Assignment 16 - Landon d'Angelo

Deforestation and Forest Degradation

Oxygen, vital to life on Earth, is provided through natural processes in plants and phytoplankton in the ocean. Phytoplankton creates around half of the world's oxygen supply and plants create the other half. Forests account for around a third of total oxygen production. While ocean life creates a larger percentage of the oxygen, forests must be seen as the key to future climate change mitigation because they are significantly easier to control. These forests absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and convert it to oxygen which is then expelled. The average forest is going to have a net carbon emission around zero because while vegetation expels oxygen it also gives off carbon dioxide through things such as forest fires. The balance between these gasses is thrown out of sync when forests are cut down or burned in excess. Deforestation is a leading cause of high carbon emissions. Deforestation does not simply refer to cutting trees down, its when a piece of land is permanently converted from forest into another use such as an agricultural field. This produces two problems. Not only will the trees give off carbon dioxide when burned, but there will also be less vegetation to counteract the rising emissions. A lesser-known issue, forest degradation, also creates massive complications. Forest degradation is when a forest is unable to hold as much carbon or support life as a result of human interaction. This can come from pollution, climate change, forest fires, or woodfuel collection, which is the process of gathering wood from forests for the use of fuel, typically for heating.

According to the World Wildlife Fund around half of all forests around the globe are at risk for becoming degraded or deforested by the year 2030, now just 10 years away (2019). This is the opposite of what needs to happen. Forests need to be regrown and replanted in order to close the widening gap in emissions. Releasing this carbon into the atmosphere will only accelerate and escalate the effects of climate change. A report from Dr. Gregory Asner, a PhD holder in both biology and geography, says “tropical deforestation contributes about 20% of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.” This is a significant part of global emissions and as deforestation progresses this figure will only increase more rapidly because of less gas absorption. Since 1880, NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) has estimated that a rise in global temperatures of around 0.8 degrees Celsius has occurred, although a new estimate in 2017 by the United Nations puts it at around 1 degree. The UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) special report of Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees states “This [...] analysis already implied that there would be a significant reduction in risks to unique and threatened systems if warming were limited to 1.5°C compared with 2°C (2018).” This report explains that global temperatures must be contained to a 1.5 degree increase since pre-industrial revolution levels or the ramifications will be irreversible. An increase of 2 degrees will create problems in economies, crop harvests, dangerous weather, and more. Once this mark is reached it will be almost impossible to reverse the effects.

We can no longer idly sit and watch as the world burns. Time has passed and global temperatures continue to rise with no sign of stopping. We can no longer think with the mentality that these immense issues will solve themselves or be solved by someone else in the future. Catastrophic consequences will occur if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced. Massive flooding, fires, and an increase in health issues will be a direct result of climate change, something that could be prevented, but likely won’t because people do not want to change their way of life. We’re already seeing the effects in Venice with flooding and fires in the Amazon and Australia. Often seen is the argument that climate change is a natural process that the earth goes through on its own and this is true, denied by no one. The difference is that these changes occurred in the time span of millions of years and not in slightly over 100 years as is now happening. We cannot continue like this. The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, known as REDD+, is a United Nations ran initiative that gives countries an incentive to keep their forests healthy and active. If a nation meets a certain benchmark for forest growth and carbon emissions then the United Nations financially rewards that nation. The UN also created the UN-REDD Programme that helps these countries obtain the ability to meet these benchmarks. Actions like REDD+ are helping but, illegal logging and burning of forests continue to pose a threat to global advancement. Great progress has been made, especially in the Amazon since the 1980s and 90s, but over a thousand square miles were deforested in Brazil alone in 2019. Six hundred of these were also burned. Stricter policy, as well as harsher enforcement of these laws, must be taken. Once this occurs, we’ll have a chance to keep the world thriving.