UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan

School of Accountancy Business and Hospitality

Impact of Deforestation to Human Life

A Research work

Presented to the

Faculty of the Department of Philosophy and Religious

Construction

In partial fulfillment of the requirement in

Christian Faith Education 1023

Christian Morality in Our Times

Researchers:
Mendoza, Melvin A.
Palcong, Ed-Carlo B.
Tsang, Michelle (Wing San) G.

2019
 INTRODUCTION

Forests are vital to our Earth and our species. Humans depend on

these forests for our survival as species, from the air we

breathe to the wood we use for a lot of things like lumber for

our houses or firewood to start fire with to keep us warm. Trees

purify our air, filter our water, prevent erosion, and act as a

buffer against climate change. They offer a home to plant and

animal species while also providing natural resources such as

medicine, food, timber, and fuel. Aside from providing habitats

for animals and livelihoods for humans, forests also offer

watershed protection, prevent soil erosion and mitigate climate

change. And yet, even though we depend so much to these forests,

we are still allowing them to disappear.

Deforestation is the permanent loss or destruction of

forests in order to make the land available for other uses for

the use of humans like for agriculture and urban planning. It

occurs all around the world, and mostly tropical rainforest like

the amazon rainforest are particularly targeted.

Deforestation is not something new, but has been practiced

throughout the history of mankind. We have been cutting down

trees for all out uses from firewood to building up houses and

buildings.
 And now deforestation is one of the biggest threats to

forest worldwide. Deforestation is the permanent destruction of

forests in order to make the land available for other uses. Over

half of the world’s forests have been destroyed over 10,000

years, the majority in just the last 50 years. (Holland, 2017)

Some of the major causes of deforestation are human

activities like mining for natural resources, illegal logging for

use of building infrastructures, clearing for agriculture

(farming and animal ranching), productions of wood products

(furniture and paper), fuelwood harvesting, and urbanization.

Humans with their negative activities gradually threaten

forest to its non-existence. Even though we use the forest,

humans do not take care of it and take it for granted. Now, it

the things that humans do the forest backlashed to them, from

different environmental problem to societal problems. Apart from

these, deforestation also affects biodiversity and the natural

processes in the ecosystem which also affects the life of humans.

This research on the impact of deforestation is

descriptive in nature and tackles the cause and effect of

deforestation in the life of humans.

 DISCUSSION

Causes

Forest provide innumerable of products of vital use to both

people and the planet, source of livelihood to a large number of

people, providing clean air and water, conserving biodiversity

and responding to climate change . Over the years due to the

growing number of population, the depletion of forest resources

has grown rapidly and according Global Forest Resources

Assessment (FRA), coordinated by Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, found the world’s

forest area decreased from 31.6 percent of global land area to

30.6 percent between 1990 and 2015. Deforestation, chiefly caused

by different factors like:

Increase in number of population

It is innate to human to consume for them to satisfy their

physical aspect or needs and to survive. According to a new UN

report, the amount of the planet’s natural resources extracted

for human use has tripled in 40 years. By 2050, human beings

could devour an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, fossil

fuels, and biomass per year- three times the current consumption

rate, unless economic growth is “decoupled” from natural resource

use (UN News, 2011). It is enough for the people to be alarmed

and to make some actions.

Industrialization

Many people might agree that industrialization was one of the

smartest and prosperous things that happened in the development

of our society. But the biggest drawback of this is that it is

killing our environment. Industrialization causes animals to lose

their natural habitat and makes them move to humans which cause

even more problems (www.brownsville.com).

Conversion of Forest Land for Agriculture and Livestock Area

The increase in number of population has a direct effect to the

demand of consumption of natural resources. According to Food and

Agriculture Resources Organization (FAO) the corresponding global

demand for good- estimated to grow by 50 percent during this

period- is placing enormous pressure on the way we use productive

land.

To supply the demand of consumption of natural resources people

cut down 15 billion forest tress a year and the number of trees

worldwide has dropped by 46 percent (Rachel Ehenberge, 2015) just

to build roads, clear for livestock, agricultural production, and

urban development. It threatens not only the livehoods of

foresters and indigeneous people but also the variety of life of

our planet.

Mining

Mining activities are an important driver of deforestation in

many countries, and the impact of mineral extraction on resources

is likely to increase with growth global demand for minerals.

Extracting these natural resources is frequently destructive

activities that damage the rainforest ecosystem and causes

problems for people living nearby and downstream from mining

operations. Land-use changes result in loss of valuable habitats,

land degradation, soil erosion, and decrease in clean water

because of extraction of minerals.

Effects

With everything that is happening, the Earth is threatened.

Humans have gradually lost the forests that are very essential

for our existence (Shepherd, 2018). Apart from these,

deforestation also affects biodiversity and the natural processes

in the ecosystem which also affects the life of humans.

Deforestation results mostly from human acts or deed, little do

they know that they will also be the one who will suffer from the

destruction of forests.

Soil Erosion and Degradation

Trees and all the fauna in the forests enrich the soil.

Without the trees, the soil will lose its fertility. Also, the

rise of agriculture promoted soil degradation and soil erosion.

The absence of trees made the soil sweep into the rivers.

Scientists estimated that 70% of the world’s arable land has been

lost through soil erosion (Sheperd, 2018). Humans will be the one

affected by the soil erosion during flood and storm, or just by a

simple rain.

Without trees to secure fertile soil, erosion often occurs

and sweeps sacred land into nearby rivers. Erosion also causes

contaminants in the soil to leach into the water supply which

will greatly decrease the quality of our drinking water.

 According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, 2.5

billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihood. If

deforestation gets its way, those people won't be the only ones

affected. The soil would become full of dangerous chemicals and

pollutants that are usually filtered by trees. In addition, soil

erosion is currently prevented by trees because they protect the

land. However, soil would be unprotected, and vulnerable to

reduction in soil quality and top soil nutrients. Soil erosion

would become more prevalent, and eventually all the soil will

lose its nutrients and agriculture will fall, leaving people to

starve (Naseem, 2011).

Increased Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Forests absorb carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas

emissions and when the trees are cut, the gases stored in it are

being freed. According to a study, tropical forests hold over 210

gigatons of carbon dioxide and due to deforestation, 15% of these

greenhouse gases are being released (Shepherd, 2018). This led to

increasing temperature, climate change and worst, global warming

which is being experience by the people right now.

Flooding

Forest trees are also vital in assisting returning water

vapor to the atmosphere in our local water cycles. It also

serves as water purification of nature and as rain water

penetrates the soil, it is held in place by intricate root

structures of many layers of trees. When these forest areas are

cleared out and trees are cut down; when the protective forest

canopy and roots have been destroyed, the soil will lose its

proportions to retain water and is washed away into rivers and

streams.

Flood is a fortuitous event that happens through large

downpour of rain or in many cases, typhoons. Flood destroys much

of the livelihood of many people. From the infrastructures and

building to the agriculture. It contribute to huge loss of

profit and livestock of farmers in many cases.

Life Quality Decrease

A lot of people in the world, millions of them, depend on

forests for hunting, small-scale agriculture, gathering, and

medicine. From forest we can acquire common materials we use

every day such as latex, cork, fruit, nuts, natural oils, and

resins. With this, there is scarcity of resources that we are

getting from the forest. Deforestation disrupts the millions of

lives. Example of this is that in Southeast Asia, deforestation

has contributed to its social conflict and migration.

No Tree-Based Products
No forest means no trees. No trees means no more tree-based

products like paper, which are usually used in education and

office works, latex and furniture that are usually made by woods

of trees. With the decreasing areas of forest, there is also

decrease in production of our tree-based products that we used in

our homes, offices and works.

To indigenous tribe

As areas of tropical forests are destroyed or degraded,

tribal groups are forced to change their resource base. In some

cases they move into areas occupied by other groups, straining

the area's resources. In other cases they are forced to relocate

outside of forests, permanently altering their way of life by

converting to agriculture or to cash employment. Rarely are the

rights of these groups to the lands they occupy recognized.

Furthermore, their intimate knowledge of the area's resources and

how to manage them are nearly always ignored. For indigenous

communities, the arrival of "civilization" usually means the

destruction of their traditional life-style and the breakdown of

their social institutions.

 CONCLUSION

Forest has been around even before humans dominated the earth.

More so, forests have been a place where humans thrive in, where

humans get different resources that are important to their daily

needs and usage. But due to our human activities for our selfish

gains and profit, the forest is threatened to its destruction.

And with its destruction, many environmental and social problems

arise with it. It has affected all organisms that live in the

forests, more so, the earth and humans who live in it. Maybe with

its destruction, humans might be also dragged to non-existence

also.

Because of our unmoral act, we, humans are reaping what we

sowed. The things that we did to forests are coming to haunt us

with the different effects of deforestation to human lives, from

flooding to depriving indigenous people their home.

Now, with what we are facing. We must do actions that can

help in preventing the loss of forest areas. We must face with

seriousness this problem. We must act together to return forest

in the face of the Earth and stop deforestation. We should inform

others the effects of deforestation to humans in order to wake

them up to this issue, that with the dying of forest, we as well

might perish along with the Earth.

 RECOMMENDATION

In Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image,

after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of

the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock

and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps

on earth.” God commands people to keep and care for the earth but

God’s words to have dominion over the earth doesn’t mean to have

complete domination and exploitation of it (Wellman, 2015).

We have already destroyed many areas of our planet, but it’s

not yet too late to help in improving and protecting our forests

around the world. According to Sonia Madaan and Vipul Lovekar

(2018), here are some of the possible solutions to stop

deforestation, regain what was lost, and protect what was left

for the future generation of humankind.

Government plays a big role in protecting forests. As a

national initiative, the government of every country should

impose rules as to put a stop to deforestation and take a strict

action against offenders. The government should also allow

special incentives to organizations that take part in

afforestation. Tax cuts should be granted to corporations, to get

them actively interested in reforestation. They should implement

rules on planting trees for every household, or if cutting a tree

or trees is necessary, they should replace it immediately.

 Another is reforestation or massive planting of trees. It

helps in improving the quality of the environment as well as of

human life. Many East Asian countries have successfully managed

to reverse deforestation. China has shown a incredible change in

converting land areas to forest covers in the last decade. Many

other countries, such as Germany, Canada, and the United States,

have taken an initiative and are in the process of increasing

their forest areas through reforestation.

Afforestation can start at a very basic level if each people

decide to plant, say, one tree every month. It does not take much

to start with planting a tree or two in one’s own garden but if

done regularly, it can contribute to the spread of green cover.

Planting trees is not enough, we should sustain and maintain the

plants until it grows, in short invest in trees or investree.

Support green business. Green business concerns re-use and

recycling. Green methods of production and utilization of

resources can immeasurably reduce deforestation. Particularly,

it’s the focus on re-using items, reducing the use of artificial

items, and recycling more items. Using recycled products reduces

the need for cutting of trees. Also, minimize the usage of

papers.

One of the causes of deforestation is agriculture. Land is

needed to grow crops for which trees on it need to be cleared. To

prevent this, farmers need to be introduced to new methods of

farming like cyclic agriculture, crop rotation, use of high-yield

variety seeds, and hydroponics whichever best suit them. These

methods maximize the use of available land which can give farmers

the same number of harvest, and if followed in the right manner,

can definitely help prevent deforestation. Work the land

responsively.

It is necessary to make people realize the importance of

trees. Deforestation can also be counteracted through awareness

and sensitization. Sensitization and educative campaigns can be a

simple but a more workable solution. Initiating awareness

creation champagnes makes it easy for people to detect the

causes, effects, and ways of counteracting deforestation.

Personal experiences from adversely affected communities such as

farmers can be used to emphasize the negative effects of

deforestation. Thus, making conscious efforts to share

information with people including family, friends, colleagues,

and the entire community on deforestation and its effects is an

appropriate measure of standing up in unison to combat the

clearing of forests.
 References

Deforestation—Causes, Effects, and Solutions; Holland 2017

https://www.eartheclipse.com/environment/fantastic-solutions-to-

deforestation.html - Sonia Madaan

https://helpsavenature.com/deforestation-solutions.amp - Vipul

Lovekar, 2018 Solutions to Deforestation that Make Perfect Sense

www.brownsville.com, Retrieved on May 17, 2019

https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/forests/deforestation_causes/