest? At first sight, the question sounds silly and one might simply say: a forest is a vegetation made up of trees.

But, taking a closer look, there is much more to a forest.

Forests are sophisticated communities composed of endless species of plants and animals, micro-organisms and abiotic components like soil, climate and water. The interrelationships between these are highly complex, many details of its functioning being yet unresolved by science.

For example, only in the last few decades have scientists understood that trees possess a huge underground network of roots and fungal hyphae. These enable them to communicate and nurture each other by chemical substances, similar to the human hormone system.

Why forests matter

Forests are home to around two thirds of the world’s land species and help regulate the Earth’s climate.

How? Everybody knows that trees produce oxygen, but they are in fact source to only about 20% of the oxygen we breathe. The importance of forests stretches far beyond their physical boundaries. Forests…

…store nearly 300 billion tons of carbon in their living parts. That’s about 40 times the annual greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. When they are cut down or burned, they release this carbon into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. Contrarily, new trees that are planted help eliminate the surplus of greenhouse gases we currently have in the atmosphere, thus attenuating global warming.

…play a vital role in the water cycle. They transmit water from the soil into the atmosphere through evaporation. This moisture eventually falls as rain (locally or elsewhere). Thanks to their deep roots (which can reach up to 7 meters of depth!), trees can bring up water from far deeper than any other plants. Water has a cooling effect on the local, as well as the global climate. Ultimately, it is the basis of our existence.

But forests also provide a variety of direct uses to humans, such as wood from trees, nutrition from forest animals, recreation, medicinal plants etc.

Saving the climate

Originally, forests covered large parts of the planet, as they represent the “climax community” of natural succession. This means that, if our planet was to be completely uninfluenced by man over a period of time, it would eventually be covered by woods. Today, only 31% of the total land area is covered by forests. The major reasons why forests are cut down are to provide land for agricultural use or cities and to furnish wood for charcoal, building materials etc.

Regarding the massive deforestation of the last decades and centuries, we can only imagine the effects this will have on our biosphere and climate. When forests are destroyed, they release large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere. This contributes to climate change and global warming.

Just to get a feeling for the dimensions we are talking about: the greenhouse gas emissions that result from changes in land use (for example turning forests into agricultural land) are nearly 40 times higher than the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural machines. This actually makes it a major trigger for climate change.

Who are the losers?

But at the same time, climate change represents a large problem for agricultural production. Agriculture is very much dependent upon the weather conditions. Poor weather or a lack of water can lead to dramatically decreased yields, up to a complete harvest loss. Some crops cannot withstand very high temperatures. Too cold or too mild temperatures at specific times of the year can completely destroy the plants. Delayed rainy seasons, too little or too much rainfall, infrequent and intense rainfall all have negative effects as well.

Threatened harvests

Isn’t it contradictory that we are destroying the foundations of our livelihood, under the pretext of creating more space for growing more food? One example: a review of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest outside protected areas predicts a 25%-drop in soy yields in the surrounding areas. Another report of Greenpeace says that deforestation in the Amazon or Central Africa directly caused reduced rainfall in the US Midwest during the growing season. Complete deforestation of the African Congo basin would intensify the West African monsoon, increasing temperatures by 2 to 4 °C and reducing rainfall by up to 50% in the entire region!

Only recently, droughts have caused huge problems in Europe in the summer of 2018. Extremely high temperatures and a shortage of precipitation lasting throughout the growing season have resulted in a decrease of the harvest of wheat by around 30% in some areas of Germany and 45% in Sweden. As we can see, deforestation risks affecting food production thousands of miles away from where it actually takes place.

But we’ve always had and always will have to eat and drink. In 2050, 9 billion people will be living on the Earth. How can we manage to feed all of them in an adequate and healthy way, while at the same time conserving our forests and environment? Governments and environmental organizations surely play a big part in this. Scientists are also working to develop ways of more sustainable food production.

Everybody can help the forests!

The good news, however, is that each person can contribute to stop deforestation. If we know about the causes of deforestation, we can also help to solve this issue!

Some of the main reasons why forests are cleared is for mining and for the expansion of agricultural land to the cost of forests.

The most prominent example for this is the one of large palm oil plantations where former tropical forests have been standing for ages. Today, 17 million hectares are covered with palm oil plantations, generating 60 million tons of palm oil. WWF, a well-known environmental organization, gives some recommendations on how to help stop deforestation by our daily choices. A simple way of minimizing this is buying less products containing palm oil or, at least, buying products certified by sustainability standards. You’ll be surprised how many products, from Nutella to cosmetics, contain palm oil! If global demand (made up of all the tiny consumers’ choices worldwide) goes down, the deforestation of tropical forests will decrease, too.

Another way of avoiding the use of palm oil is eating less meat generally on a day to day basis, as a good share of palm oil is fed to cattle. Furthermore, fresh, locally grown produce helps the forests, too, since most convenience food contains palm oil.

However, one of the major drivers of deforestation is livestock farming or growing crops for livestock. Areas that once were covered with tropical rainforests are now being converted into monocultures of soy bean or into pastures for cattle. And the reason why this is so attractive to Southamerican governments and farmers is that there is a huge demand for animal products – namely in the industrialised countries! In a way, our high consumption of meat and dairy is really what leads to deforestation.

The heart of the issue

The real battlefields are the minds of people. We need to raise awareness of these issues, but also to ask ourselves why forests and climate change matter, altogether.

With some luck, we might escape from the harsh reality of destructive environmental events, such as hurricanes and droughts.

But in the meantime, we will have destroyed not only the basis of existence for generations to come but also a bit of paradise on Earth. The paradise of forests and a climate that makes agricultural production possible, providing abundant life to every living creature on earth.

This natural abundance should inspire awe for the beauty of creation. Ultimately, it should inspire admiration for the Creator who artistically made nature’s beauty. He’s the one giving life to everything and calling us to take responsibility and take good care of all creation.

The Creator never takes more than He gives.

If you want to become active yourself, here are 6 easy ways to help save the forests!