Currently, forests cover approximately one fifth of the world's land. Forests provide us with many products we use in our everyday lives. They also provide for us in other ways such from helping stop soil erosion to providing us with medical drugs, dyes and fabrics.. Humanity depends on the survival of a healthy ecosystem and deforestation is causing many social, economic and ecological problems.

Approximately 12 million hectares of forests are depleted each year. Ninety percent of the clearing occurs in the tropical rainforests. At the current rate of clearing, all tropical rainforests will be lost by the year 2050.(WWF)

There are many reasons that deforestation occurs. Commercial Logging, Ranching, and farming are the main causes of deforestation. The UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activities) said in it's 1990 report that population growth may have been responsible for as much as eighty percent of the forest land cleared between 1971 and 1986 to make room for agriculture, cattle ranching, houses, roads and industries (Ramphal, 1992, p.55)

What are the effects of deforestation Forests are great natural repositories of carbon. Trees breathe in carbon dioxide and store it, acting as carbon reservoirs. As such, they are invaluable agents in keeping the level of carbon in the atmosphere stable. As forests are destroyed worldwide, especially by burning, carbon dioxide is released into the air, adding to the stock of greenhouse gases that are now warming our planet and changing its climate. Carbon dioxide accounts for half of global warming, and fossil fuels account for two-thirds of manmade carbon dioxide (Ehrlich and Ehrlich, 1970, p.134). The consumption of energy from fossil fuels; coal, oil, and natural gas used for industrial, commercial, residential, transportation and other purpose results in large emissions. Thus, the energy sector accounts for nearly half of global warming, forty six percent.

11. Stanford, Quentin H. Canadian Oxford World Atlas. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1993.

8. Lutz, Wolfgang. The Future Population of the World. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 1994)

What do forests do for us? Forests are a precious link in the life systems of our planet. They are a part of these vital ecosystem services without which earth would not have been habitable by the human species in the first place and would certainly have become inhabitable again. Forests have crucial roles in the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen cycles that nourish and sustain life on earth. They protect the watersheds that support farming and influence climate and rainfall (Lindahl-Kiessling, 1994, p.167). They save the soil from erosion and are home to thousands of species, and forest peoples whose lives depend on them. They are also a source for industrial and medical purposes.

4. Ehrlich, Paul and Ehrlich, Anne. Population Explosion. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990.

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Approximate Word count = 1400
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)