Deforestation as an Environmental Tragedy - Essay Example

Name Course Instructor Date Deforestation as an Environmental Tragedy Introduction The present generation faces the threat of complete destruction due to harmful activities on natural resources which the generation is dependent upon (Laitos, Jan and Sandy, 2015). The recent years have in effect experienced a worldwide propagation to recognize the importance of natural resources and the usefulness of conservations. Based on Hardin’s Tragedy of The Commons, there is a prediction of the ultimate overuse and dilapidation of natural resources that are utilized in common (Eccleston, 2011). Among these resources are forests which contribute to the much needed environmental benefits such as conservation of the soil, sustenance of the hydrological cycle, conservation of bio diversity and the management of climate change. On the account of environmental crisis, the world is definitely facing one as exploitation of forests cause ruin on the environment (Twidel et al, 2015). The essential idea that is communicated in the Tragedy of the Commons is that resources that are used by the masses are prone to massive degradation. Hardin basically refers to management of the universal property and resources though this is the concept that provides insight to the current crisis of deforestation. Deforestation primarily refers to the alteration of forest land into other permanent use of land that does not include recovery of the forested land (Laitos, Jan and Sandy, 2015). The activities that take place on such land include building of urban infrastructure, agriculture and mining. The concern has been especially felt in the tropics where the practice affects the natural environment and leads to the loss of bio diversity. The effects of greenhouse have thus been extremely felt through the harsh impacts of climate change (Twidel et al, 2015). The main forces that influence deforestation are; competition among human beings and other species for the ecological environment that is left and failure of the current authoritative structure to place importance and responsibility on natural resources. As explained by Hardin, the criterion used in nature is survival. Human beings have thus exercised their authority over less competitive species by taking over the environment and using it to their pleasure. Hardin furthermore critiques the use of the word responsibility as misuse. He addresses the question of real responsibility, whether it is to be used at all and relates it to the provision of something where the individual attains nothing in return. The initial intent of deforestation referenced to farmers is to provide more land for their agricultural practices. This intent can be viewed as a positive outcome since more agricultural produce will result to feeding of the growing population. Hardin however argues on the basis of two components, both positive and negative where an increase in the utilization of the resource is psychologically positive though in the real context the increase results to exploitation thus the negative component. This retro respect paper thus seeks to discuss the environmental problem of deforestation in forests throughout the world with particular relation to Hardin’s the Tragedy of the Commons. Tragedy of The Commons and Deforestation Several years after Hardin’s paper, the ideas that he rationalized on the extreme exploitation of natural resources have been accepted by a wide range of schools of thought. The paper recognized and insisted on the need to make social changes based on the practices that are currently affecting natural resources in the globe. This tragedy is primarily founded on the competitiveness of human beings and their inability to regard the consequences of their actions in a bid to gain certain standards of living. Universal property is mainly identified as wildlife, sea life, forests, surfaces and water from the ground. The features associated with these resources include the control of access practiced by the users which has proven to be the most difficult to manage and the subtractability where the users put in mind the welfare of other users through usage of the resource in a sustainable manner. The commons as such associated with deforestation include the forests and other life existing in the forest such as plant life and wild life. These features make the eco system in a forest and the activity of cutting down the tree resources to clear the land for agriculture immensely affects these commons. Forests therefore go through the Tragedy of the Commons through deforestation. In the tragedy, individuals tend to take advantage of the commons without boundaries especially if there are no regulations pertaining to the use of the resources. The presence of regulation in itself is still contradictory as property rights allow the owner of the property to use the land in whichever they see fit. The essence of the problem is thus the lack of restraint that individuals exercise in the use of resources thus contributing to the potential disappearance of resources. The choices for the good of the society have been left upon the individual as Hardin insists. In the paper, it says that the society behaves in such a way that it is dependent on the decision of the individual and assumes that the individual will act on the collective interest of the people. The paper purports this to be disastrous as every individual has their unique way of thinking and it is thus difficult to determine what particular god is good for everyone. In the forested lands, trees have been cleared to pave way for farming as a result of the increase in population (Utting and Peter, 2013). Looking at it from Hardin’s view however, the individual farmer recognizes the opportunity in the increased populace and thus decides to make a profit from it. The idea behind deforestation among farmers is thus not how to feed the growing number of people but rather how to benefit from the growing number of people. Deforestation is additionally done for the construction of buildings. These buildings are rationally thought up to cater for those who lack homes from the increasing population. It is however evident that the possession of luxurious property has overridden this perspective. Huge portions of land are owned by individual people while there are overcrowded slums where the society is living in poverty. The interest of the individual in these two cases overrides that of the collective society and what is seen is the selfish interest of one person. It is therefore apparent that should every single person have the opportunity to own property then they will seek to amass as large a property as they can get. This is not feasible in world where the overuse of resources will result to their disappearance. In the Tragedy of The Commons, it thus stipulated that the increase in the populace should lead to a decreased share in every individual and that the use of technology cannot provide a solution to this problem. The tragedy also admits to the impossibility of increasing the number of people and satisfying every single one of their needs. Collective interest in the commons occurs when the use of resources is agreed upon by all members of the society. This means that the resources should be able to meet the individual needs of every single person. Such agreements are best made through institutions like the government. The decision should be carried out after an investigation on the effective use of the resources and a plan to implement the rules. Most governments for instance have cleared trees to create companies or practice large scale agricultural activities. The large produce from the agricultural activities are supposed help feed the entire nation and additionally provide an opportunity for the country to increase its income (Kuria et al, 2014). Furthermore, buildings whose constructions are pioneered by the government are released effectively to the people. Following Hardin’s argument however, it is important to examine the reason behind such legislations. The basic argument would be what amount of trust is accorded to the figures that come up with these legislations. The decisions could be influenced by personal motivations from the decision makers thus bringing it back to individual interest. Furthermore, as speculated by Hardin, these rules might be made but not followed to simply create an illusion of a society that manages its people and its resources. The loss of water catchment areas is as a result of deforestation (Bogena et al, 2015). The eco system gets a state of imbalance as well and the environment loses its biodiversity. Agricultural practices have been known to erode the soil and affect its quality due to incessant farming (Pennington et al, 2015). This means that ultimately there will be no food for the users of the resources. The imbalance on the acquisition of resources creates a conflict of interest where every individual wants an equal piece of the share but due to the selfish interests those with more tenacity get the deforested land. The law givers in this scenario have the upper hand as based on their selfishness they will choose to acquire property on the land that the government has allocated for the activities or chose to invest in their own land. What results is that politicians involved amass so much wealth leaving the local individual with little. The resultant conflict is moral decay as most people will likely resort to illegal means to acquire sustenance. At the present the rates of criminal and immoral activities have gone up as most people do not have a decent source of resources. Hardin disregards conscience especially in the matter of breeding and explains it away as lacking value and that it has double standards. For a world that is willing to save the environment, the guilt associated with disregard for breeding should be justified as the children introduced to the world will not have enough. Harding addresses the declaration of the United Nations on human rights and subjects it to criticism. This suggests that the society should not leave entire decisions to the family as the move to procreate contributes to the depletion of resources. Solutions to Deforestation In order to curb the problem of deforestation both technical and non technical solutions are required. Hardin proposes mutual coercion to solve the problem of overpopulation. Looking at deforestation, forcing individuals to stop cutting trees may result to the opposite where they defy the rules and keep up the practice. Coercion is mainly overseen by external agents who will do not have specific interest in the activities. This solution involves excessive control over forests. The forests can additionally be privatized which is less extreme. Privatization of forest however still has its problems as the owners may carry out the agricultural activities owing to their rights over the land (Nartey, 2014). Among the technical solutions that could be included in the move to curb deforestation is the promotion of sustainable choices. These choices are inclusive of purchasing only what an individual or a family requires and buying of sustainable wood products. Farmers should exercise agricultural practices such as agro forestry where farming goes hand in hand with forestry. In order to actively ensure that solutions to curbing agro forestry are being done, there should be boundaries that are clearly defined in terms of what forests can be used and over what coverage (Nielsen, 2013). This manages the forest land so that it Is not completely exploited in a very short time. The rules that are put in place in the handling of the forest areas should go hand in hand with the conditions of the local place. These relate to time, the place and the coverage of the processes. Aspects such as the culture of the community can be looked into as they are among the factors that influence either deforestation or the conservation of forests. The rules around management of forests need to be centered on the people it affects the most. This helps in that the people themselves are aware of the problems they face due to deforestation. The rules set and the activities there forth should be monitored and audited. The process of monitoring activities in the forest will assist in determining whether the rules put forth are being implemented and correction can be done where necessary. Monitoring in addition is extremely helpful in reinforcing the rules set. Should these rules be broken, punishment should be accorded as agreed upon in the collective decision. In areas where tax is assigned the perpetrators could face jail term as punishment. Ultimately, there should be resolution mechanisms for conflicts as adaptation to new rules takes time. The limitation to these solutions is that the discussion on deforestation has been explored so wide that different schools of thought want to determine whether the common is a tragedy or simply means of survival. Solutions that are not technical involve looking at the moral perspective of the problem. Hardin is correct in stating that individuals benefit through denying the truth. As seen in deforestation, the stakeholders in the forestry industry only reacted when climate change was evident in the quantity of yields produced in from the fields. The solution thus involve changing the politics on deforestation and discussing the real issue therefore pushing the government to treat deforestation with enough importance. Conclusion Hardin’s representation of the commons and the tragedy therein is certainly perceptive though it undermines certain characteristics of human beings. The tragedy assumes that the users of the resources are totally lacking restraint in the use of natural resources based on the behavior of individuals and the users of the resources who lack the capability of reinforcing the regulations to ensure that these resources are protected. The tragedy may without doubt be in existence but the users of the resources may recognize the depleting resources and effects on the yield and thus choose to act on it and save the resources. It should be noted that the society still possesses the capability to enforce rules on the protection of resources. Conscience cannot be disregarded entirely as this presence of guilt is what would result to an individual doing the right thing such as protection of the resources. Social learning cannot be underestimated as well as human beings tend to copy what they see. Therefore a move towards conservation of resources may be appreciated as seen currently in the globe where individuals are stepping in to promote simple ideas on the preservation of resources. In conclusion thus, this paper acknowledges the existence of the commons and the tragedy resulting henceforth. The paper additionally relates to tragedy associated with greed and breeding with justified thoughts on responsibility as presented by the users of natural resources. However, it should be considered that both individuals and the society can recognize the extent of exploitation and choose to change their behavior towards use of the commons thus saving the resources. Work Cited Bogena, H. R., et al. "A terrestrial observatory approach to the integrated investigation of the effects of deforestation on water, energy, and matter fluxes." Science China Earth Sciences 58.1 (2015): 61-75. Eccleston, Charles H., and Frederic March. Global environmental policy: concepts, principles, and practice. CRC Press, 2011. Kuria, Anne, et al. "Local knowledge of farmers on opportunities and constraints to sustainable intensification of crop‐livestock‐trees mixed systems in Lemo Woreda, SNNPR Region, Ethiopian highlands." (2014). Laitos, Jan, and Sandi Zellmer. Natural Resource Law (Hornbook Series). West Academic, 2015. Nartey, William Daniel. "Redd Solution to a Green Problem: Using Redd Plus to Address Deforestation in Ghana through Benefit Sharing and Community Self-Empowerment, A." Afr. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 22 (2014): 80. Pennington, Derric N., et al. "Evaluating the role of the Amazon protected areas program and anti-deforestation policies for supplying hydropower, avoiding carbon emissions, and economic returns in the Brazilian Amazon." Tropical Conservation: Perspectives on Local and Global Priorities (2016): 63. Twidell, John, and Tony Weir. Renewable energy resources. Routledge, 2015. Utting, Peter. Trees, people and power. Routledge, 2013. Read More

As explained by Hardin, the criterion used in nature is survival. Human beings have thus exercised their authority over less competitive species by taking over the environment and using it to their pleasure. Hardin furthermore critiques the use of the word responsibility as misuse. He addresses the question of real responsibility, whether it is to be used at all and relates it to the provision of something where the individual attains nothing in return. The initial intent of deforestation referenced to farmers is to provide more land for their agricultural practices.

This intent can be viewed as a positive outcome since more agricultural produce will result to feeding of the growing population. Hardin however argues on the basis of two components, both positive and negative where an increase in the utilization of the resource is psychologically positive though in the real context the increase results to exploitation thus the negative component. This retro respect paper thus seeks to discuss the environmental problem of deforestation in forests throughout the world with particular relation to Hardin’s the Tragedy of the Commons.

Tragedy of The Commons and Deforestation Several years after Hardin’s paper, the ideas that he rationalized on the extreme exploitation of natural resources have been accepted by a wide range of schools of thought. The paper recognized and insisted on the need to make social changes based on the practices that are currently affecting natural resources in the globe. This tragedy is primarily founded on the competitiveness of human beings and their inability to regard the consequences of their actions in a bid to gain certain standards of living.

Universal property is mainly identified as wildlife, sea life, forests, surfaces and water from the ground. The features associated with these resources include the control of access practiced by the users which has proven to be the most difficult to manage and the subtractability where the users put in mind the welfare of other users through usage of the resource in a sustainable manner. The commons as such associated with deforestation include the forests and other life existing in the forest such as plant life and wild life.

These features make the eco system in a forest and the activity of cutting down the tree resources to clear the land for agriculture immensely affects these commons. Forests therefore go through the Tragedy of the Commons through deforestation. In the tragedy, individuals tend to take advantage of the commons without boundaries especially if there are no regulations pertaining to the use of the resources. The presence of regulation in itself is still contradictory as property rights allow the owner of the property to use the land in whichever they see fit.

The essence of the problem is thus the lack of restraint that individuals exercise in the use of resources thus contributing to the potential disappearance of resources. The choices for the good of the society have been left upon the individual as Hardin insists. In the paper, it says that the society behaves in such a way that it is dependent on the decision of the individual and assumes that the individual will act on the collective interest of the people. The paper purports this to be disastrous as every individual has their unique way of thinking and it is thus difficult to determine what particular god is good for everyone.

In the forested lands, trees have been cleared to pave way for farming as a result of the increase in population (Utting and Peter, 2013). Looking at it from Hardin’s view however, the individual farmer recognizes the opportunity in the increased populace and thus decides to make a profit from it. The idea behind deforestation among farmers is thus not how to feed the growing number of people but rather how to benefit from the growing number of people. Deforestation is additionally done for the construction of buildings.

These buildings are rationally thought up to cater for those who lack homes from the increasing population.

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