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Holly Sbarra
Mr. Emmons
Global Studies
9 March 2016
Deforestation in Africa
Animals without homes, limited plants, heat surrounding every living thing, this is what
Africa looks like with deforestation. Deforestation is the destruction of forests that leads to even
more problems in the environment. There are many countries that are majorly affected in Africa.
Prevention of deforestation is the first step that will help to eliminate it completely. Deforestation
is a problem that affects many people in Africa. By improving everyday actions the rates of
deforestation will decrease. Deforestation in Africa disrupts the ecosystem as it abandons and
injures various flora and fauna. It also exacerbates the issue of climate change by removing an
important source of oxygen and carbon control.
In Africa, deforestation is a major problem. Africas rate of deforestation was above the
global deforestation rate by .8 percent (Agyei). In Africa deforestation takes place differently
than most other places in the world, in other places deforestation takes place because of
commercial logging so there is room for housing. In Africa deforestation takes place because of
human activities, such as wood to cook and if needed to heat their houses. What many people
dont know about deforestation is that it causes many other severe problems. One problem is low
soil fertility. To begin with Africa has a low fertility rate. Then when the canopy of trees is taken
down the soil is exposed to heat decreasing the fertility even more. More soil effects include soil
degradation. Soil degradation is the decomposition of soil. When the trees are taken down from
deforestation, the ground is exposed to the high heats from the sun. This heat then decomposes

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the soil. Not only does deforestation cause damage to the soil but trees store carbon. When a tree
is cut down carbon is released into the air creating poor air quality. With more carbon dioxide in
the air the process of climate change is sped up. Not only does deforestation increase the rate of
climate change, but it also leads to the destruction of species because their habitats and homes
are destroyed. Lastly, deforestation causes disruption of the water cycle. This happens because
trees take the water from the ground and releases water vapor into the air. As seen, deforestation
itself is not only harmful to the environment but also affects the life of living things. It gives the
people living in the area poor air quality and displaces animals living in the forests. Africa as a
continent is affected by deforestation but there are some countries that are affected more than
others.
One country in Africa that is majorly affected by deforestation is Nigeria. There is a lot of
wildlife that is living in Nigeria, specifically in the forest regions. Without all the forests, there is
less places for the wildlife to live. In 2012 more than half of the country of Nigeria was covered
in forests. However, from 1990 until 2005 the growth rate of forests went down by 80% (Butler).
1990 to 2005 is only 15 years. Other countries in Africa that are majorly affected by
deforestation are Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Zaire, Central African Republic,
Ethiopia, Senegal, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, and Somalia. All of these countries are in the north
of Africa and almost all of them border the ocean. This could be one cause that these countries
specifically have high deforestation rates. Deforestation is directly affecting certain regions
putting these regions in danger, but there are many thoughts of possible solution options.
Preventing deforestation is a challenge. There is no definite way to eliminate
deforestation but there have been ways found that will slow down the rates and possibly preserve
the endangerment of some animal species. To help preserve species of animals, there has been

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discussion about creating a protection organization. Another discussion ongoing is to make some
forests national parks or make them into reserves. However, these efforts are not enough to stop
the rate of deforestation they are only enough to slow it down. Reforestation had also been
conversed. Reforestation is planting trees to try and create the forest again. The thought of
reforestation would help to restore the ecosystem, giving the animals places to live and decrease
carbon dioxide build up in the atmosphere. Yet these efforts are not even close to curing
deforestation. People are still in search for a delay and end to deforestation but nothing ground
breaking has been discovered yet.
Destruction of homes, lives, food, water, is all from deforestation. Deforestation alone
doesnt cause all of this by itself, but creates even more issues that contribute to the problems. A
whole region of the continent of Africa is affected by deforestation. Finally, prevention of
deforestation is very hard to accomplish. Deforestation is a problem, but its not impossible to
fix.

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Works Cited
Agyei, Yvonne. "Deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa." Deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa.
African
Technology Forum, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.
Butler, Rhett. "Forests in Nigera." Mongabay.com. Monga Bay, 12 July 2014. Web. 10 Feb.
2016.
Bradford, By Alina. "Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects." LiveScience. TechMedia Network,
04
Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"Land and Environmental Degradation and Desertification in Africa." Land and Environmental
Degradation and Desertification in Africa. FOA, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.