- Natural Causes
- Climate Change is any significant long-term change in the expected patterns of average weather of a region or the whole earth over significant period of time. It is an inevitable occurrence which take place with time.
- Deforestation is both a cause and an effect of climate change which damages forests, for instance by drying out tropical rainforests.
- Forest fires is another natural cause as recently experienced in Australia. According to WWF, each year fires burn millions of hectares of forests worldwide. Forests fires are a natural cause however, degraded forests including heavily logged rainforests, are more vulnerable.
2. Farming
- Agriculture expansion and livestock farming are one of the biggest reasons for cutting down forests to accommodate such practice.
- According to an article in One Green Planet, since 1990, Brazil, a top exporter of beef has lost an area of forest that is three-fourth the size of Texas. Farmers often clear the land for cattle by using slash and burn techniques. Other countries which are top beef suppliers and experience deforestation include Mexico, Uruguay and Argentina.
- Slash and burn technique is also used to clear land for farming. Such technique is commonly used to clear forests in Southeast Asia, tropical Africa and the Americas for permanent oil palm plantations.
3. Lumbering
- Illegal and unsustainable logging is another cause of deforestation happening in many countries such as Brazil and Indonesia. Trees are also cut down for use of firewood, paper and furniture.
- Road construction can lead to deforestation by providing an entryway to previously remote land. The cleared land then attracts an influx of settlers, and construction of other infrastructure such as residential and commercial buildings.
- All the mentioned causes above increase as population and demand increase. Currently there are about 8 Billion people on the earth and as population increases, the forests and natural resources get depleted at a faster rate.
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