Deforestation has been a big controversy with environmentalists. Many people argue the benefits of deforestation, but look beyond the negative effects it has. People who support deforestation can explore the economic benefits of deforestation. Deforestation can have economic benefits, but despite that, the negatives far outweigh the positives. Deforestation destroys the natural habitats of animals. When a species’ natural habitat disappears, it becomes difficult for that species to adapt, leading to extinction. The end result of deforestation is a significant decline in biodiversity.
In the article Benefits of deforestation, Nathalie Fiset focuses mainly on the economic benefits of deforestation. She claims that wood products are one of the most stable construction materials in human society and that humans cannot live without wood products (Fiset). That’s true up to a point, but we are evolving towards a paperless society. Today, almost everything is run electronically. For example, people can now pay almost any bill online; there is no paper involved in that. Also, when people vote, they do so electronically. No more bundles of paper. There is no reason to cut down so many trees when human society is learning to live without paper products. Today, most paper companies use recycled materials, not trees.
Another point that Fiset raises is that deforestation can create many jobs. She claims that when environmentalists go against deforestation, it causes many people who work with wood products to lose those jobs (Fiset). When deforestation is seen in perspective, is it really worth it? People can always get up and find another job. When these people destroy the homes of millions, those animals have nowhere to go. It is more difficult for animals to go find a new home. It takes generations to adapt to a new environment. When these workers lose their jobs, there are many green jobs that these workers could access. For example, they could monitor forests and wildlife instead of cutting down trees and destroying natural habitats. Another job alternative is to work for a paper recycling company. Instead of cutting down trees, they can save trees by recycling used paper. Instead of destroying natural habitats, these workers could be working for a company that stands for good.
Fiset believes that when companies destroy a forest, they can easily make up for what they lost by planting more trees in place of the old ones (Fiset). When loggers cut down trees, they can’t just plant more trees and leave it at that. In a single forest there are several types of trees and it takes hundreds of years to create a voluminous forest that greatly supports biodiversity and all the wildlife that resides in it. Typically, when forests are destroyed, companies plant just one or two species of trees to make up for what they took. Certain animals need a specific tree to live or raise a family. When humans plant just one tree, it can be difficult for them to adapt and ultimately lead to extinction. When natural habitats are bulldozed to nothing, most animals are killed in the process or some run away. However, when the animals return, their home is completely gone. For example, many birds that had nests in the different species of trees that were destroyed now have to raise their family in an open field only asking for a predator to eat the young of these birds. This happens because they can’t adapt fast enough to sustain themselves in this new tree. When a species goes extinct, there is no going back. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.
The last claim he makes is that the destruction of forests could help find more natural resources, such as oil, natural gas and coal (Fiset). The automobile industry is starting a new revolution with more fuel-efficient and greener vehicles. The United States is slowly moving away from non-renewable natural resources. The effects of burning coal had a major impact on global warming with a dramatic decrease in ZONE O levels, which shield Earth from the sun’s harmful UV rays. As a result, coal is not something important to look for. There are so many other forms of electricity too. There is wind power, solar power, geothermal power, hydro power, and tidal wave power. All of these energy sources have no need for natural resources, and they are all renewable and do little or no harm to the Earth. If deforestation continues the way it is going, many more species will decline.
In the Amazon jungle there are thousands of different organisms. A certain study done by scientists was to record how the stingless bee adapted to deforestation. According to the article, these certain species of bees are important not only to the environment, but also to humans economically and culturally. Many people would say that bees are not important, but for the people who live in the Amazon and the areas around the Amazon, bees are sacred. Some people even consider these stingless bees as pets. The stingless bee produces honey that has a variety of different uses. People can obviously eat the honey or use it in certain recipes and can use it to make Balché, which is an alcoholic beverage. Another benefit of these bees is to pollinate farmers’ crops. If there are no bees, then there are no food-producing crops that farmers need to sell.
In a study done on these stingless bees, scientists went to different areas of the Amazon that were being affected by deforestation and collected bees to see how they adapted to deforestation. As a result, they found seven different species of stingless bees, but only two of those species appeared to be unaffected by deforestation (McCoy and Mushinski). That means five of the stingless bee species are vulnerable to extinction. This is just one example of how deforestation can destroy a species.
Another example of animals at risk from deforestation are ring-tailed lemurs. These monkeys live in Madagascar, but since the human population has been expanding rapidly in Madagascar, companies are clearing forests and destroying the lemur’s habitat. Many scientists believe that lemurs are what make a healthy rainforest (Butler). There are only about 50 species of lemurs left. Deforestation is putting a lot of pressure on these lemurs that live in Madagascar. Evidence shows that there are many different types of species that are affected by deforestation, from bees to monkeys.
Cutting down trees to build farms, cities, and houses simply destroys natural habitats. Those are just the primary effects. There are other effects of deforestation that most people overlook. An example of a secondary effect of deforestation is the pollutants brought into the forest. When a company is clearing an acre of forest, they bring in trucks that deposit harmful pollutants on wildlife. Researchers have discovered that thousands of harmful chemicals enter the natural environment and disrupt the nervous, immune, endocrine, and reproductive cycles of animals that come into contact with these chemicals (Hose and Guillette 87). This also has a major effect on endangered species, because when affected by these pollutants, it can be difficult for them to reproduce. This means that the population of the endangered species will not increase, making it any more difficult for them to go extinct.
However, there are some solutions that humans can do to help prevent harmful products from entering a natural environment. One resolution may be to keep very detailed observations on the toxins exposed to the environment. This will limit the amount of chemicals that can pollute the environment and restore breeding cycles. Another resolution may be knowledge of the chemicals that are distributed in these environments. Once people know how bad these chemicals really are, they might stop using them. The latest resolution is to create model ecosystems, such as restoration facilities, to help reform the endocrine system (Hose and Guillette 88-89).
Although deforestation has had a huge impact on wildlife, there are some organizations that try to help some of the animals that are struggling in the wild. These organizations create restoration programs for animals on the brink of extinction. Scientists can measure the success rate of these facilities, and the success rate is often very high. It is easier to measure success one installation at a time (McCoy and Mushinski). Deforestation may be destroying the lives of some animals, but when humans take small steps to help the natural environment, they are one step closer to finally helping an endangered species.
There are many examples of how deforestation can be beneficial, but many are simply looking for what they can do for humans. Supporters want to destroy habitats to find natural resources that can and do destroy this planet. Global warming prevails and deforestation is only adding fuel to the fire. Also, destroying one acre of forest destroys millions of animal homes. When the homes of these animals that live in those forests that are being cut down every day disappear, they have no protection for them or their young. This is a major problem for biodiversity. Every day thousands of species become extinct, drastically decreasing the Earth’s biodiversity. Deforestation has many benefits for humans, but it is a huge problem for the natural environment.
Sources
Butler, Rhett A. “Lemurs are key to the health of Madagascar’s rainforests.” Mongabay. 2008. May 5, 2009.
Fiset, Natalia. “Profits from deforestation”. Magazine articles. April 30, 2009.
Hose, JE & Guillette, LJ “Defining the role of contaminants in the distribution of reproduction in wildlife”. Environmental Health Perspectives 103 (1995): 87-91. JSTOR. Western Illinois University Library. April 2, 2009
Brown, Christopher J. and Albrecht, Christian. “The effect of tropical deforestation on stingless bees of the genus Melipona”. Biogeography Magazine. 28.5 (2001): 623-634. JSTOR. Western Illinois University Library. April 2, 2009
McCoy, Earl D and Mushinski, Henry R. “Measuring the success of wildlife community restoration.” ecological applications. 12.6 (2002): 1861-1871. JSTOR. Western Illinois University Library. April 2, 2009
