Deforestation and Poverty

IntroductionIndia is a vast country - encompassing a large

canvas of habitats, and ecological niches; rich in bio-diversity and simultaneously supporting a rich, and vibrant diversity of human cultures.

Deforestation is indeed a serious issue, and there will be no exaggeration in saying that since 1990 the jungle areas have been declining at a fast pace. India once had 14.8 billion acres of land that was forested, but now has dwindled to just 8.6 billion acres.

Forests are chopped basically for two reasons

Basic Necessities and Maintaining the lifestyle.

It is true that reason for cutting down of trees is justified to an extent, but, while razing people do not realize that they are diminishing the existence of flora and fauna, and becoming egocentric.

Human activities that lead to Deforestation

Population explosion.Large areas of forests have been cleaned for agriculture, factories, road and rail tracks, industries, mining and quarrying have seriously affected the forest.

Agriculture.  With raise in the demands for agricultural products, forests are being destroyed to render space for cultivating crops and building farms, where especially cultivators are encouraged by the government to work on the areas.

Wood Harvesting.  Trees are cut down for attaining lumber or timber that is a wood used for constructing houses and making furniture. It is the most significant cause of deforestation.

Fires.Forest fires destroy trees, seeds and the animal life.

Pests.Many kinds of insect pests destroy forests by eating the shoots and spreading diseases.

Grazing Land.  Forests are also cleared for cattle grazing, which have made them one of the most heavily exploited.

Mining.  Excavating a diamond or coal means clearing of all woodland cover with the help of trucks and many other types of equipment. It is another main cause of deforestation.

Palm Oil.  Palm oil has been in great demands in the market and its intensifying costs making it more priceless. Therefore, farmers are exploiting acres of land of forests to reap it.

Weather.Storm and snow damage the forests. These natural forces are beyond human power to control.

Dams.Barriers constructed across rivers to prevent floods submerge and kill large tracts of forests.

Jhuming (Shifting cultivation).In certain parts of India, forests are burnt and the ash is mixed with the soil and the land used for cultivation.

Consequences of DeforestationLoss of Species: Seventy percent of the

world’s plants and animals live in forests and are losing their habitats to deforestation. Loss of habitat can lead to species extinction.

Carbon Emissions: Healthy forests help absorb greenhouse gasses and carbon. Without trees, more carbon and greenhouse gasses enter the atmosphere.

Water Cycle: Trees play an important part in the water cycle, grounding the water in their roots and releasing it into the atmosphere. Without the plants, the climate may become dryer.

Soil Erosion: Without tree roots to anchor the soil and with increased exposure to sun, the soil can dry out, leading to problems like increased flooding and inability to farm.

Life Quality: Soil erosion can also lead to silt entering the lakes, streams, and other water sources. This can decrease local water quality, contributing to poor health in the local population.

Cause of Deforestation

All the factors that are mentioned so far are fundamentally caused by poverty of the developing countries where tropical rainforests in the world are located.

It means that prosperity will reduce the economic pressure on governments, preventing them from cutting down too many trees for commercial purposes.

Poverty and DeforestationPro-environment groups should care whether the

poor degrade forests more or less than others. An understanding of the role(s) of poverty should

inform policies for conserving species habitat, storing carbon and preventing erosion. Pro-poor groups may not care about such outcomes but still favor ecological-service (or any) payments to the poor. Understanding the effects of poverty generally helps to demonstrate the benefits of programs targeted at or simply affecting the poor.

Policies that address links between ecological services and poverty can affect a lot of forest and many people.

Environment degradation enhancing poverty in northeast

Environmental degradation is a major factor in perpetuating poverty, particularly among the rural poor in the bio-rich northeastern region of the country

Environmental degradation has adverse effects on soil fertility, quality and quality of water, forests, wildlife and fisheries and makes air all the more impure.

The dependence of rural poor, particularly the tribal societies, on natural resources is self-evident. Women, being directly involved in collecting items of food from nature, are more vulnerable to the adverse impacts of degradation of natural resources.

Northeast India is the bio-geographical gateway to India's richest biodiversity zone and is unique for its genetic resources. However, the rapid growth in population is creating a number of environmental problems because of uncontrolled urbanization, industrialization and massive intensification of agriculture and destruction of forests.

Major environmental issues are degradation of forests, decline in forest cover and degradation of agricultural land, resource depletion (water, mineral, forest, sand, rocks etc).

The official estimates say, the country's population will increase to about 1.26 billion by the year 2016.

Population growth and economic development are contributing to many serious environmental calamities, including deforestation, habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity.

The final outcomes of this are air pollution, global warming, climate change, water scarcity and rise in the level of toxicity of water.

Deforestation and Tribal PovertyThe progressive tendency towards deforestation

and the progressive marginalization and impoverishment of the tribal population closely tied up tribal life is with forests.

Very little of the benefits of deforestation appears to have gone to them. Obviously, almost all the surplus wealth generated through deforestation has accrued to the other agents of production.

the nexus between commercial interests and the forest department creates virtual monopoly conditions in the utilization of forest wealth, The tribals share in the wealth generated cannot be more than subsistence wage.

Possible SolutionsThe causers of deforestation are forced to cut

down their trees due to their poverty. Hence, it is important to attack the causes of poverty to deal with deforestation issue.

Unfortunately, there is no magical solution to the problems caused by deforestation because poverty is an abstruse problem to solve. However, we can still halt and reduce the process of deforestation.

ConclusionDeforestation is a serious global issue,

and we, as global citizens, should be aware of the problem. Deforestation has been conducted for centuries and will not be solved overnight. Lumber products are certainly essential in our lives, so the complete banning of deforestation is rather unrealistic. Instead, we should focus on solving its fundamental cause: poverty in the developing nations.

We will be able to gradually decrease the rate of deforestation, thereby diminishing the environmental threat. The important factor, which will determine the success of halting deforestation, is our attitude and determination. Therefore, we will only be able to effectively stop the process of deforestation by understanding the issue.

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Tropical Deforestation Problems and Solutions-Ji-woong Kim

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