Deforestation as a Global Concern - Essay Example

Reducing the rate CO2 emissions by reducing deforestation in poorer countries Reducing the rate CO2 emissions by reducing deforestation in poorer countries Introduction Deforestation has long become a global concern. Besides its deleterious impacts on the ecosystem, biodiversity, and livelihoods, it has proven to be a key drive towards climate change. Fundamentally, deforestation contributes to approximately a fifth of the greenhouse emission around the globe. In this respect, it is vital noting that most of the emissions come from a few countries, Indonesia and Brazil inclusive. Agriculture is the biggest initiative towards the barbaric acts meted against the tropical forests. Therefore, the cultivators often cut down trees to bestow more space for crop and animal production. Hence, the environment faces many stern adverse effects. For instance, there is habitat loss causing numerous species that are dependent on the forests to go extinct. Notwithstanding, there is a massive climate change attributed to the acts of deforestation. Essentially, there is an urgent need for the developed countries to intervene and provide funds for poorer nations to help thwart deforestation. Arguably, reduction of emissions emanating from deforestation and environmental degradation can greatly assist in curbing global warming and climate change. Nevertheless, developing nations are not in a position to avoid deforestation because they depend on agriculture for their food security. The situation leads to a need for more land that is essential for agriculture due to a rapidly growing human population. In return, more forests are in danger since they face an invasion from the farmers. Notably, if the developed nations could intervene, more forests can be saved. In subduing deforestation in poorer countries, developed countries need to come together and establish treaties that would support other food production methods. For instance, the alternative methods of agricultural production are expensive for poorer countries to implement. As such, they resort to cheap and easy methods of land cultivation that requires large tracts leading to increased cutting of trees. Thus, financial support to implement such means of alternative agriculture can save the forests a great deal. Poverty has played a substantial role in the degradation of the environment. Most of the world’s rainforests reside in the poorest countries in the universe. The inhabitants of these poor regions rely on the forest ecosystems for survival. Activities in this context entail collection of wood for fuel, gathering, hunting, and they receive some finances from companies that exploit the forest resources. Similarly, most of the people that live in the rural areas do not have access to the alternate options that the Western countries enjoy. For example, the rural poor have never even thought of acquiring white collar jobs to substitute their income channels. Instead, they entirely depend on the land that surrounds them; hence they strive to make ends meet with every chance that they come across. It is in order for developed countries to come up with kitties to support the poverty-stricken nations to avert the poverty status. When the funds are available, the people can start off income generating activities, which will offer a source of income rather than entirely depend on the forests. Henceforth, there will be a significant reduction in the destruction of the rainforests. Further, the forests will survive to offer a chance of absorbing the carbons emitted from industries and contribute to a decline in global warming and climate change (Culas, 2014, p.8). The improbable debt burden suffered by developing nations. The past three decades observed a significant debt that drove insurmountable evidence of deforestation. The heavily indebted poor countries lacked the means to pay their debts, strapped for cash they turned to the forests as the cheapest means to service the debts and the interests. In an attempt to service the interests and the loans, the poorer states decided to liquidate the readily and cheaply available resources such as timber, hydroelectric power, and oil. Liquidating of such valuable non-renewable resource often has stringent effects on the forests. There is cutting down of trees to produce timber, which negatively affects the natural environment. Cutting down of trees not only facilitates global warming, but also contributes to soil erosion that further enhances food shortage. Industrialized countries ought to unite to offset the debts of the poor states to allow them concentrate on the conservation of the forests. International organizations owed by these poorer states, for example, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, should also stop imposing severe sanctions. Removal of such sanctions will create room for the indebted countries to raise the funds. Thus, it is paramount for the developed countries to combine efforts to ease the burden of debts observed by developing nations. Commercial logging needs attention. The timber traders have claimed that the industry does not cause much impact towards the deforestation of the forests. They attribute deforestation to agriculture and the need for wood-fuel. Forests that have a high biodiversity draw the attention of the timber traders in the world because of their nature. Thus, they stand a chance of easy exploitation. Global timber trade leads to a mass cutting of trees for commercial purposes. No matter the efforts to grow artificial trees, the situation results in a loss of indigenous tree species that remained to nourish the environment. More exotic species of trees that take many years to grow and thus efficiency of countering the devastating effects of environmental pollution reduces. Subsequently, there is a buildup of greenhouse gasses leading to increased global warming and climate change. Accordingly, the efforts of REDD+ to pool funds to assist in curbing climate change is good idea (REDD+, 2015, p. 1). Nations should pool resources together, especially money to start alternative businesses for the timber traders. Discouraging the timber traders from invading the forests will give a leeway for the forests to grow and help to replenish the environment. Conclusion Following the deadly effects of global warming and climate change because of deforestation, attentions need a diversion to clear the menace. Able States should assist the poor countries in strategizing to avert climate change. It is of great importance for the developed states to strengthen the objectives of REDD+ of pooling financial resources to aid the poor states. The effects of climate are global and thus require a collective global action. Reference List Culas, R. J. 2014. Causes of deforestation and Policies for reduced Emissions (REDD+): A Cross-Country Analysis. The IUP Journal of Applied Economics, 13(4). p.8 Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). April 1, 2015. Forests: why are they important?. Web. April 26, 2015. Retrieved from http://theredddesk.org/what-is-redd Read More