Deforestation is the permanent of indigenous forests and woodlands. Deforestation has resulted in the loss of indigenous
forests to four-fifths of their pre-agricultural area. Now, indigenous forests only cover 21% of the earth's surface.
(Collins 2001)
Deforestation can happen in many ways. One of the ways is logging. People from the wood
industry are clear cutting forests; they're cutting down acres of trees every day for wood and paper. Another reason
deforestation is in effect is because people clear the lands for agriculture, for the growing population. Also, grazing,
infrastructure, and dam reservoirs are another reason for deforestation.
(Collins 2001)
"The economic and
environmental problems facing the developing world are staggering in their magnitude and their complexity. They are fueled
by the vicious cycle of population growth and persistent poverty. Most countries face serious problems in the urban environment:
overcrowding, unemployment, growing crime, lack of potable water, inadequate sewage disposal, increasing air pollution, and
the inappropriate disposal of toxic wastes. In rural areas, the deterioration of natural resources not only destroys the environment,
but also undermines the very foundation on which economic growth and long term prosperity depend. The catastrophic impact
is seen in accelerating soil erosion which results in permanent loss in agricultural productivity, in advancing desertification
accompanied by drought and famine, in declining coastal and inland fisheries with the associated threats to food security,
in the misuse of agrochemicals that poison both people and the environment, in the alarming sedimentation of fragile coral
reefs; and in the destruction of biodiversity-rich wetlands. None of these natural resource problems is more threatening,
none more in need of immediate action, than the destruction of the tropical forests."
(
http://www.rcfa-cfan.org/english/issues.12-1.html, 2003)
"Deforestation is an enduring change of land use marked by forest loss."
(WCFSD 1998)
