A simple yet comprehensive way to know about the importance of Forests, solutions, consequences & causes of deforestation, facts and figures concerning deforestation & sustainable forestry

1. Salient Vegetation General importance of forests …… causes, consequences and solutions of contemporary deforestation A Presentation by:- Fatima Laraib (Student of Environmental management, Grade X,B.S.S….Pakistan) The trees are God's great alphabet: ….With them He writes in shining green ….Across the world His thoughts serene. ~Leonora Speyer Each tree counts !!

5. Deforestation is an unavoidable environmental issue that requires immediate attention. It is the practice of chopping down trees to such an extent that the global climate is slowly undergoing changes.

6. Deforestation(Causes) Short term economic benefits like mining for various minerals, planting crops, grazing livestock and development of residential colonies in forested areas has also contributed to deforestation Road Building through forests fragments the landscape, endangers wildlife habitat and provides access points for illegal loggers and other business operations that encroach into the forest. Hydroelectric dams flood upstream forests, leading to widespread forest loss, habitat degradation and displacement of forest communities and wildlife. Other causes includes large-scale conversion into agricultural grounds, corruption, experimentation with forestry and unequal distribution of wealth. Causes of contemporary deforestation includes logging operations, agriculture, urbanization, mineral extraction and domestic consumption of fuel wood.

7. Frequent activities of tilling, cropping and grazing results to the degradation of the soil’s quality. Soil erosion may cause the coastal fisheries to suffer from sedimentation brought by the flooding. Siltation accounts for the blockage, chocking and weakening of dams and reservoirs. consequences of deforestation With no trees to hold the soil together and slow the water flow, the surface run-off may cause heavy floods. The local biodiversity is effected resulting in the extinction of a number of species.

9. Solutions The dreadful consequences of deforestation can be minimized through a number of technical and precautionary measures.The issue requires a variety of approaches. In order to achieve zero deforestation we need ambitious and science-based domestic and international forest policies from our government. Government and advocacy groups shall support the formulation of forests policies There can be special forest plantations for all the wood that is needed for the industry. This way the wood can be cut in a controlled and regulated environment.

10. Deforestation ……. Facts and Figures Each year about 13 million hectares of the world's forests are lost due to deforestation From 1990 to 2000, the net forest loss was 8.9 million hectares per year. From 2000 to 2005, the net forest loss was 7.3 million hectares per year - an area the size of Sierra Leone or Panama and equivalent to 200 km2 per day. Primary forests are lost or modified at a rate of 6 million hectares per year through deforestation or selective logging. Plantation forests are established at a rate of 2.8 million hectares per year. The ten countries with the largest net forest loss per year between 2000 and 2005 (Brazil, Indonesia, Sudan, Myanmar, Zambia, United Republic of Tanzania, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) had a combined net forest loss of 8.2 million hectares per year.

11. Thirty-seven countries and territories lost 1 percent or more of their forest area each year between 2000 and 2005, while 20 countries gained more than 1 percent per year due to natural expansion of forests and afforestation. Rare tree species and those highly valued for wood or non-wood forest products are often in danger of becoming extinct within parts of their range. On average, 5 percent of the tree species native to a country are either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. Around 10 million people are employed in forest management and conservation. In recent years, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have been rising at a rate of about 0.5 percent per year. It is estimated that the world’s forests store 283 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon in their biomass alone, and that the carbon stored in forest biomass, deadwood, litter and soil together is roughly 50 percent more than the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

12. Sustainable forestry refers to the usage of forest lands in away and a rate that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill now and in the future.

13. Image Gallery Shangrilla, Pakistan Alaska Forest Ecuador's Cloud Forest Daintree, Australia

14. Montecristo cloud Forest, El Salvador Amazon Rainforest The Monteverade Forest, Costa Rica Hunza, Pakistan

15. Sources http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/forests http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-deforestation.html http://www.fao.org/forestry/30515/en/

16. Thank you for your attention…..For feedback and suggestions mail at fami_fatima@hotmail.com