Causes of Forest Destruction (Part 2)

CAUSES OF FOREST DESTRUCTION (Part 2)
by Antonio C. Antonio

October 1, 2014

Forest destruction could be attributed to natural and anthropogenic causes.  In this article, I will be focusing only on the man-made causes of the forest destruction.  (This is the 2nd of a 3-part series.)

Deforestation is a result and a consequence of over-harvesting, over-extraction and over-utilization of natural resources. Anthropogenic causes of deforestation are those which are the direct results of human activities. These are the factors that can be controlled… compared to natural causes which cannot be managed and controlled in their occurrence and magnitude; such as:

1.     Land Use Conversion – Land use conversion is the most significant cause of deforestation. Agriculture and cash crops plantation establishment, considered to be a more economically viable business activity than tree plantation establishment, has been the single most common land use conversion. Vast tracts of forest lands have been converted to palm oil plantation in recent years. Conversion of forest lands to residential housing purpose has also been very common especially in countries where real property development is a lucrative business. A lot of countries have also encouraged industrialization especially traditional agriculture economies. Forest areas have been cleared to develop and establish areas dedicated for commercial and industrial use. Infrastructure development particularly the construction of roads, have also caused deforestation.

2.     Mining Activities – Mining is the process of extracting ore, minerals and precious and semi-precious metals from the ground. Most mineral-rich areas are located in forest lands. Prior to the extraction of these natural resources, clear-cutting of the forest becomes imperative. This, however, contributes to deforestation. Precious metal mining activities require tunneling. Although this contributes a lesser degree of deforestation, the construction support facilities (such as mining camps, housing for mining communities, etc.) also contributes to deforestation.

3.     Energy Exploration and Development – In the field of energy development, there is a big trade-off between forest preservation and the building and construction of hydro-electric facilities. Most countries, the Philippines included, chose to favor the provision of energy as a critical and essential building block to national economic development. We cannot make a judgment on the propriety of this economic development strategy… we can only hope that safety nets are also provided to the upland communities severely affected in the building of hydro-electric dams. Right or wrong, justified or not, energy exploration and development also causes deforestation.

4.     Logging – Commercial logging is a catalyst of economic development. This, however, needs to be sustainable. The wood industry provides livelihood opportunities for some 20 million in the Philippines. The forests also serve as home to around 12 million indigenous peoples. With an estimated 20 million people dependent on the forest and wood industry for livelihood opportunities and employment, a total logging ban will have a negative socio-economic impact in the country. Selective logging, as a strategy, together with the expansion of the tenurial instrument system should be the answer. This, however, is not a guarantee. Government, the DENR in particular, should do its best to ascertain that only qualified individuals or groups with proven records in forest management are granted tenurial instruments. While illegal logging contributes to forest degradation, clear cutting type of logging can cause deforestation.

5.     Fuelwood Collection – A majority of rural population (especially those who have live in the outskirts of town and community centers, and the upland communities) still use wood to cook food and provide heat during cold weather conditions. Firewood gathering and collection contributes to the depletion of tree cover. Forest cover depletion is more pronounced in lightly wooded areas since it necessitates the cutting down of trees. In thick forests where a lot of combustible materials are available (such as dead twigs and branches that could be found on the forest floor), the occurrence of tree felling for firewood purposes is less. Wood gatherers and collectors, however, have a tendency to cut down growing trees which are more accessible. Charcoal-making is also a livelihood activity among upland communities. These practices (wood gathering and charcoal making) disturb the growth cycle of the forest and contributes to deforestation.

6.     Fish Farming – The establishment of fish ponds in the upland depends largely on the topography of the area. “U”-shaped valleys ideal although some degree of earth-moving is required. Civil engineering intervention by way of building compacted structures (mostly made of soil and other readily available filling materials in the area) along the open side of this “U”-shaped topography. Rainwater is then collected to submerge these areas but not after harvesting the trees and other forest resources. This type land use conversion, however, changes the geophysical biodiversity, character and condition of the area and contributes to deforestation.

7.     Plantation of Illegal Drugs – Developing plantations for Cannabis, also known as “marijuana”, is also a contributory factor to deforestation. The Cannabis plant has medicinal value but is largely viewed as psychoactive drug which causes addiction. For this reason it is a banned substance and planting cannabis is illegal. Although there are countries who have legalized selling of marijuana for medical purposes, most countries banned it. 162 million people, or 4% of the world’s adult population have tried marijuana and 22.5 million people use it daily for medical reasons. Banned drugs command a high price and it is for this reason that some people are inclined to establish plantations for marijuana and poppy. On the other hand, poppy seeds contain morphine and alkaloid which are the main ingredients in processing and chemically producing heroin for medical use in some countries and for the illegal drug trade. Heroin is a banned substance but is being illegally produced for 1st World markets. Forest areas are also being cleared for the purpose of establishing poppy plantation which also contributes to deforestation.

8.     Pests and Diseases – Whether to consider pest and diseases are anthropogenic causes of deforestation is largely debatable. Some may argue that these are natural causes and not man-made. The debate may continue on this issue but one thing is for certain… pest and diseases, especially those that are widespread and affect large tracts of forestland, are contributory factors to deforestation.

9.     War Strategy – Deforestation has become a military war strategy. In the late 1960s and 1970s, the US got involved in the Vietnam War. The predominant landscape in Vietnam and neighboring Laos PDR and Cambodia was characterized by thick tropical rain forests. In a war situation, the forest, with its canopy, was the best camouflage to hide military activities and operations. The communist North Vietnam supporting the Vietcong movement against the US and South Vietnam used these thick forest canopies to their best advantage. As a strategy, the US military establishment sprayed the forest areas in Vietnam and the areas bordering Cambodia and Laos PDR with Agent Orange. Agent Orange or Herbicide Orange is a herbicide and defoliant which effectively deforested forest lands therefore taking away the forest cover of the enemy and force them to go to urban centers. This also effectively cut the support base of the communist insurgents made up of peasants living in the rural areas. The long-term effects of Agent Orange cannot be established up to now after the US Military declared official and non-official studies on this as classified information. 20% of the forests of Vietnam were sprayed. Deforestation, however, is quite obvious in the areas where Agent Orange was sprayed.

These are the man-made causes of forest destruction.

Just my little thoughts…

(Note:  This portion is part of the article “Causes of Deforestation” published at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/.)

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