Here at Emerald we are passionate about saving the forest because there are just so many reasons to do so. This blog is the final installment of a three part series of why we need to preserve one of our planet’s most precious resources, the forests.
In this post we’d like to examine some compelling environmental reasons to keep the world’s forests standing.
1. Climate Change
Deforestation is a double edged sword when it comes to climate change. First, forests are the lungs of the world, sequestering carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen. Second, forests are “carbon sinks” which means that they store carbon. Therefore, when a forest is cut down we not only loss their potential to sequester carbon and create oxygen, but we also release the massive amounts of carbon which they have already stored. For these reasons, halting deforestation would curb global greenhouse gases emissions by over 30 percent.
2. Hydrological Cycle
The rainforests are key players in the hydrologic cycle. These humid areas collect vast amounts of moisture and when it evaporates it creates clouds. It has been estimated that a rainforest tree can transpire eight to ten times more water vapor into the atmosphere than an equivalent area of the ocean evaporates. Collectively the Amazon rainforest releases 20 billion tones of moisture into the atmosphere each day. Furthermore, it has been proven that when forests are cut down the local weather pattern becomes more arid. If forests are cut down on a global scale we risk altering weather patterns all over the world.
3. Ecosystem Services
From a local prospective, forests provide many extremely valuable services. For instance, they act as a sponge and soak up all the precipitation, which is a safeguard against flooding. They also are able to filter water and give local people access to clean drinking water. Furthermore, forests harbor a wide array of plant and animal species which provide food for the locals.
4. Haze
Generally burning is the preferred method of clearing a forest because it requires minimal labor and capital. Furthermore, when a forest is degraded it is more vulnerable to fires. When a forest burns it emits so much smoke that the effects can be felt hundreds of miles away. For example, during the 1997 forest fire in Borneo, Singapore (350 miles away) was inundated with smoke.
5. Food Source
As population continues its ascent to 9 billion people by 2050, there is an ever growing need to produce more food. Forests are a vital resource for developing new food sources. Foods derived from the rainforest include hallmarks such as potatoes, rice, yams, fruits, nuts, spices, coffee and chocolate. Furthermore, of an estimated 75,000 edible plants found in nature, only 150 are used globally and only 20 stand between human society and starvation. Therefore, it is extremely important continue to study the forests in order to increase our food diversity.
All of these reasons explain why humanity depends on the forests. However, the forests are still being destroyed at an astronomical rate. Forest destruction is primarily caused by improper valuation of these incredibly valuable assets. The only way for us to ensure that forests will be left standing is to push markets to value them properly. Will you make a stand? You can help protect the forests through buying environmentally responsible products such as paper made from agricultural residue, post consumer recycled content, or FSC certified wood fiber. You can also use alternative building materials such as Trex, Resysta or Bamboo which displace the use of tropical hardwood trees. Lastly, think about donating some time (in the form of volunteered services or petition writing) or funds to a nonprofit organization like Conservatree, Canopy, Rainforest Alliance, or Rainforest Action Network which are dedicated to protecting forests all over the world!
Want to learn more? Go to:
http://www.rainforestsos.org/about-rainforests/why-rainforests-matter/other-ecosystem-services/
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/background/rainfwld.htm
