Effects of Deforestation regarding local, regional, and global dimensions

Deforestation has become a danger to the ecosystems today, both to the locals and to the international levels. According to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), deforestation can be described as the permanent destruction of the forested areas to free the land for other human uses or due to some unavoidable circumstances ( Ryan, Berry, Joshi, 2014). According to FAO and NASA, about 7.5 million of hectares of forested lands are lost annually due to deforestation (Keenan, Reams, Achard, de Freitas., Grainger, and Lindquist, 2015). This is approximate of a whole country of Panama. Some of the concerns as presented by various research organizations indicate some serious concerns that the whole world should be concerned about. Some of the statistics indicates that today, about half of the total tropical rainforests of the world have been lost due to deforestation. In fact, FAO says that such actions have been one of the causes of severe droughts and global warming globally. National Geographic also indicates that today only about 30% of the total landmass is covered with forests unlike in the old century where forests were the most prominent cover of the land mass. National Geographic are on record stating that if deforestation continues, especially without replacement, then the next generations might not know the meaning of forests ( Mujtaba & Karam, 2017) . Another organization that has provided statistics on deforestation is the Nature Geoscience. According to the organization, deforestation is one of the major contributors to carbon dioxide emission by between 6 and 12% today is deforestation ( Mujtaba & Karam, 2017) . This according to research is one of the major causes of too many hot weathers today. Finally, according to World Life Fund (WWF), about an approximate of a possible 37 football fields are lost due to deforestation ever minute. This has become a serious concern to many forest conservationists globally. 

According to NASA reports deforestation is a world thing and cannot, therefore, be only categorized as a local issue but a world problem. According to NASA, the most affected forests are the tropical rainforests which have become a target for most illegal world loggers. NASA indicates that continuity in deforestation could total loss of rainforest globally in the next 100 years. This means that the world might lack the green leaves in the next ten decades if deforestation is to continue being carried out. Some of the countries that have become of great concern because of the high rates of deforestation include Brazil, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand, and many other African Countries which are the ones mostly considered green. According to United Nations environmental program known as GRID-Arendal, these countries have become home to some of the most notorious loggers in the world, some even in the eastern parts of Europe ( Ryan, Berry, Joshi, 2014) . One country which has become a home of deforestation more than any other according to United Nations is Indonesia, which according to NASA, has lost about 16 million hectares of its forested land due to high deforestation rates. This study has been proven by the researchers from the University of Maryland who claims that Indonesia is soon becoming a desert. According to World Resource Institute, countries such as Indonesia and Brazil which are the greatest leaders in deforestation have caused serious effects not only to people residing in the surroundings but to the global population ( Ryan, Berry, Joshi, 2014). In fact, the rate of deforestation both regarding sub-regions, regions, and globally for the period between 1990 and 2000 and between 2000 and 2010 can be represented in the table below; 

Regions/locals	1990 to 2000		2000 to 2010
	1000 ha/yr	%	1000ha/yr	%
Eastern and southern Africa	-1840	-0.6	-1838	-0.67
Northern Africa	-590	-0.73	-41	-0.05
Western and Central Africa	-1637	-0.46	-1536	-0.47
Africa totally	-4067	-1.79	-3415	-1.19
East Asia	1763	0.83	2781	1.16
south and South east Asia	-2428	-0.77	-667	-0.23
Western and central Asia	72	0.17	131	0.31
Asia in total	-593	0.23	2245	1.24
Russia	32	n.s	-18	n.s
Europe excluding Russia	845	0.46	694	0.36
Total Europe	877	0.46	676	0.36
Caribbean	53	0.87	50	0.75
Central America	-374	-1.56	-248	-1.19
North America	32	n.s	188	0.03
Total America	-289	-0.69	-10	-0.41
Total south America	-4213	-0.45	-3997	-0.45

(Source: Keenan, Reams, Achard, de Freitas., Grainger, and Lindquist, 2015). 

According to World Resources Institute (WRI), deforestation has been present for the last five decades, and if it had been stopped in the past, we would not be experiencing the concerns of global warming and water sources drying like today. WRI also indicates that deforestation has resulted in the loss of the otherwise beautiful indigenous trees in the world. For example, according to WRI, about 90% of the Indigenous American tress are no longer available because of deforestation. Today, not many indigenous tress are available according to world tree conservationists. According to WRI, some of the countries and locations that native trees could be found include Canada, Russia, and the North West of the Amazon basin. 

Because of the concerns of the that have been raised because of deforestation, this paper will seek to identify the major causes of deforestations both regarding local, regional, and global dimensions slightly. The paper will in-depth indicate the significant effects of deforestation both local and international. 

Causes of deforestation in local, regional, and global dimensions 

According to various environmentalists, there are vast causes of deforestation. However, the environmentalists point out that for the world to start noticing the dangers of deforestation, the human population must realize that it is the main cause of the problem. According to some organizations, the concern over the rate at which deforestation is being carried is becoming too much, and the strategies to save the forest can only be realized if the population comes to the terms that trees are being destroyed. It is, therefore, paramount that the humans responsible understand that agents and causes of deforestation ( Ryan, Berry, Joshi, 2014) . The agents of deforestation include the illegal loggers, the private developers, the firewood collectors, the commercial farmers, and many other who constantly cut down trees. 

According to FAO, causes of deforestation are the factors that are considered by the agents to cut down trees. According to various researchers, two main forces directly affects deforestation. These factors include completion between the human and the other animals for the niches on the land. This according to environmentalists can be explained by the various lands which have been converted to agricultural, infrastructural, industrial, and urban developed lands across the globe. Secondly is the failure by the involved organizations to educate on the importance of the trees in the environment? According to environmentalists, the forests are not marketed as the urban developed areas hence lack awareness of their importance. These are some of the driving forces that lead to deforestation, in fact; they can as well be described as the major causes of deforestation. However, some of the major causes of deforestation as described by many literatures include expansion of the farm lands. Tropical forests according to researches have become the best alternative for agricultural land because of its serenity and fertility. 

Another cause of deforestation is logging and fuelwood. Research done by some environmentalists indicates that loggings have also contributed to deforestation. It is, however, important to note that logging is not a serious cause of deforestation. However, it leads to the destruction of the sols leading to even greater deforestation. Thirdly, overgrazing is another cause of deforestation. This is an activity that is rampant in the tropical areas of Africa where the animals are lead to the forests to graze. This animal mostly leads to soil erosion and loss of the fertile lands for the trees leading to severe deforestation. 

Fourthly, forest fires and mining are some of the causes of deforestation. Breakouts of fires have been experienced in the past leading to the destruction of the trees in the forests leading to savers deforestation. Another factor is mining. Mining is an activity that has been embraced by the humans who look for minerals. Some of these minerals are found in the forested areas leading to the destruction of trees. Other cause that leads to deforestation include urbanization, colonialism, exploitation, civil wars among many others. 

Effects of Deforestation Regarding Local, Regional, and Global Dimensions 

Climate Change 

When describing the effects of deforestation on climate change, it is quite essential to note the distinction between microclimates which are as a result of a locality, regional climate, and the global one. According to World Geoscience, deforestation has more significant effects on the climates of locations irrespective of the level ( Lawrence & Vandecar, 2015) . It can result in a global change of energy through the micrometeorological process or through releasing too much corn dioxide into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide consequently absorbs the thermal radiation in the atmospheres. 

According to other researchers, deforestation leads to increase in albedo. This consequently affects the rates of radiation within a locality hence leading to hot climates which can be spread globally. Also, deforestation can affect the wind flows and the water vapors which essentially affect the rates of radiation (Lawrence & Vandecar, 2015). These consequently affect the temperatures and climates of regions and eventually to a global scale . 

It is important to note that deforestation actually interferes with the normal weathers of locations by leading to a very hot region which consequently leads to desertification, loss of crops, melting of the ice, and the coastal floods among significant earth havocs. Some of these affect weather as a result of deforestation leads to poor production. 

One major cause of deforestation as a result of weather changes is the now common concern, global warming. Deforestation leads to changes in the climatic regimes in various parts of the globe which consequently result in global warming or the global temperature shifts ( Lawrence & Vandecar, 2015) . Global warming leads to serious problems globally, regardless of the location. It leads to sea level raises, ozone depletion and atmospheric pollution. This seems to be obviously going to continue given the statistic’s which claim that destruction of the tropical forests continues leading to the shrinkage of the trees at the rate of 5% per decade. Deforestation in essence leads to high concentration of the greenhouse gases which consequently leads to increase in the global temperatures ( Lawrence & Vandecar, 2015) . Deforestation, according to previous researchers, leads to about 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emission to the atmosphere leading to severe climate change by leading to global warming. 

Water and Soil Losses 

Deforestation according to environmentalists leads to serious disruption of the global water cycle. According to forest specialists, destruction or removal of trees lead to land that can no longer hold any water. Such areas cannot hold water for use by the humans. Some of the waters that deforestation affects include the domestic waters which are normally filtered by roots of the trees. Some of the other waters that are affected regionally and globally include all the waterways. This eventually interferes with the lives of animals in the waterways such as fish and other aquatic animals. Lack of tress also leads to waters which are less appealing because of the lack of siltation. Such waters are unusable for drinking, bathing, animals, irrigation among many others. In some occasions, destruction of these trees leads to loss of soil as a result of water loss (Lawrence & Vandecar, 2015). The soils become freely available to be carried away by wind and animals hooves. 

In many occasions, urban areas depend on the trees to filter water. The absence of such trees leads to very contaminated waters. The alternatives of treating water are costly. This is an activity that if deforestation is prevented would be prevented. Apart from the waters in the urban and filtering, deforestation can also result into watersheds that are unable to regulate waters from the streams and rivers for use by the locals. This instead results in downstream flooding which consequently can leads to serious devastation n the human life. Theses downstream flows also leads to loss of the soils through erosion which ends up siltting in dams, rivers, and streams (Lawrence & Vandecar, 2015). An example of the effects of deforestation on water and soils can be seen in the basins of China on river Yangtze and the Amazonian basin which have been affected because of siltation as a result of cutting down of trees. 

Reduction in the Biodiversity and Increasing Human-Animal Conflicts 

Forests for the longest time have acted as homes to various forms of biodiversity; plants and animals. Deforestation, therefore, leads to destruction of the habitats for these animals and plants leading to their loss (Mujtaba & Karam, 2017). Animals and plant species tend to start migrating after the cutting down of the forest trees. This affects the locals, regional, and the global biodiversity. 

According to previous researchers, forests are home to about 65% of the bird population across the globe, especially the ones that are endangered. Deforestation, therefore, leads to the extinction of such birds. Some environmentalists have claimed that deforestation is the cause of very many extinct species who used to be present in the old generation. According to World health organization (WHO), approximately 80% of the world population depends on herbs as medicine, mostly originating from the forests, therefore, destruction of the forests could result in harmful severe consequences on human life ( Mujtaba & Karam, 2017). 

Some researchers also claim that deforestation can lead to serious human-animal conflicts both locally and globally. Deforestation according to conservationist leads to fighting over lands. An example is in India, West of Bengal where there is constant conflict between elephants and humans. Most of the forested areas in this region have been destroyed leading to lack of a home for the elephants. The elephants, therefore, fight for their survival form the individual agricultural farms. This has led to serious conflicts. 

Economic Losses 

Economic losses are another significant effect of deforestation globally. Many countries are losing millions of dollars as a result of deforestation. According to conservationists, destruction of trees as a result of deforestation results in loss of about $50 billion forest capital value ( Mujtaba & Karam, 2017) . Environmentalists add that destruction of forests helps in forgoing future revenues and employment that might come as a result of forests. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, there are very many causes of deforestation globally. Some of these causes are human-caused or just unavoidable. Irrespective of whether the causes can be justified or not, the effects of deforestation are a savere and should be checked. Some of the major effects of deforestation include a change in climate, which has been a major concern especially global warming, loss of soil and waters, loss of economic prowess for the future generation, and loss of biodiversity among many others. 

References 

Keenan, R. J., Reams, G. A., Achard, F., de Freitas, J. V., Grainger, A., & Lindquist, E. (2015). Dynamics of global forest area: results from the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015.  Forest Ecology and Management ,  352 , 9-20. 

Lawrence, D., & Vandecar, K. (2015). Effects of tropical deforestation on climate and agriculture:  Nature Climate Change ,  5 (1), 27-36. 

Mujtaba, G., & Karam, F. W. (2017). Monitoring Deforestation using Remote Sensing  International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security ,  15 (1), 75 

Ryan, C. M., Berry, N. J., & Joshi, N. (2014). Quantifying the causes of deforestation and degradation and creating transparent REDD+ baselines: a method and case study from central Mozambique:  Applied Geography ,  53 , 45-54.