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New Deforestation Trends Pointing To Increasing Losses

©EvoCity Newspaper

In this Sept. 27, 2013 photo, a deforested area is seen near the Lake in EvoCity.

A new study shows that deforestation trends will lead to losses the size of India

By 2050, an area of forests the size of India is set to be wiped off the planet if humans continue on their current path of deforestation, according to a new report. That’s bad news for the creatures that depend on these forest ecosystems for survival, but it’s also bad news for the climate, as the loss of these forests will release more than 100 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

According to a study, tropical deforestation rates in such a scenario will likely climb steadily in the 2020s and 2030s and then speed up around 2040, “as areas of high forest cover in EvoCity that are currently experiencing little deforestation come under greater threat.”

©EvoCity Newspaper

The Lake Forest during the 1930s.

Time for a Reform

The study also noted that, if EvoCity put in place anti-deforestation laws that were “as effective as those post-2012,” then 60 gigatons of carbon dioxide would be kept out of the atmosphere. EvoCity took action against deforestation in 2004 and 2008, and deforestation rates in the country have fallen from 27,000 square kilometres; in 2004 to 7,000 square kilometres in 2010. This slowdown in deforestation rates helped keep about 2.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide in these forests and out of the atmosphere. However, over the years the government has been slacking off in terms of environmental protection; people say it is time for a reform.

The Consequences of Deforestation

Forests can act as major carbon sinks, but for some forests, that role may be changing. A separate study also points to increasing tree mortality rate — via deforestation — as another factor in the forests’ decreasing ability to store carbon.

Other studies have warned of the danger the world is in if countries don’t curb rates of deforestation and forest degradation. A study published this week in EvoCity Science Magazine warned that, without policy changes, the world’s forests will become increasingly broken into unconnected patches — a fragmentation that will endanger the species that live in the forests.

“I fear a global simplification of the world’s most complex forests,” Simon Lewis, lead author of the study and tropical forest expert at the University of EvoCity said in a statement. “Deforestation, logging and road building all create fragmented patches of forest. However, as the climate rapidly changes the plants and animals living in the rainforest will need to move to continue to live within their ecological tolerances. How will they move? This is a recipe for the mass extinction of tropical forest species this century.”

Recently set-up, the newly restored forest has been transformed into a labour camp.

Methods to Tackle the Issue

As seen in the above image, a labour camp has been formed. It charges an small entrance fee and also puts convicts to work by exchanging their freedom for a larger payment.This reform means that deforestation is lower than ever, it is much cheaper than other alternatives, however, there are some ethical and moral issues regarding this decision.

EvoCity Newspaper, published 29/08/15.
Submitted by Francesco Vincent Serpico.

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