If you are fortunate enough to reside in the South West of England, you might wonder why deforestation is such a buzz word. Yet for all the green rolling hills in our lush county, there is a natural disaster taking place that is super charging climate change. From 1990…
If you are fortunate enough to reside in the South West of England, you might wonder why deforestation is such a buzz word. Yet for all the green rolling hills in our lush county, there is a natural disaster taking place that is super charging climate change.
From 1990 to 2016 an area larger than the equivalent of South Africa was flattened because of deforestation, and around 17% of the Amazonian rainforest has been destroyed.
Why?
In a nutshell, urbanisation has been the biggest factor. Half of all deforestation has been caused by industrial scale farming, construction, mining and drilling. Another singular cause of deforestation in Malaysia and Indonesia is to make space for the production of palm oil – a product used in many everyday staples such as shampoo, make-up and peanut butter!
What does this mean for climate change?
Ironically by clearing these forests we are removing trees that once absorbed carbon dioxide, so instead of improving our oxygen levels, we are actually adding to the CO2 in our atmosphere.
It is not just carbon dioxide emissions that are affected, forests are home to nearly half of the world’s species and provide livelihoods for 1.6 billion people.
What can I do?
There are many organisations and conservation groups worldwide that are all working towards prevention and repairing what has already been lost. But there is something we can do as the consumers, it might take a little time at first, but once we know what to look for and avoid purchasing, we can help say NO to further deforestation. Look for sustainably produced sources where you can and check for ingredients such as unsustainable palm oil.
Further resources
Forest Stewardship Council
Rainforest Alliance
World Wildlife Fund