Deforestation Regulations Of The Tropics Essay - 2361 Words

Deforestation Regulations in the Tropics 48 football fields. Not monthly, not even daily. 48 football fields worth of tropical rainforest is cut down every single minute. This adds up to about 46-58 thousand square miles per year. 58 thousand square miles of the already narrow belt of tropical forests stretching around the equator. These are forests of amazing diversity and productivity. Forests that may cover only 7% of the land’s surface here on Earth, but harbor more than half of all species and play a massive part in maintaining the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and regulating our climate. Advocates for the preservation of these forests state that deforestation has devastating consequences including social conflict, extinction of plants and animals, and dangerous climate changes, and that local deforestation in these forests are causing damages that aren’t just local, but global. While opponents claim that tropical forests are destined to diminish as it is necessary for the growing human pop ulation to clear the natural landscape to make room for farms and pastures, to harvest timber for construction and fuel, to build roads and urban areas and to develop the economies of the often poor countries that surround the equator. Recent research has however repeatedly proven these statements wrong. Showing how the human population have no desperate need to cut down these forests, and that we are in fact more prone to make our own situation worse when we do.Show MoreRelatedGlobal Environmental Issue : Deforestation Essay1103 Words   |  5 PagesGlobal Environmental Issue: Deforestation Deforestation is a global environmental threat the planet is currently experiencing. Deforestation in tropical rainforests is especially problematic as they are home to a myriad of important plant and animal species. 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