part 11 : CONCLUSION

Through our 9 chapters we have taken a close look at deforestation and how it does more damage to our lives and the environment ,than good. We would like to conclude by talking about the major link between deforestation and climate change, and why there is an urgency to fight deforestation.

Deforestation adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and removes the ability to absorb existing carbon dioxide.

Forests store large amounts of carbon. Trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow. This is converted into carbon and stored in the plant's branches, leaves, trunks, roots and in the soil. When forests are cleared or burnt, stored carbon is released into the atmosphere, mainly as carbon dioxide. The build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is driving global warming, as it traps heat in the lower atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide levels are now at their highest levels in human history. Droughts, tropical storms, heatwaves and wild fires are increasing in severity and frequency because of climate change. This will continue to result in increases in forest losses, contributing to more and more carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Risks are significantly reduced but not avoided by keeping the rise in global temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Protecting natural ecosystems and sustainably managing and reestablishing forests are important ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow down temperature rise in the short term by drawing down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. At the same times, we must deeply and rapidly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions levels from fossils fuels - coal, oil and gas. If we do only the former and not the latter, we risk transforming more and more of our carbon sink into carbon sources as climate change progresses.

Throughout the articles we have explained what deforestation is and the pros and cons. So does deforestation still needs to be addressed urgently? Make a decision today and help our coming generations received a better greener and healthier world.

"What you do makes a difference, but you have to decide what difference you want to make." - Jane Goodall.

Part 10:NORWAY BANS DEFORESTATION

Norway became the first country in the world to ban deforestation. By committing to zero deforestation, Norwegian lawmakers will not award any government contracts to companies that take part in clear-cutting of trees or forests. 

The pledge was made in the Recommendation of Norwegian parliament's Standing Committee in Energy and the Environment in 2014 regarding Norway's national biodiversity action plan, which has been put in motion. 

According to Climate Action, production of soy, beef, palm oil, and wood products in seven countries with high deforestation rates (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea) contributed to 40% of total tropical deforestation and 44% of associated carbon emissions between 2000-2011. To counteract this Norway has invested large sums of money to stop deforestation in Brazil, Liberia and Indonesia. 

In 2008 Norway gave Brazil $1 Billion to help fight deforestation against the Amazon Rainforest. By 2015 Brazil had more than 33,000 square miles of forest and kept 3.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The Norwegian government also announced a $250 Million commitment to protect Guyana's forest, giving them the money over a four year period from 2011 to 2015. The country is also hard at work in Africa. Liberia, with the help of Norway, became the first nation in Africa to stop cutting down trees in return for aid. 

Norway's action plan also includes a request from parliament that the government exercise due care for the protection of biodiversity in its investments through Norway's Government Pension Fund Global. Because of this, any product that contributes to deforestation will not be used in the Scandinavian country. Their act of banning deforestation from the supply chain only continues the country's longstanding history of protecting the world's vital forests.

At the UN Climate Summit in New York in September 2014, the Norwegian government made a pledge with Germany and UK that they would promote national commitments that encourage deforestation-free supply chains, including through public procurement policies to sustainable source commodities such as palm oil, soy , beef and timber. 

By becoming the first country in the world to make such a large-scale move against deforestation, Norway is setting an example for other countries to consider similar policies. 

"This has been an astonishing success story. REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) has been so far the biggest success story of the climate negotiations...For Norway, I think the main lesson learnt is that we need to be more able to take risks, and more daring. Because there are numerous reasons why this may fail or how it can be criticized." - Erik Solheim, Norwegian Minister for Environment and International Development.