Forest loss
Every year, forests with a total area of over 300,000 square kilometres are cut down worldwide (Global Forest Watch, 2017). This corresponds to the area of Great Britain and Northern Ireland combined. This is equivalent to the area of Great Britain and Northern Ireland combined and is due to the trade in timber and, above all, the extraction of agricultural land. Primeval forests with a high level of biodiversity and their benefits as CO2 reservoirs on the one hand and oxygen producers on the other are being turned into monocultures of palm oil plantations, soya plantations for animal feed production or sugar cane plantations for supposed biodiesel. Of particular concern is the fact that over 80% of all agricultural land worldwide is used for meat production. Be it as grazing land or for the necessary fodder production. This means that excessive meat consumption, especially in western industrialised nations, is in many ways a driving force behind both climate change and the disappearance of forests. The clearing of forests releases bound CO2, the forest as a carbon converter is lost and domesticated livestock produces methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent, through its excretions. Added to this is transport from South American countries to Europe and the USA, which also emits greenhouse gases.
The loss of forests has serious consequences for the earth’s entire water balance. Trees protect the soil, groundwater and watercourses from drying out and overheating, permanently feed water vapour into the atmosphere through condensation and are therefore irreplaceable for the water cycle. The best-known example is the Amazon rainforest. The value of the largest contiguous rainforest area in the world cannot be overestimated. This primeval forest serves as a reservoir for 16 per cent of our fresh water. If deforestation continues as before, there may be a tipping point that reduces rainfall, which could not only change the water supply and climate in South America. The consequences are already becoming apparent. This means that the dry season lasts longer and longer and the rainy season starts later.
In this context, progressive desertification should be mentioned as another devastating consequence. Desertification occurs when natural resources (soil, vegetation, water) in areas with a relatively dry climate are impaired or destroyed as a result of over-intensive human utilisation. Already 75 per cent of Spain is threatened by devastation. Rising temperatures and more frequent periods of drought due to climate change are exacerbating the situation. Europe’s former fruit basket is threatening to turn into a punching bag. The examples of clear-cutting are countless and mean an irretrievable loss of biodiversity and serious unpredictable consequences for the earth’s ecosystem.
Therefore: Plant trees with us and protect existing rainforests!