7 - Hot deserts

• Global impacts of deforestation

  • Economic development and conflict
  • Global warming
  • Loss of biodiversity
• Local impacts of deforestation

  • Decline of indigenous tribes
  • River pollution
  • Local climate change
  • Soil erosion and reduced fertility
• The main argument for deforestation is that it leads to economic development
• Deforestation only leads to short-term development as the loss of trees leads to a decline in biodiversity and soil fertility
• Deforestation is a main contributor to the greenhouse effect, which is a cause of global warming
• It has been estimated that 137 plant, animal and insect species are being lost every single day due to rainforest deforestation
• Parts of the Amazon rainforest could lose between 30 and 45 per cent of their main species by 2030
• Deforestation reduces evapotranspiration


  The local climate becomes drier and warmer
• Soil erosion leads to the silting up of river courses
• The decline in soil fertility leads to pastures and plantations being abandoned, so more areas of rainforest are cleared
• Gold mining causes deforestation and the mercury used poisons fish and people
• Over 330 indigenous tribes existed in 1900, but now there are only around 240 left
• Disputes between indigenous people and loggers/developers often end in open conflict
• Economic development and population growth are the main drivers of deforestation
• Goods supplied by the tropical rainforest

  • Native food crops
  • Wild meat and fish
  • Building materials
  • Energy from HEP
  • Water
  • Medicines
• Services supplied by the tropical rainforest

  • Air purification
  • Water and nutrient recycling
  • Protection against soil erosion
  • Wildlife habitats
  • Biodiversity
  • Employment opportunities
• Over 120 prescription drugs sold worldwide come from plant sources, and about a quarter of the drugs used today in the developed world are derived from rainforest ingredients
• Twenty-five per cent of the active ingredients in today's cancer-fighting drugs come from organisms found only in the rainforest
• Protecting the remaining rainforest requires leaving much of it untouched and allowing the resources to be used in a controlled and sustainable way
• Sustainable management


  Using goods and services in such a way that they are still available for the benefit of people in the future
• Further large-scale deforestation has no place in any sustainable management of the rainforest
• Tropical rainforests


  Good for human health
• Tropical rainforests


  Needed to fight global warming
• Sustainable management of tropical rainforests

  • Using goods and services in such a way that they are still available for the benefit of people in the future
  • Preventing the forest's stock of renewable resources from becoming exhausted
  • Avoiding further large-scale deforestation
• Actions for sustainable management of tropical rainforests

  • International level
  • National level
  • Local level
• International agreements


  Protecting biodiversity and resources of the rainforest
• International agreements


  • International Tropical Timber Agreement (2006)
  • CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, 1973)
• Debt-for-nature swaps


  Schemes where high-income countries agree to write off debts of poor low-income countries in exchange for protecting rainforests
• NGOs


  Non-governmental organisations that promote conservation and education for tropical rainforests
• National government actions


  • Creating protected areas or reserves
  • Stopping abuse of rainforest by developers
  • Making ecology/environmental studies compulsory in school curriculum
• Few governments are willing to do anything that might slow down economic development
• Governments seem unwilling to enforce and monitor laws aimed at protecting or conserving the rainforest
• There is a lot of corruption in the way rainforests are treated
• Conservation


  Prevention of wasteful use of resources, allowing sustainable use
• Environmental protection


  Protecting ecosystems so they can remain balanced
• Sustainable actions at local level

  • Respecting environment and cultures of local people
  • Using traditional skills and knowledge
  • Giving people control over their land and lives
  • Generating income for local people
  • Using appropriate technology
• Sustainable actions in logged areas

  1. Selective logging

  2. Stopping illegal logging

  3. Agroforestry

  4. Replanting
• Ecotourism


  Small-scale, local tourism that educates visitors and minimises ecological impact
• Local communities involved in sustainable projects will help spread the message of sustainability
• Reforestation costs $2500 per hectare, or 7% of the cost of a mine