From the English deforestation, the word deforestation allows us to name the action and effect of deforesting ( removing land from its trees and plants ). This process of disappearance of forest masses is usually produced by human action through logging and burning.
Deforestation is often driven by the logging industry, paper manufacturers, construction of infrastructure (such as roads or houses), and agricultural enterprises (which use the land to grow the most profitable crops and market them). Latin America and West Africa are the regions most affected by deforestation, although the phenomenon exists in all parts of the world.
The disappearance of forests and jungles constitutes a serious environmental problem. The decrease in the number of trees produces imbalances in the climate, alters the habitat of animals and reduces the ability of the planet to absorb carbon dioxide and transform it into oxygen.
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In recent years, international society has become more aware of the problem of deforestation. Social pressure on the authorities meant that, in many regions, logging stopped and the forests came to be considered ecological and tourist resources of great value.
Responsible and sustainable tourism, in fact, is a way of generating income from forests and jungles. This is the main argument of those who oppose deforestation, without taking into account, of course, that the main reason for this opposition is ecological and not economic (a forest is necessary beyond its capacity to generate income).
Problems derived from deforestation
The problem of deforestation not only lies in the sacrilege of hundreds of plant species but also results in the death of animal organisms for whom the existence of this green space was essential for survival. To give a very simple example. If squirrels live in a forest and all the trees are cut down, they will have to emigrate or they will die and their predators will suffer the same fate. It is worth mentioning that in addition, in each forest there are thousands of species, many of which have not even been discovered by humans. Because of deforestation, many disappear every day from the planet.
According to the statistics, in Colombia more than 8093.7m² are deforested and, if it continues in this way, in just 40 years Colombia will not have forests. Likewise, tropical forests, scattered in various parts of the planet, suffer daily and continuous logging; every day hundreds of years old trees are felled along with other younger ones and hollow spaces are left in the forests. But this is not the only problem.
One of the importance of forests is their ability to neutralize tons of carbon dioxide, that gas from the waste caused by the manufacture of fossil fuels. With uncontrolled deforestation, the ability to reoxygenate the environment decreases and this results in an inconsiderate increase in environmental pollution which, as expected, leads to a host of other ecological problems.
Among the problems caused by deforestation is desertification or desertification (process by which lands extremely rich in life lose their fertility, becoming deserts). In general, it happens that many hectares are felled with the aim of establishing a livestock business. In this way, the space that was previously covered with vegetation is now trampled daily by cattle and loses all its fertile value ; making future life growth impossible.
There are a lot of other problems derived from deforestation, such as increased global warming, climate destabilization, increased ecological problems in the area.
