Larger the cities, smaller the rainforest

Sections of rain forest cut for slash-and-burn agriculture in Peru.
(Photo by R. Butler)

As the population increases rapidly on earth, we consumed more and more valuable resources. The shrinking size of rainforest means we are losing the biodiversity of our planet. Rainforest has many various species that we will probably never encounter them again. 

The consequences of losing the rainforest

1. Green house gases

• Deforestation not only lessens the amount of carbon stored, it also releases carbon dioxide into the air. This is because when trees die, they release the stored carbon. Deforestation is the second largest human-caused source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, ranging between 6 percent and 17 percent. 
• Water vapour is also one of the greenhouse gases. Deforestation has reduced global vapour flows from land by 4 percent from a study by the National Academy of Sciences. Even this small change in vapour flows already disrupt the natural weather patterns and modify current climate models.

2. Loss of species

• Animals are losing their habitat, there are negative consequences for medicinal research and local populations who rely on the animals and plants in the forests for hunting and medicine.

3. Soil erosion 

• Tree roots anchor the soil. Without trees, the soil is free to wash or blow away, which can lead to soil erosion, flooding and landslide issues. 

My biggest concern about deforestation is that it is a permanent destruction of forests to gain more land mostly for fuel , housing and urbanization. According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, every year around 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest are lost. In the the WWF reports ,50% of the trees cut down from forests illegally are used as fuel. A forest takes hundreds of years to grow but it only takes 1 weeks for us to clean the whole forest, it is a one way process which is totally not sustainable, once it is clean it is gone, forever. Although forests seems far away from us, who are living in the urban areas, but it is a gift from nature, from our ancestors, it deserves respect and conservation. 

Deforestation in Brazil: Aerial view of a large soy field eating into the tropical rainforest.

It is never too late to stop diminishing the rainforest, we can help to reforest the area, helping the restoration of the animals original habitat. We have to stop the urban sprawl all over the world. we could think of ways like urban consolidation in the urban areas but not expanding into the rural area. We should reduce our use of timber-sourced products like paper, paper cups and bowls in order to minimise the demand of timber. we can encourage people to buy second hand furnitures to minimise the need of new timber of wood furniture. You can also choose to buy environmental responsible product, or donate to the rainforest organisations like rainforest foundations, orangutan, growingairfoundation and
rainforestconcern.

It is the time where all of us should take the responsibility to look after our planets, our rainforest!

Reference:

    Bradford, By Alina. "Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects." LiveScience. 2015. 

    Accessed March 25, 2016. http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html. 

    "Loss of Renewable Resources and Wildlife Conflict Resulting from Deforestation."
    Mongabay.com. Accessed March 25, 2016. http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0905.htm. 

    "10 Things You Can Do To Save The Rainforest | Rainforest Foundation US." Rainforest
    Foundation US. Accessed March 25, 2016. http://www.rainforestfoundation.org/10-things-

    you-can-do-to-save-the-rainforest/.