Rainforest Destruction:

Causes and Effects

Enda Tuomey

Introduction

The tropical rainforests of West Africa, Brazil, Latin

America and Southeast Asia are some of the most
important environmental regions of the world. They hold
millions of unique plants, animals, and people. However,
they are being destroyed rapidly for agriculture, mining
and logging. This essay will examine the causes of this
destruction and outline its effects on our lives.

Causes

A complex web of factors is

contributing to the destruction of
the rainforests.

Causes 1
One of the main causes of is
logging for timber. Millions of
hectares are cut down every
year, often illegally. The most
valuable wood is taken and
not replaced. Landless people
move in along the new
logging roads.

Causes 2

Mining companies are responsible

for much deforestation. They cut
down trees to extract gold and other
minerals. Their activity often causes
pollution.

Causes 3
However, one of the biggest
contributors to rainforest
destruction is that they are
often located in developing
countries. As a result, the
forests lack protection and
are in danger from wealthy
developers, companies and
from poor landless people.

Effects
Rainforest destruction has
many catastrophic effects.

Effects 1

A tragic effect of the loss of the

rainforest is the extinction of plants and
animals that could provide us with food,
medicine or valuable products.
Thousands of species disappear each
year. This leads to a poorer world with
less biodiversity.

Effects 2
One surprising result of the
destruction of the rainforest
is that soils and nutrients are
washed away. When the trees
are cut down, the soil is
exposed to the heavy rain
and quickly becomes infertile
and useless. The forest
cannot grow again, and the
people who used the land
have to move on.

Effects 3
One of the most serious
effects is global warming.
When the trees in the
rainforest are cut down,
carbon dioxide is released
into the atmosphere. This
carbon dioxide acts as a
blanket, trapping the suns
heat and warming the planet.
This can have huge
consequences for the worlds
climate.

Conclusion
In summary, the rainforests are important for the
environment because they produce oxygen, store carbon
and have huge stores of timber, minerals, medicinal plants
and food. They are potentially a huge source of genetic
material. Human activities are damaging this treasure.
If we do not take action now, this vital part of our heritage
will be lost forever.

Sources

http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/rainfor
est.html#where
http://www.davesite.com/rainforests/review2.shtml
http://www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_006.htm
http://www.msu.edu/user/urquhar5/tour/slide0.html
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest/where.htm

Rainforest Destruction:
Causes and Effects
Enda Tuomey