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D
eforestation is the removal
of forest or woodland for
conversion to nonforest
use. This can be conversion to
agricultural land, including cattle
ranches, or development for housing,
industry, or transportation. Forest
may be degraded without being
destroyed completely, when valuable
mature trees, such as teak, are
selectively logged or some trees are
cut down to create a road. This can
have a disproportionate negative
effect on the biodiversity of the
forest, even though most trees are
left standing. Another form of
deforestation is the clearance of
primary forest and its replacement
with monoculture plantations, such
as palm oil, as has happened
extensively in Indonesia.
Deforestation can impact all
kinds of forest habitat, but tropical
rain forest—tropical moist broadleaf
forest that grows between the
Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of
Capricorn—is the most severelyDEFORESTATION
Polluting smoke swirls up as rain
forest burns to make way for agriculture
in Brazil. It is estimated that Brazil
clears 2.7 million acres (1.1 million
hectares) of rain forest a year.IN CONTEXT
KEY FIGURE
Chico Mendes (194 4 –88)BEFORE
1100–1500 Temperate forest
is cleared across large parts
of western and central Europe.1600–1900 Forests are cut
down in North America to
make room for agriculture.Late 1970s Tropical rain forest
clearance, mostly for ranching,
accelerates dramatically.AFTER
2008 The UN launches its
Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Degradation
(REDD) incentive program.2010 The US converts $21 m
(£16 m) of Brazil’s debt into a
fund that will protect Brazil’s
coastal rain forest.2015 The UN Paris Agreement
sets targets for planting trees
to offset the threat of climate
change and global warming.Chico Mendes fought
to save the tropical
rain forest in Brazil.His local actions
helped reduce global
CO 2 emissions.Mendes
realized that he
had had a global
effect: “I am fighting
for humanity.”By felling trees ... men
bring upon future
generations two calamities
at once: want of fuel and
scarcity of water.
Alexander von Humboldt
19th-century German explorerUS_254-259_Deforestation.indd 256 12/11/18 6:25 PM