Figure 3. The major causes of tropical deforestation (Rainforest Alliance, 1999).

Agriculture, the logging industry, fuelwood collection and cattle ranching directly consume the largest amounts of rainforest land throughout the world, respectively (Figure 3). Other causes are more indirect such as the debt burden, poverty, and overpopulation, however all are related to the direct causes list above. In this section, most causes of deforestation are explained in detail.

1.Logging

Logging is one of the major causes of deforestation. Over 80% of the world's ancient forests have been destroyed or degraded by logging (Figure 4; Greenpeace, 2001A). Many of the forests in Southeast Asia have existed since dinosaurs have walked the earth, roughly 70 million years ago (RIC, 2000A). The most commercially valuable trees are normally found in ancient forests, because they have some of the highest biodiverse ecosystems producing larger than average trees. In almost all substantial old-growth (ancient) forests, the primary cause of natural forest loss is certainly the timber industry (WWF, 2000).

Figure 4. Destroyed and remaining ancient forests of the world (Greenpeace, 2001A).

Most tropical rainforests are found in developing countries where money is indisputably needed. The average price of a hectare of trees is about $20,000 in foreign exchange, with a large demand for money in developing countries saving the trees comes second to feeding the family. Two main reasons for deforestation are poverty and the need for foreign exchange (Waste.org, 1994). This results in most of the trees cut down to be exported to more economically developed countries, such as America. "Ironically, developing nations pay almost half of their total earnings from tropical hardwood exports for paper pulp, as they buy their wood chips back as pulp. Almost two- thirds of paper pulp produced is manufactured into packaging material, tissues, and convenience products such as paper cups and plates" (Waste.org, 1994).

"Safe" logging practices, such as selective logging and full forest harvesting, are claimed to be used by the timber industry. The industry goes into selected forests and chooses mature trees to harvest. After a tree is removed from the area, a sapling is planted, so growth can occur naturally. However, these practices do not work as planned (RIC, 2000B). Erosion, nutrient loss, and competition with older, larger trees usually prevent the saplings from growing into healthy trees (Stock and Rochen, 1998). In 1988, The International Tropical Timber Organization, established to regulate international trade of tropical timber, found that on a world scale, sustainable logging is negligible (RIC, 2000B).

A major problem with selective logging is that large areas of land and forest are damaged and destroyed. Through selective logging, chopping down one tree can fatally damage up to seventeen other trees (Waste.org, 1994). With this practice, up to 70% of the rainforest in a selective logged area is destroyed for small amounts of logs (Waste.org, 1994). A combination of removing the trees from the forest and the heavy machinery used in the timber industry accounts for extensive damage on such a fragile environment. However, with selective logging there is a slight chance that the forest can regenerate (Revington, 1992).

Full forest harvesting, another method used by the timber industry, is when the whole tree is harvested rather than the trunk alone. A chipping machine is used in this method. It can chip a whole tree, branches and all, into pieces the size of a silver dollar in a minute's time (Waste.org, 1994). Most of the nutrients stored in the tree are saved in the branches and leaves, rather than in the trunk. Almost all of the nutrients in a rainforest are stored in trees. So when a whole tree is removed almost all of the nutrients are taken away. This gives the rainforest an insignificant chance for recovery (Waste.org, 1994). By removing a tree from the forest, a large opening is shaped in the canopy. These openings can take hundreds of years to regenerate, allowing the sun's rays to reach and dry the soil (Waste.org, 1994). As the soil dries, valuable nitrogen is lost, drier soil also allows for easier erosion (Stock and Rochen, 1998). Usually when trees are taken out of the forest, it is done carelessly and damage to other trees is common. In Southeast Asia, between 45-74% of all the trees remaining have been damaged by logging (RIC, 2000A).

Roads are often built so that large machinery can navigate through the forests (Figures 5 and 6). After a tree is cut, it falls to the ground at a rapid speed (RIC, 2000B). The heavy machinery and fallen trees cause the ground to be heavily compacted. By packing the soil tight together, the forest's chance for regeneration is reduced (Waste.org, 1994). Areas that have been cleared of trees and other plant-life leave exposed soil, which erode in heavy rains and causes siltation of the forest's rivers and streams (RIC, 2000B). Selective logging and full forest harvesting are considered to be "safe" logging, but both practice produce unsafe problem to the rainforests.

Figure 5. A typical logging road in a rainforest (Greenpeace, 2001B).

Figure 6. Another logging road (Greenpeace, 2001B).

Figure 7. A satellite image of a 1,300 square-kilometer area of Brazil's Amazon Basin, north of Manus. Once the rainforest is accessible, it can easily be cleared; this allows destruction from numerous factors to occur, such as shifted cultivators, cattle ranchers and further logging. Timber roads also act as a path which landless people follow to find land for farming and shelter (Miller, 2000). KEY Dark red- Remaining old-growth forest Orange/light red- Regenerated forest Blue/white- Recently deforested areas

2.Cattle Ranching

One of the major causes of deforestation, especially in Central and South America is cattle ranching. Since 1950, two-thirds of Central America's lowland tropical forests have been turned into pasture areas for raising beef cattle (Revington, 1992). According to statistics taken in 1989, cattle ranching accounts for 15,000 km²of rainforest lands. There are also 100,000 beef ranchers alone in South America's Amazon region. Fast food chains now are becoming massive international multicorporations. This results in the demand for beef to grow to dramatic heights. Large pet food corporations are also in demand for cheap beef products. The high demand for cheaper beef is causing large amounts of forests to be destroyed for pastures, especially in developing countries. Overgrazing is another problem linked to cattle raising because it is a common practice once forests are removed. On account of the large dollar signs linked to cattle raising, some governments allow overgrazing to occur as a regular practice (Stock and Rochen, 1998).

3.The Debt Burden

Developing countries have owed massive debts to the industrialized developed countries since the 1970's and 1980's; this is a major reason for the deforestation of their rainforests. Foreign leaders lent over $27 billion (US) to developing countries, today that equates to roughly $1.3 trillion (Waste.org, 1994). In order to reduce their debt, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are forcing developing countries to destroy their rainforests. Over 50,000 km²or 1.4% of Brazil's rainforest were suggested by the World Bank to be "brought under control and management" (Waste.org, 1994). Due to increasing interest rates, it is relatively impossible for these poorer nations to pay the interest let alone the debt.

Ironically, the amount of foreign aid going to developing countries is shadowed by the debt payments to the industrialized world. Roughly 40% of all the money Brazil makes on exports, is spent paying the yearly interest of foreign debt, totaling over $100 billion (Warburton, 1991). Ironically, even if all of the world's rainforests were completely eliminated the developing countries' debt would still not be paid off. Unfortunately, social programs such as birth control, are the first to go when there are limited funds to balance to nation's budget (Waste.org, 1994).

4.Shifted Cultivators

The term shifted cultivator is used for people who have moved into rainforest areas and established small scale farming operations. Through agricultural processes, shifted cultivators cause about 60% of all tropical forest loss (RIC, 2000A). There are two types; landless peasants leaving urban areas in search of land and indigenous natives whom have lived in the area for thousands of years. Between these two groups of people they account for almost 5% of the world's population, but in either case they are causing extensive damage.

The indigenous tribes of the rainforest follow a fallow system. They use slash-and-burn techniques to clear land they will use for agriculture. This land is farmed until the soil is infertile, than orange or rubber trees are planted to regenerate the land. Eventually the rainforest overruns the planted trees; the land is now ready to be farmed again. However, this process of regeneration can take anywhere from ten to twenty-five years, but it is still a form of sustainable agriculture. However, the rainforests are being cut down faster than they can regrow by these same farmers (Waste.org, 1994).

The landless people of urban areas are much more destructive than the indigenous rainforest tribes, which at least use some sustainable methods. Although both greatly destroy the rainforests, the urban farmers do not know how to regenerate the soil or use any sustainable methods. This causes more forests to be destroyed in a search for fertile land. The infertile land is left to degrade or is sold to cattle ranchers; the soil is so destroyed that the rainforests will never flourish again (Waste.org, 1994).

Ownership of land in tropical rainforest areas is uncommon. Anywhere from 50-90% of the people in Brazil do not legally own land (Waste.org, 1994). Of Brazil's population, 1% own approximately 42% of all cultivated land (RIC, 2000A). For the most part, people living in urban areas move into the rainforests to own land, which is free. "Land without men for men without land" was a slogan used in Brazil to persuade poor peasants from overcrowded cities to move into the rainforests (RIC, 2000A). Shifted cultivators are a major reason of deforestation but not the direct cause. Virgin areas of undisturbed rainforest are usually not touched by shifted cultivators. Instead, they are often used as scapegoats by the timber industry to take the blame for rainforest destruction. These farmers merely follow logging roads into previously timbered lands to grow and harvest foods, medicines and fuelwood for their survival. Roughly, 90% of the destruction caused by shifted cultivators is a direct result of the roads built by the timber industry (RIC, 2000B).

5. Fuelwood Collection

Fuel collection is yet another problem directly related to deforestation. During 1998, in 63 developing countries, approximately 2.2 billion people could not get enough fuelwood to meet their basic needs or were forced to meet their needs by using wood faster than it was being replenished (Miller, 2000). Unfortunately, the rainforests pay the price of fuelwood consumption as more and more poor people search for wood.

In developing countries, almost 40% of a poor family's earnings are used to by fuelwood (Miller, 2000). Besides cooking and heating, large amounts of fuelwood are used to boil unpotable water, removing bacteria and waterborne disease. Those who can not afford fuelwood, an estimated 800 million people, burn dried animal feces and crop residues, to meet their basic needs (Miller, 2000). As the dried animal feces are burned, it no longer has the ability to decompose and fertilize the land, further degrading the soil (Miller, 2000). Rapid population growth, poverty, and fuelwood shortages all contribute to deforestation.

Figure 8. Tropical rainforest before deforestation (Greenpeace, 2001A).

Figure 9. Tropical rainforest after deforestation (Greenpeace, 2001A).

2. Climate Change

Full-grown rainforests can be considered carbon reservoirs because they store huge amounts of carbon above and below the ground. Through the process of photosynthesis a growing tree gives off oxygen (O₂) and absorbs water, light and carbon dioxide (CO₂). However, when a tree dies and starts to decompose, it releases CO₂ into the atmosphere; similarly when a tree is burned it also releases CO₂ (Boukhari, 1999). Unfortunately most loggers, shifted cultivators, cattle ranchers, and fuelwood collectors frequently burn trees for clearance purposes, releasing even more CO₂ into the atmosphere. The release of large amounts of CO₂ into the atmosphere can cause an enhanced greenhouse effect; increasing earth's global average temperature. Fires from the Amazon produced 500 million tons of CO₂ in one year, an estimated 10% of the world's total annual atmospheric emissions. Burning and decomposition of pulp and paper made from Amazon trees contributed to the CO₂ emissions (RIC, 2000B).

Solar radiation passes through the atmosphere; most of the radiation is absorbed into earth's surface, where it is stored as heat energy. Infrared radiation is emitted from earth's surface into the atmosphere, where it can be re-emitted in different directions by greenhouse gases (DOE, 2001). As a result the lower atmosphere and earth's surface become warmer (Figure 10). CO₂, water vapor, methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) are all greenhouse gases, but CO₂ makes the biggest contribution to the enhanced greenhouse effect, about 70% (AGO, 2001). As more and more rainforest lands are burned, more CO₂ is released into the atmosphere, resulting in increased temperatures on earth's surface.

What Can I Do?

As an individual, many people feel that there is little they can do to stop a problem as big as tropical deforestation. This type of pessimist thinking needs to be stopped, replace pessimism with optimism and many solutions will arise!

Recycling paper can slow rates of annual deforestation. The largest component of solid waste by weight in the US is paper and paperboard (EPA, 1998). Roughly 40% of municipal solid waste is paper; each year about 71.8 million tons are generated (EPA, 1998). From an environmental or economic standpoint, it makes sense to recycle; not only can money be saved, but also trees. Valuable landfill space is prolonged; for every ton of recycled paper, three cubic yards of landfill are saved (EPA, 1998).

Purchase items that carry the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) image (Figure 11). The FSC, founded in 1993, is an international, non-profit association, that issues certificates for well managed forests; economic, social, indigenous, and environmental interests are all taken into account. To be classified as a well managed forest, the forest's ecosystem can not damaged, only low volumes of trees are expelled, and impacts on plant and animal life are limited (Greenpeace, 2001B).

Figure 11. FSC logo (Greenpeace, 2001B)

Products certified by the FSC can be identified by their logo (Figure 11). The logo shows that the wood-containing product came from a responsibly managed forest, following all criteria agreed by the FSC. On the global market, there are more than 20,000 FSC certified forest products (Greenpeace, 2001B). In 33 countries worldwide, more than 17 million hectares (40 million acres) of natural or planted forest operations that have FSC certifications (Greenpeace, 2001B).

Write letters protesting and objecting to corporations responsible for destroying rainforests. Let these corporations know you do not support the practices, methods, and projects with corporate involvement, that result in the destruction of rainforests and its ecosystems. Citigroup, North America's largest bank and Boise Cascade, one of North America's largest logging companies are responsible for deforestation, here in the US and abroad (RAN, 1999).

Boise Cascade is logging wood from the world's rarest and most endangered forests to produce wood and paper products (RAN, 1999). In Idaho, the Pacific Northwest, and central Canada, Boise Cascade is actively logging old growth forests; the corporation also sells products that originated from wood logged in the tropical rainforests of the Amazon, Southeast Asia, and British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest (RAN, 1999). As one of the nation's largest and wealthiest forest product companies, with annual sales reaching over $7 billion, the corporation has the ability to manage their forests similar to those the FSC certifies (RAN, 1999). Not only does Boise Cascade have the ability to sustainably manage their forests, but rather an obligation of sustainable management, so healthy forests and ecosystems can prosper forever!

Citigroup is the number one financier of large-scale projects in Latin America; here Citigroup arranged twenty-six projects in 1998, with an estimated value of $2 billion (RAN, 1999). For example, Citigroup in association with Royal Dutch/Shell Group and the Scott Paper Company acquired the Sante Fe pulp mill, in Chile. Sante Fe removes trees from intact temperate rainforests, turning them into wood chips (RAN, 1999). The temperate trees are replaced by fast growing eucalyptus, which are produced into paper and plywood for the foreign market (RAN, 1999). While destroying the world's most biologically rich ecosystems, Citigroup is making billions of dollars at the expense of the world. Projects like this need to be stopped, before we know it the rainforests may disappear forever!

There are two letters already written, one for Citigroup and the other for Boise Cascade, protesting their destruction of the rainforests. The letters are complete, type your name and address, then sign and mail the letter. However, you may chose to edit the letter or add something personal. Simply change the letter your preference, print it and send. These are not the only corporations responsible for destroying tropical rainforests, unfortunately there are hundreds of others. Mail letters to them as well!

Supporting and donating to organizations that save rainforest acreage are other ways to help save the forests. The Tropical Rainforest Coalition is an example of one of these organizations. They have a donation program that uses your money to save acres of rainforest lands, called Save-An-Acre Program.