A representative of American Forests left a comment on my news submission at an environmental website called Care2.com, “How Many Environmental Disasters Does It Take To Screw A Lightbulb Into A Human’s Brain?” which said,
“Thanks for the article – Disturbing but informative and important. There’s also the ongoing and oft-overlooked disaster of global deforestation. Since its always happening, some people look at it as less of a disaster than an oil spill that kills hundreds or thousands of animals. Yet if we don’t do something to reverse it, we could lose hundreds or thousands of species.”
Global deforestation is definitely under-reported and is anti-glamorous most likely lending to why its the ‘silent’ environmental disaster causing devastation regularly. To me deforestation reasons include everything, from farming to forest products to man-made fires.
And here is some shock for you:
I personally know of an area in the Muskokas that has been suffering terribly from illegal clear-cutting of our forests. Since the property does not belong to me personally, I have only been able to live vicariously through the visible damage I have seen first hand, and the terror and intimidation the owners have suffered at the hands of these “tree-poachers”.
The problem here is that everyone knows it goes on, palms are greased and the poachers don’t make idle on their threats of burning property and vandalism. Many cottagers and seasonal property owners do not have the time or resources to continuously watch over their acres of prime woodland. And since the older owners of this particular large amount of acreage up North have been unsuccessful at getting help and then living in fear, they just gave up. And now more area has been cleared. At least they are doing their best to reforest with new trees at their own expense. It is happening right now.
It is good to see that in 2009, although Natural Resources Canada’s Annual Report – The State Canada’s Forests section on Key Facts – Economy reports that Canada is the world’s largest exporter of forest products, the Government has made initiatives to help Canada be a leader in sustainable development for its healthy renewable forests and light carbon footprint. Is it shocking to note that the U.S. is Canada’s largest buyer of forest products?
For more information from the Government of Canada about our forests, visit Natural Resources’ Canada website http://canadaforests.nrcan.gc.ca/ for statistical & policy information.
Trees are so unappreciated and are taken for granted. Their importance in ecosystems across the world is immeasurable, but humans keep on quantifying them in terms of dollars and cents.
And the devastation is global, no forests are safe. We should remember this because all life on Earth might choke to death without them.
Trees provide the necessary habitats for a huge share of the world’s wildlife. National Geographic reports that,
“Seventy percent of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes.”
NG also reports that at the rate we are cutting, we will destroy all the rain forests in less than 100 years. This surely is unacceptable and so demonstrative of our need for destruction, violence and money. Each time we steal and destroy forests from the Earth, we are responsible for the chain reaction of destruction that continues to be the after effects, long after the cut trees are used for our pleasures & profit.
I explored the American Forests website and wanted to share a really cool section called, “National Register of Big Trees“. Their website is very informative, well organized and supplies a great source of info on forests, but I really appreciated the National Register of Big Trees, so make sure to visit their site for info and I send a thank you to the Rep. of American Forests on Care2.Com for the reminder about our forests & their ‘oft forgotten’ global devastation.
And finally, I wanted to draw your attention to the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, that put out a report in March 2010 regarding deforestation.
It is tag-lined “World Deforestation Decreases, But Remains Alarming in Many Countries“.
Key findings in the Food & Agriculture Organization’s report:
“Other key findings in the report included:
- Brazil lost an average of 2.6 million hectares of forest annually in the last ten years as compared with 2.9 million hectares per year in the 1990s while Indonesia’s figures were respectively 0.5 and 1.9 million hectares per year.
- Primary forests account for 36 percent of total forest area but have decreased by more than 40 million ha since 2000. This is largely due to reclassification of primary forest to “other naturally regenerated forests” because of selective logging or other human interventions.
- The area of forest in national parks, wilderness areas and other legally protected areas has increased by more than 94 million hectares since 1990 and it now equals 13 percent of the total forest area.
- Forests are among the world’s chief carbon sinks. They store some 289 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon in trees and vegetation. The carbon stored in forest biomass, deadwood, litter and soil together is more than all the carbon in the atmosphere. Globally, carbon stocks in forest biomass decreased by an estimated 0.5 Gt a year in 2000-2010, mainly due to a reduction in total forest area.
- Fires, pests and diseases are causing increased damage to forests in some countries. On average, one percent of all forests was reported to be significantly affected each year by forest fires. Outbreaks of forest insects damage some 35 million hectares of forest annually. Extreme weather events such as storms, blizzards and earthquakes also took a heavy toll in the past decade.
- Seventy-six countries have issued or updated their forest policies since 2000 and 69 countries – primarily in Europe and Africa – have enacted or amended their forest laws since 2005.
- Data collection for the Global Forest Resources Assessment is becoming more comprehensive and precise. New data and additional information on afforestation and on natural expansion of forests for the past 20 years has made it possible to estimate rates of deforestation and loss from natural causes more accurately. The new global estimate for 1990 to 2000 (close to 16 million ha per year) is higher than previously estimated (13 million ha), because it now also includes deforestation within countries that have had an overall net gain in forest area.
- A remote-sensing survey of forests, led by FAO, sampling some 13 500 sites over a period of 15 years, will provide even more accurate data on global and regional rates of deforestation by the end of 2011.”
I hope to read this year, an official tag-line to news stories that says, “World Deforestation Decreases Significantly in All Countries“.
But what do I know?
Peace 🙂
Build Future Energy 
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