Deforestation refers to the removal of forests which damages the environment. It is a major cause of climate change as forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The top causes of deforestation are logging, mining, cattle ranching and agriculture. Deforestation fragments habitats, causes soil erosion, pollution and releases carbon into the air. Some solutions include policies to limit deforestation and encourage sustainable forest use. The largest rainforests are the Amazon, Congo and Southeast Asia regions.

1. Deforestation
Anisa Amin
&
Fatima Anjum
“If we
lose forests, we lose the
fight against climate
change” –GCP report

2. What is it?
 Deforestation refers to cutting , clearing and
removal of rainforest or related ecosystem
into less bio-diverse ecosystem such as
pasture, cropland , or plantation.
 Deforestation is permanent destruction of
indigenous forest and woodland s. the term
does not include the removal of industrial
forests such as plantation of guns or pines.

3. Importance
 Forests play an important role in removing
CO2 from the air due to photosynthesises
 Photosynthesis is a carbon sink
 Carbon sink : any process that takes CO2
and stores it.
 Forests need to remain intact or else the
atmosphere will have too much CO2

4. Types
There are 4 different types of Deforestation:
 i) Natural reasons (i.e volcanic eruption) these
reasons are only occur for a small fraction
 ii) Land clearing to prepare for crops to be
planted
 iii) Commercial logging and timber harvests
 iv) Slash and burn forest cutting for subsistence
farming

5. Causes
 1. Logging
 2. Mining
 3. oil and gas extraction
 4. Cattle ranching
 5. Agriculture: Cash Crops.
 6. Local, National, and International factors:
development, land titles, government subsidies to
attract corporations into developing countries,
trade agreements (NAFTA, CAFTA), civil wars,
debt, lack of resources, and lack of law
enforcement.

6. Effects/Consequences
 Environmental impact
 1. Habitat fragmentation. This disturbs the
animals' habitat and may force them to enter
habitats which are already occupied. This
can pose many problems such as territorial
conflicts, homelessness (loss of habitat), lack
of food availability, migration disturbances,
etc.

7. Environmental Impact
 2. Soil erosion occurs when trees and plants
are removed; the rain water washes the
nutrients in the top soil away.
 3. Climate change (more carbon dioxide is
released into the atmosphere, thus increasing
the effects of global warming).
 4. Pollution (ground, water and air pollution
from oil extraction and mining chemicals

8. Social impact
 Social conflicts and struggles over land and
natural resources.
 Conflicts over racial and ethnic rights.
 Poisoning from oil and mining waste.
 Economic uncertainty (price fluctuations and
high interest rates on outstanding
international loans with The World Bank and
International Monetary Fund.

9. Climate Change
 Deforestation has a huge impact on global
warming
 Causes 20% of the greenhouse gas emissions –
more than all the automobiles in the world
combined
 One of the main causes of climate change
 2 million tons of CO2 enters the atmosphere
because of deforestation (audit 2003)

10. Solutions
 Corporations/Markets
 They can use forest products wisely
 Implement paper saving laws and policies
 Politics
 Politicians can implement national laws to help
achieve zero deforestation
 Consumer Power
 As a consumer we can pressure the companies
to implement paper saving laws and policies and
be more eco friendly

11. Largest rainforest worldwide list in
descending order( from largest to smallest
 Amazon basin of South America
 Congo river basin of Central Africa
 S.E. Asia
 New Guinea
 Madagascar

12. Before its too late….

13. Final Thought…. (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo4WXly4QYk

14. References
 " Solutions to Deforestation | Greenpeace USA ."
Greenpeace USA | Greenpeace USA . N.p., n.d. Web. 19
June 2011.
<http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/forests/sol
utions-to-deforestation/>.
 Deforestation: The hidden cause of global warming -
Climate Change, Environment - The Independent." The
Independent | News | UK and Worldwide News |
Newspaper. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2011.
<http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-
change/deforestation-the-hidden-cause-of-global-
warming-448734.html>.
 >.

15. References
 Global warming facts: How does deforestation speed up
climate change? : TerraCurve.com | Responsible Travel,
Culture & Lifestyle. | Go Beyond Green.." TerraCurve.com
| Responsible Travel, Culture & Lifestyle. | Go Beyond
Green.. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2011.
<http://www.terracurve.com/2009/07/16/global-warming-
facts-how-does-deforestation-speed-up-climate-change/>.
 "WRM Briefing: The direct and underlying causes of forest
loss." World Rainforest Movement. N.p., n.d. Web. 19
June 2011. <http://www.wrm.org.uy/public

16. References
 Kids Connected to Conservation and Culture:
Deforestation." Kids Connected to Conservation and
Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2011.
<http://kidsandconservationblog.ty
 Europe, the end of the Middle Ages in, there were
severe shortages of food, fuel, and building materials
since most of the primordial forests had been cleared..
"Deforestation." Encyclopedia of Earth . N.p., n.d. Web.
19 June 2011.
<http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deforestation?topic=58
071