Man’s doing, such as deforestation, has indeed caused great negative impacts to the environment, which in turn lead to man’s suffering in the end. Man tends to chop down trees for their own use without considering the consequences, such as the impacts done to the environment. They cut down huge number of trees just for their convenience at that moment and did not even think of the seriousness of their action.

Deforestation can cause many serious problems like soil erosion which in turn leads to water pollution and cause the appearance of the water course to be ruined. Not only that, soil erosion which caused by deforestation, can cause flooding and take away many lives. Other serious consequences of deforestation include: formation of infertile lands, and losing of natural habitats.

From here, we can see that man’s action and the environment are interlinked and deforestation is one very convincing example of man’s action leading to negative impacts on the environment. If not because of deforestation, problems like soil erosion and water pollution which are interconnected will not be caused; people thus will not have to suffer from these disasters. In conclusion, if man does not contribute negative impacts to the environment, chances of problems like soil erosion and water pollution will also less likely to occurred.

- Jeannie Poon

Having gone through 7 months of learning about the real time issue of deforestaion, I can safely say i feel that while urbanization is indeed a necessity in keeping up with the times of todays' modern world, something has to be sacrificed. However, while it is indeed necessary for forests to have to be cleared to make way for the concrete structures that build a country's economy, I feel that this is being done in excess.

Deforesatation to me, is a must. However, despite how great this decessity to deforest is, we must bear in mind that plants and animals need a home too. And their home are the forests that us humans destroy as we please. We must control our rate of deforestation, and spare a thought for mother nature. The forests play a vital role in the ecosystem, without them we humans would cease to exist.

We need to remember that. We need to remember that despite the great need to keep up with the times, the forest is a part of our life - whether we want it to be or not - and we humans have neglected it. We have been so caught up with the other aspects of life, that we have forgotten about nature, as a result we are now facing problems like global warming and soil erosion.

In conclusion, I feel that deforestation, while it does indeed have its benefits, also has a limit. We need our forests. Also we need to be responsible when we are deforestating, as we need to remember why we need forests and what will happen if we remove too much forest.

- Maria Lee

pictures to show evidence of deforestation in the area:



many felled trees, and mud slopes due to the lack of trees to hold down the soil.





mud patches in many areas even with light showers due to uneven ground from deforestation. also, in order to build the roads, deforestation was carried out too.





loose soil and mud along the sides of the roads.




























big empty spaces where there used to be trees...

COMPARISM SITE – MOZAMBIQUE

Deforestation leads to soil erosion and flooding. Trees hold soil together and help the ground absorb water. When trees are destroyed, soil erodes because it is not held in place and flooding occurs because water can not be absorbed into the ground. In 2000, devastating floods hit Mozambique, killing thousands and leaving many others homeless.

The flood cost millions of dollars in rescue and restoration efforts. As deforestation continues, the potential for flooding will increase since the ground will not be able to absorb as much water and another similar disaster could occur in the years to come.

Deforestation, a result of logging, agriculture, and energy needs, has several adverse impacts on the people of Mozambique. The loss of mangroves in coastal regions of the country poses an economic threat by depleting shrimp and coral populations. The use of biomass fuels as a source of energy leads to severe health problems such as ALRI.

Gathering these fuels is an additional burden, causing women to spend several hours each day carrying wood. Finally, deforestation leads to soil erosion and flooding, which has already killed thousands and could destroy the lives of millions of people in Mozambique in the future.

(For full article, see: http://www.villagereach.org/PDF%20Documents/Impacts%20of%20Deforestation%20in%20Mozambique.pdf)

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/causes-and-effects-of-deforestation.html

Online research:
some background information...

Deforestation generally increases rates of soil erosion, by increasing the amount of runoff and reducing the protection of the soil from tree litter.

Removal of trees does not always increase erosion rates.

The loss of trees causes erosion as the trees anchor the soil firmly to the ground

When an area is completely deforested for farming, the farmer typically burns the trees and vegetation to create a fertilizing layer of ash. After this slash-and-burn deforestation, the nutrient reservoir is lost, flooding and erosion rates are high, and soils often become unable to support crops in just a few years. If the area is then turned into cattle pasture, the ground may become compacted as well, slowing down or preventing forest recovery.

Soil erosion by water and wind account for 87% of the area affected by soil degradation.

Water or run-off induced soil erosion is the most serious process of land degradation and desertification in the country affecting about 107.1 mha of the country’s geographical area

Soil erosion causes the pollution of watercourses and the appearance of pests due to a breakup in the ecological balance.