Disappearing Tropical Rainforests - Research Paper Example

Disappearing Tropical Rainforests: What Is Happening? Introduction A tropical rainforest can be simply referred to a type of ecosystem which occurs along the equatorial zone between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricom, or “within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator” (moodygardens). Today, world’s tropical rainforests are disappearing due to extreme level of man-made interventions. The issue can dreadfully affect the long term sustainability of the environment. This paper will discuss the destruction of tropical rainforests with particular reference given to the causes, current state, and possible solutions to address the issue. Disappearing Tropical Rainforests Deforestation of tropical rainforests is a dreadful environmental issue facing the modern world. Referring to the current rate of deforestation, it is estimated that the world’s remaining tropical rainforests would be consumed over the next 40 years. Short-sighted governments, multinational corporations, and land owners’ unscientific interventions worsen this issue as they give focus only to the timber value of the rainforests. Environmentalists and other researchers argue that disappearing tropical rainforests can have dreadful impacts on the environment in the long term. Tropical rainforest, the oldest living ecosystem on Earth developed over 130 million years. Hence, this ecosystem is a habitat to millions of species of plants, animals and microorganisms. In addition, “tropical rainforests play a significant role in carbon sequestration and climate stabilization”; and this ecosystem protects the Earth from contingencies like flood, drought, and erosion (ClimateAvenue, n.d.). It also provides abundant supply of timber, medicines, and food. Another advantage of rainforests is that it assists humans to fight issues like land degradation and desertification. It is interesting to note that this tropical rainforests support people for their livelihood and increase the scope of ecotourism (ClimateAvenue, n.d.). Causes Mainly, man-made intervention is the major reason leading to the disappearance of tropical rainforests. Huge deposits of precious metals like gold, silver and fossil fuels like natural gas are widely found underneath tropical rainforests worldwide. Industrially developed nations and other emerging countries are increasingly in need of those natural resources so as to enhance their economic growth and to meet growing human needs. In order to extract these natural resources, techniques like mining and drilling are used which in turn require huge area of lands. Evidently, this situation ultimately results in deforestation. Conversion of tropical rainforests to agricultural land is another cause leading to the destruction of this ecosystem (Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2010). In the context of growing demand for agricultural productions, people increasingly clear areas of rainforests in order to produce crops. This issue is growing to be uncontrollable because national governments or environment protection agencies cannot suggest a potential alternative to meet the increasing land requirements for agriculture. Studies point to the fact that climate change is another major factor contributing to destruction of rainforests. It is clear that human-made emissions of greenhouse gases lead to global warming which in turn increase the rate of climate change. Current State Currently, rainforests are being destroyed globally for industrial and agricultural purposes at a very high rate. According to a study, “approximately 50% of land which could support tropical rainforests now lacks it because of human activities.” (Rainforest Conservation Fund, n. d.). Authors like Sponsel, Bailey and Headland (as cited in Rainforest Conservation Fund) estimate that nearly 142,000 km2 of tropical rainforests are being cut down annually; whereas Potter says that the rate of deforestation is relatively high in developing countries. The Rainforest Conservation Fund predicts that little of this biome will last beyond the mid 21st century. Even though many authors have estimated the rate of destruction of tropical rainforests in different regions of Earth, it is very difficult to determine the actual rate of deforestation. Today, many institutions like Tropical Rain Forest Information Center are working to curb the issue of disappearing tropical rainforests. As Hammer (2004) points out, once tropical rainforests covered approximately 14% of the earth’s surface and now the area has been reduced to mere 6%. Data indicate that an estimated ten million Indians lived in Amazonian rainforest five centuries ago; today, their number has reached less than 200,000 (p.31). According to a study, “tropical cover now stands at 16.7 million square kilometers (6.4 million sq. miles), an area about the size of the United States plus Australia and representing around 3.3 percent of the world’s land surface” (Butler, 2010). Another study indicates that roughly one and half acres of tropical rainforests are being damaged every second causing tragic problems for both industrialized and developing countries. In short, the life of tropical rainforest is rapidly nearing its end. Solutions In the view of Butler (2010), one of the most potential ways to alleviate the deforestation is to address the needs of the rural people by improving existing agricultural projects and developing alternative cultivation techniques. The authors suggests that introduction of permaculture can be an effective policy to mitigate the level of destruction of tropical rainforests. Providing credit facilities to farmers and improving their accessibility to markets are some better policies to prevent the conversion of tropical rainforests into agricultural lands. Restoration and rehabilitation of ecosystems are some potential ways to prevent complete elimination of tropical rainforests from the Earth. Studies (as cited in Butler, 2010) indicate that it is possible to restore entire ecosystems in most regions where parts of the original forest still remain and human population pressures are fewer. Another potential solution suggested by Butler (2010) is to fund rainforest conservation efforts by promoting payments for ecosystem services, commodity roundtables, ecotourism, bio-prospecting fees, and corporate sponsorship. Conclusion In total, the disappearance of tropical rainforests is mainly caused by excess human interventions. People mainly invade tropical forests for agricultural needs and mining and drilling purposes. Little of the rainforests will be left on the Earth if humans continue the current rate of deforestation. By providing potential alternatives to agriculture land requirements and by fostering rainforest conservation efforts, the destruction of tropical rainforests can be mitigated to some extent. References Butler, R. (2010). How to save tropical rainforests. Retrieved from http://rainforests.mongabay.com/1001.htm ClimateAvenue. Why are we so concerned about rainforest disappearing. Retrieved from http://www.climateavenue.com/forest.disappearing.jewel.htm Global Forest Resources Assessment. (2010). FAO. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1757e/i1757e.pdf Hammer, N. (2004). United Nations. US: iUniverse. Moodygardens. Web site. Retrieved from http://www.moodygardens.com/i/downloads/Educator__Rainforest.pdf Rainforest Conservation Fund. Retrieved from http://www.rainforestconservation.org/rainforest-primer/3-rainforests-in-peril-deforestation/a-current-state-of-tropical-rainforests Read More