Assignment question - Research Paper Example

Lidia M. Lujan March 12, I support the clearing of forests and grasslands for agricultural purposes in countries where people are dying of hunger. Agriculture is the most important industry in a country for the production of food. People clear the forests and grasslands to make use of that land for agricultural purposes so that food may be produced and made available for the common man. Ecosystems are also vitally important but food is the basic necessity of life that comes prior to the preservation of ecosystems.

A hungry man can tell which one of the two is important: ecosystem or food. To meet this hunger, forest conversion becomes more important than forest conservation. Poor do not have the resources and materials to make the preservation possible. They have to cut down forests to make the land grow something that should be beneficial for them and their nation. For countries where hunger is prevailing, forests have no market value or economic function. Thus, to richer developed countries, it may be important to preserve ecosystems for carbon sinks and biodiversity because they can afford it; but, poorer countries have to do something to feed the nation first.

United States went through deforestation many years back due to which it is a developed country now. It would not be fair to deny the poorer countries this opportunity. Agriculture development is the basic requirement of a country if it has to come at par with the modern world. However, to balance out the agricultural security ecosystem preservation, there is need to devise strategic policies at national level.