Forest converted to farmland, Matto Grosso, Brazil. A new study indicates that agricultural trade and urbanization drive deforestation, countering views that rural population growth primarily causes tropical forest loss. Photo by leoffreitas via Creative Commons/flickr.
Nature Geoscience: Deforestation driven by urban population growth and agricultural trade in the twenty-first century
"Reducing tropical deforestation is at present considered a cost-effective option for mitigating climate change. Satellite-based estimates of forest loss suggest that urban population growth and urban and international demand for agricultural products are key drivers of deforestation in the tropics."
Abstract: "Reducing atmospheric carbon emissions from tropical deforestation is at present considered a cost-effective option for mitigating climate change. However, the forces associated with tropical forest loss are uncertain1. Here we use satellite-based estimates of forest loss for 2000 to 2005...to assess economic, agricultural and demographic correlates across 41 countries in the humid tropics. Two methods of analysis--linear regression and regression tree--show that forest loss is positively correlated with urban population growth and exports of agricultural products for this time period. Rural population growth is not associated with forest loss, indicating the importance of urban-based and international demands for agricultural products as drivers of deforestation. The strong trend in movement of people to cities in the tropics is, counter-intuitively, likely to be associated with greater pressures for clearing tropical forests. We therefore suggest that policies to reduce deforestation among local, rural populations will not address the main cause of deforestation in the future. Rather, efforts need to focus on reducing deforestation for industrial-scale, export-oriented agricultural production, concomitant with efforts to increase yields in non-forested lands to satisfy demands for agricultural products."
also see: AFP: Urban growth, farm exports drive tropical deforestation
also see: MongaBay: Forest conservation via REDD may be ineffective without addressing commodity consumption, trade
Below: From NASA Earth Observatory, World of Change: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/deforestation.php
The state of Rondonia in western Brazil is one of the most deforested parts of the Amazon. This series shows deforestation on the frontier in the northwestern part of the state between 2000 and 2009. Picture below is 2009.
The Amazon Rain forests are earths lungs, it is absurd to deforest those areas, we destroy one of our life keeping sources, the air. It has to stop, we must blend with nature and travel around the world to see and feel it, we must preserve the nature.
Posted by: holy land tours | October 19, 2010 at 10:11 AM
This is so sad that mankind is so blind and greedy.
Instaed of preserving nature at all costs we keep destroying it and building concrete thinking we can do whatever we want with Earth resources... What is there to say? So so sad...
Posted by: Israel Guide | April 17, 2011 at 09:04 AM