Swidden Farming and the Logging Industry in Indonesia Essay examples

The long-term removal of tree cover, deforestation, is a global issue that can be catastrophic if not resolved and is one of the most urgent of issues. Deforestation is a global issue, not only because it happens all around the world, in multiple countries but also because its causes are produced by globally-drive motives. Politically, Socially and Environmentally, deforestation is a global issue that delves deeply in almost all aspects of organism life. This essay will explore into the intricacy of the global issue of deforestation and its surface and root causes. Although deforestation occurs mostly in tropical rainforests, which are primarily in developing countries, this does not equate it to national problems, instead it is an issue, which through the rise of economic globalization, means that the global population are bearing down on the forests as well. The surface issues are agricultural expansion and infrastructure expansion, with deeper root causes, which fall under the political and social scope. These underlying causes “are fundamental forces that underpin the more obvious or proximate causes of deforestation” (Geist, Lambin, 2001, pg.8) This essay will draw from academic sources and will elaborate on author’s theories and opinions on the topic of the causes of deforestation. By doing this, a mixture of neo liberal, liberal and emancipatory social action approaches will be taken to be able to fully understand the surface and underlying causes of deforestation.

Habit loss has been one of the most prominent issues regarding the animal kingdom, and now it seems like the human race is trying to rid our earth of the decreasing amount of flora in certain areas. In Indonesia rain forests are being torn apart to make way for palm oil plantations. Although palm oil is used in packages foods and cosmetics, the Sumatrans elephants and orangutan are suffering from the habitats loss. (Corwin, 8)

However, forests around the world are under threat from deforestation, jeopardizing these benefits. Deforestation comes in many forms, including fires, clear-cutting for agriculture, ranching and development, unsustainable logging for timber, and degradation due to climate change. This impacts people’s livelihoods and threatens a wide range of plant and animal species. Some 46-58 thousand square miles of forest are lost each year, which is equivalent to 36 football fields every minute.

Deforestation is the destruction of a wide area of forest land into a cleared land that is used for a variety of reasons. The impact on the environment from cutting down, burning and damaging forests is very detrimental and there are severe consequences for the environment and future generations because of deforestation. According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization approximately 7.3 million hectares of forests are being destroyed per year in the world (Bradford, 2015). In this essay, I will explore the impact that deforestation on the environment and I will also look at the actions that are being taken to prevent deforestation. There are various reasons why deforestation is occurring despite its negative effects on the environment. Deforestation can cause very serious environmental problems such as climate change, flooding, loss of habitats as well as others.

As you can see deforestation is man made, not intentionally man made, but instead intentionally made for industrialization. Predominantly Indonesia has the highest rate of deforestation in the world and also is the world's third-largest producer of greenhouse gases behind China and the US, with 85% of its emissions coming from forest destruction and degradation (theG). The statistics as you can see are more alarming than perceived in the media and it is extremely imperative to help regulate and help with this mast tragedy of the

Deforestation has been an increasing issue with the modern age. As new technologies and productions are introduced, space for forests and trees are removed dramatically. Although it offers massive economic benefit, it creates a portal to more issues, such as environmental and gas emissions, animal habitats, and local people in several third world countries. Contrary to popular belief, however, deforestation can also provide as a benefit. It allows people internationally to have access to a common resource, lumber, and creates room for employment; in some areas, deforestation could actually positively affect climate change. It is critical to weigh both pros and cons of deforestation as well as its effects on society, environmentally and economically. Deforestation’s negative outweigh the positives; however, the positives are crucial to function our society globally. As a result, it is imperative that deforestation must be used in moderation and only used when necessary.

From 1990 to 2005, deforestation, or the removal of trees, was happening at an average rate of 13 million hectares (32.11 million acres) per year (Hope 247). In many ways, deforestation has been the reason for great economic success which turns people on to the idea even more. Deforestation is an essential element in promoting and encouraging developmental growth. Some places around the world may feel obligated to resort to deforestation due to population increases around the world. The concept of deforestation may seem to have a positive impact on society, but many people fail to consider the importance of replanting the trees that were harvested and removed. Deforestation mainly affects North and South America, but because of the Transamazon

The land devoted to palm oil has increased even tripled. ”From 1990 to 2000, the area of land devoted to palm oil production tripled in Indonesia from 1 to 3 million hectares(2.5 million acres to 7.4 million acres.) The Indonesian government plans to increase palm oil production to 27 million acres which is half of Oregon's size.” So many trees are disappearing out of nowhere and

There are several world changing events happening right now. However, many of these events are either forgotten or rarely discussed. One of these “forgotten” events is the deforestation of the rainforests. Rainforest deforestation primarily started in the 1970’s, but has since increased. Up until recently, deforestation of rainforests was seldom talked about despite how much it has affected the world. Rainforest deforestation needs more attention because it has occurred for many decades despite the environmental damage, the rainforest is important for the economy, food, and medicinal purposes, it has many adverse effects such as climate change, and there are several projects to reduce deforestation.

Advocates for the preservation of these forests state that deforestation has devastating consequences including social conflict, extinction of plants and animals, and dangerous climate changes, and that local deforestation in these forests are causing damages that aren’t just local, but global. While opponents claim that tropical forests are destined to diminish as it is necessary for the growing human population to clear the natural landscape to make room for farms and pastures, to harvest timber for construction and fuel, to build roads and urban areas and to develop the economies of the often poor countries that surround the equator.

The biggest problem with deforestation is that we don’t cut down little areas at a time. We cut down trees in bulk. Some deforestation companies cut down trees football field lengths at a time. Indonesia once had one of the biggest rainforests in the world covering up about 95.4 to 112 million hectares before deforestation occurred( “Lambin” 3). After deforestation happened there rain forest is estimated to cover up about 52

Deforestation is one of the most significant issues of our time; considerable measures must be taken to prevent further pillaging of our unique forest resource.

According to Myers (1994), more than half of clearing of tropical forest are converted to agricultural lands. Agricultural land expansion is generally viewed as the main source of deforestation which contributes around 60 per cent of total tropical deforestation. Conversion of tropical forest to agricultural usage has a great impact and adverse effect on the tropical biodiversity along with the water sources and non-timber forest products (Ravikanth et al., 2009; Gibson et al., 2011).However, as degradation of the land occurs, people are forced relocate thus considering new arrears of the forest thereby increasing deforestation (Wilkie et al., 2000 ; Amor and Pfaff, 2008) and causing loss of biodiversity. Shifting agriculture or Slash and burn method is another form of agricultural practice that results to loss of biodiversity and consequently has a great impact on understory loss,

Recently, the rise in the production value of palm oil has taken a large toll on some of the planet's oldest rainforests. Much of the rainforest has been demolished for growth of palm trees farmed for their palm oil. Palm oil plantations have taken over nearly one million acres of rainforests (“Palm Oil Plantations are Blamed for Many Evils”). In areas such as the Leuser ecosystem, there is an illegal clearing of rainforests destroying the homes of native people and the habitats that many unique animals call home (“As Palm Oil Farms Expand, it’s a Race to Save Indonesia's Orangutans.”). Farmers are forced to continue clearing land to produce enough palm oil to reach economic demands. In fact, the palm oil industry is the world’s largest cause of deforestation (“Dear EarthTalk”). From 2009 through 20011 over One million two hundred thousand acres of forest was destroyed (‘‘Palm Oil is Killing the Sumatran Tiger”) Dr. Ian Singleton claimed: “The road from Medan to here is kind of the only road out of Medan that’s not palm oil as

The rate of deforestation is increasing and the tropical forests are falling at approximately 140,000 acres per day (Miller & Tangley 1991: xvi). The forests are crucial to the environment. They are important in minimizing erosion, providing a stable habitat for many animals, and helping to keep the environment clean. Deforestation has devastating effects, not only on the biological dependents within the depleted forests, but also on the surrounding human-populated communities.