CAUSE AND EFFECT OF DEFORESTATION

Causes of Deforestation in the Philippines

These forests are cleared to make way for the expansion of urban areas including urban settlements, commercial establishments, roads, bridges, power plants, and others that have a major impact on forest life. This results in loss of forest area and massive deforestation.

Conversion of the forest into agricultural land for growing crops, building farms, ranches, and other lands for agricultural purposes. This includes the slash-and-burn farming technique (kaingin)commonly practiced in the Philippines.

Trees are cut down to be used as firewood or turned into charcoal, which is used for cooking and heating purposes and as a source of income in rural areas.

Deforestation can also be caused by clearing forests for oil and mining exploitation. Forest fires can occur naturally or in most cases are deliberately acted by man to clear huge forests. This leads to loss of forests and loss of habitat for the local wildlife.

Trees are cut down indiscriminately by logging companies, to fulfill the demands of the wood market. This does not give a chance to the local wildlife and trees to regenerate and sustain themselves which leads to the loss of wildlife forever.

Effects of Deforestation on Wildlife and Human Society

When the soil is exposed to the sun upon deforestation, it becomes very dry and infertile due to the loss of nutrients. When there is rainfall, it washes away the rest of the nutrients, which flow with the rainwater into waterways.

Trees help maintain the water cycle in various ways. They absorb water through their roots, which is then released into the atmosphere.

Tropical rainforests only take up to 6 percent of the surface area of the Earth, where about 80-90 percent of the entire species of the world exist.

Forests can function to absorb and store great amounts of water quickly when there are heavy rains.

Trees act as a storage place for carbon since they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is then used to produce carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that makeup trees.