Transcript Document

Deforestation
Results by 2050
•Loss of 97% of the Earth’s old-growth forests;
•Loss of 84% of the tropical rainforests (about 47
million square kilometers);
•Extinction of more than 3 million species;
•No original forests in Madagascar and Amazon;
•80% of the infertile soils.
ATTENTION:
We are losing 137 plant, animal and
insect species every single day due to
rainforest deforestation, which equates
to 50,000 species a year.
Ecological impact
• Global warming;
• 20% of world greenhouse gas
emissions;
• Up to 1/3 of total anthropogenic
carbon dioxide emissions.
Hydrologic impact
Dramatic
alterations in
the water
cycle
Much drier
climate
•Erosion
•Flooding
•Landslides
DO YOU KNOW …?
• … that tropical rainforests produce about 30% (!!!)
of our planet’s fresh water.
Impact on human beings
• 25% of medicines comes from the
forests;
• Forest biotopes are irreplaceable
source of new medicines (like taxol);
• They help to prolong the human race.
Main causes
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Wood extraction;
Slash-and-burn farming;
Infrastructure expansion;
Cattle-raising;
Mining and oil exploitation;
Acid rains and fire.
Who might have thought?
• 11 million acres have been cut for
commercial and property industries
annually;
• McDonald’s have been cutting 800 square
miles of trees to make the amount of paper
needed for a year’s supply of packaging;
• 500,000 pairs of chopsticks have been
produced a day.
What should have been done?
• Stop leading that profligate way of
life;
• Use alternative materials;
• Enact regulations of logging;
• Invest in tree plantations;
• Think about the future not the
present.
Thank you for attention!