Deforestation of Rain Forests

by Emily Chen, Lawrence Chen, Eric Kim and Corey Tam 

What is deforestation?

• Deforestation is defined as the removal of trees from an area of land for agricultural, commercial or any other purpose• The three areas that the major rain forests are located in South America, Indonesia and Africa

Causes

Intentional:• energy source (biomass)• agriculture and grazing (cattle) purposes• urban development and construction• natural resources (ex. oil and ores)

Unintentional:• wildfires• acid rain

Effects

• release of CO2 gas, a greenhouse gas, which contributes to global warming and loss of a major source of C02 absorber• loss of biodiversity and increase of endangered species (habitat fragmentation and destruction)• loss of medicinal sources (plants, animals and fungi)• soil erosion (runoff and flooding)• disruption of water cycle (arid land and droughts)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzK2XITThZM(1 hectare=10,000m2)

Deforestation Statistics

“ Brazil's proposed targets for reducing deforestation: 2006-2009 11,400 sq. km per year (2006-2008 averaged 12,500) 2010-2013, 7,980 sq. km per year 2014-2017, 5,586 sq. km per year ”

- Deforestation in the Brazilian AmazonBrazil

Indonesia

World Context

Proposed Solutions: Brazil

• President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva established the Amazon Fund, which raises donations in order to monitor and prevent deforestation • Brazil encourages for developed countries to cut back on carbon dioxide emissions, especially the United States, but it is highly unlikely for it to do so (similar scenario as the Kyoto Protocol• Obama backs up the agreement between Brazil and Norway to protect the rainforests during the Copenhagen Conference of 2009

• A partnership with Norway in the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation "Plus"), a program that tries to limit carbon dioxide emission and environmental problems through fiscal incentives to the state and the forest owners

• Indonesian President proposes to reduce carbon emission by 41% by 2020 if the economy continues to run normally

Proposed Solutions: Indonesia

Developed Countries' Aid

• FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action) is monitoring the activities in the forests using satellite maps• Copenhagen Conference- Section 8: Developed countries should provide new and additional resources, including wood

• Developed countries have proposed the idea of compensated reduction, which is the idea that a developing country is paid to reduce its deforestation rates

Conservation International (CI) at COP15 in Copenhagen - The Forest Connection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHE1oUFO_-U

Expectations of Deforestation• Deforestation rate is expected to decrease

over the next decade and then continue at a low rate

•  Worst Case Scenario: Earth will be completely free of forests within 30 years

• Best Case Scenario: Forests are preserved and people recycle paper so there is less deforestation, very limited amounts of cutting

• Copenhagen agreement shows hope for reducing deforestation and preserving rainforests

Sources"Copenhagen - A Glimmer of Hope." Conservation International. N.p., 19 Dec. 2009. Web. 2 June 2011<http://www.conservation.org/newsroom/pressreleases/Pages/copenhagen_glimmer_of_hope_cop15.aspx>."FAQ Norway-Indonesia REDD Partnership." Norway - the Official Site in Indonesia. 31 May 2010. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.norway.or.id/Norway_in_Indonesia/Environment/-FAQ-Norway-Indonesia-REDD-Partnership-/>."Forest Monitoring for Action (FORMA)." Center for Global Development (CGD). Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.cgdev.org/section/initiatives/_active/forestmonitoringforactionforma>."Glossary of Climate Change Terms." U.S Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/glossary.html>.Putatunda, Rita. "Causes and Effects of Deforestation." Buzzle Web Portal. Buzzle.com, 2011. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/causes-and-effects-of-deforestation.html>.Santilli, Márcio, Paulo Moutinho, Stepjam Schwartzman, Daniel Nepstad, Lisa Curran, and Carlos Nobre. "Tropical Deforestation and the Kyoto Protocol." 2005. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.cndwebzine.hcp.ma/cnd_sii/IMG/pdf/kyoto_deforestation.pdf>."The Three Major Tropical Rainforets." Rainforest Conservation Fund. 2011. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.rainforestconservation.org/rainforest-primer/rainforest-primer-table-of-contents/e-composition-of-tropical-rainforests/5-the-three-major-tropical-rainforests>.Wisch, Rebecca F. "Lacey Act Overview." Michigan State University College of Law. Michigan University College of Law, 2011. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ovuslaceyact.htm>.