REASONS FOR CUTTING DOWN THE RAINFOREST

The most important cause for deforestation is wood extraction. Wood has always been a primary resource for human populations and industrial interests. The exportation of wood to the developed countries brings considerably large amount of revenues for countries such as Brazil. This has led governments from such countries to allow loggers to clear the rainforest. Since wood is an important structural component of any forest, their removal had immediate effect on the forest health. Intensive cutting can lead to zero chance of recovery.

Another cause for deforestation is cattle ranching. Farmers clear much of the tropical rainforest to make way for pastures for their cattle to ranch on. Since nutrients found in the soil are not renewed, they easily run out. This would than cause farmers to cut down more forest for more pastures.

Mining of valuable minerals and coal has also led to the cutting down of tropical rainforest. These resources are found deep in the earth and have forced miners to clear the land of vegetation and dig deep.

In many low income countries, as much as 2000 million people rely on wood or charcoal as fuel for the daily live purposes, such as cooking and heating. Small industries in these countries also used these basic resources of energy in their operation. For this community, they rely on the rainforest for nearly 90 percent of their total energy use.

In general, the world’s economies are indirectly the cause of deforestation. The modern economic system is based on capitalist production and exchange for profit, driving humans into greed, and clearing nature for money is return.

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