Environmental Issues

Forest is a large area of land covered with trees or other woody vegetation.
Hundreds of more precise difinitions offorest area used throughout the world,
incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing and
ecological function. According to the widely used United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization defiition, forest covered four billion hectares or
approximately 30 percent of the world’s land area, and 10 percent of it is in
Indonesia in 2006.

Forest is natural resources that can provide many benefit, both benefits are
directly or indirectly. The directly benefits of the forest is a source of various
types of item such as wood, sap, bark, leaves, roots, fruits, flowersand others that
can be used directly by human or raw material for various industries that result
can used to fulfill almost all human needs. And the indirectly benefits of the forest
are preventiol and control of soil erosion, flood control, checks on spread of
deserts, increase of soil fertility, effect on climate, and many more.

Indonesia is the country with the third largest forestsin the world after
Brazil and Republic Kongo, with an area 133,7 million hectares. Indonesian’s
forest cover by 60 percent of the entire territory of Indonesia. It makes Indonesian
biodiversity occupying the second largest in the world after Brazil, with 10
percent of flowering plants species, 12 percent of mammals species, 16 percent of
reptiles and amphibians species, 17 percent of birds species, and 25 percent of
fishs species in the world.

We can be pround to ourselves as Indonesian people. Why ? Because

Indonesian forest has an important role. Not only as the lungs the source of life
and economic development, but also as a counterweight global climate.

But, in reality the highest annual rate of deforentation is Indonesia with 1,8
million hectares of forest destroyed each year between 2000-2005. And forests in
Indonesia has fallen drastic in period 2009-2013, Indonesia loses 4,5 million
hectares forest area, or as large as North Sumatra, or seven times DKI Jakarta.
And do you know that Indonesia is one of the countries who has vulnarable
damage forest ?.

Forest fires is the most influential factor in the forest destruction. Forest
fires is a situation where the forest engulfed in flames, that caused loss of
ecosystems and threats to environmental sustainability. The most of forest fires
reason are due to human action and omissions, most people mentions of 90%
forest fires caused by humans and only 10% caused by nature.

Do you still remember since last yearend, Indonesia has a lot of news
about forest fires in Riau and that incident is still ongoing until now. Recorded
1.076 hectares of land burned, and two years ago in the same month recorded
23.000 hectares of land burned in Riau. Can you imagine how much forest left
over 10 years later ? Now these, many wild animals roaming on the highways,
resident houses, that is a usual thing. Why ? Because their habitats are damage,
forest the place that they live is lost, and who ruin it ? Human, who said the most
perfect creation, who said has intelligence. But in fact ? Can you imagine about
our earth situation on 100 years in the future ? When the forest exists in name
only, when the forest is only history, when humans will meet wld animals
everydays, when no longer oxygent producer, when only CO2 circulating
everywhere, may be it is so-called doomsday.

Even though, the goverment already regulates the utilization and the
protection of forest in UUD 1945, UU No.5 of 1990, UU No.23 of 1997, UU
No.42 of 1999, PP No.28 of 1985, and some decisions of forest minister, PHPA
Director General, and Director General of forest exploitation. But, it just like a
discourse, because the government is less strich in imposing sactions, even some
defendants of forest fires in Riau is the government it selve. It all happened
because the awareness of forest fires dangerous is still low.

Indonesian people need conseling about forest fires prevention from

government, cooperation between forestry official and the resident who live
around the forest is also required, chech the condition of the forest on a regular
basis, providing fire truck to use, empower the number of posts in charge of
controlling forest fires in all levels.

But the most important is the individual awareness, coscious to not throw
fires cigarette butts carelessly in the forest, conscious to not leave a campfire in
the woods, conscious to not clear land by burning forest, and conscious to save
our forest.

Name : Rizka Dwi Apriliani

ID Number : 018201600001

Major : Environmental Engineering

Subject : Introduction to Environmental Engineering

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