Deforestation - Effects Of Deforestation And Solutions To Stop It

Deforestation is the active clearing of land by human beings. It is largely caused by the demand from the capitalist system in which we live.

For example, the demand for food and shelter creates an industry that provides the food and shelter. The industry will clear land to provide the space to plant crops and graze animals as well as cut down the forest to provide wood that builds houses and shelter. This is currently causing deforestation on a large scale.

If the demand from capitalism was not present then there would be no need to cut down the forests around the world.

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There are obviously a number of effects caused by deforestation. The most immediately present effect of deforestation is the descruction of both plant and animal habitat.

If you have ever seen the after effects of a forest that has been clearfelled then you will know how devastating that can be. For example once the smoke clears then you can barely see a single piece of green on the land. There are mangled pieces of wood strewn along the ground and total destruction of the habitat of the animals that once lived within the forest. It is shocking to witness the after effects of deforestation.

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However there are even more less apparent effects of deforestation.

For example this clearing of the forests is still happening on a massive scale across the planet and is actively contributing to global warming. The reason for this is that the carbon which is stored and sequestered in both the wood and roots of the plants that live in the forests is often released into the atmosphere.

If the entire planet was forested and in it's natural state then the carbon cycle would be in harmony. However with the destruction of the forests around the world then this carbon is being released into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.

The clearing of forests also leads to both erosion and increased damage caused by flooding. For example without the protective layer of the forest rain now falls directly onto the earths surface and causes erosion. There is also more rainfall runoff on cleared land because the precipitation is not retained by the plant growth. This additional rainfall runoff has the effect of causing widespread damage from flooding downstream of where the forests have been cut down.

So as you can see there are a number of widespread effects that are caused by deforestation.

Personally I spend a lot of time in nature listening to Gaia and tapping into the wisdom of nature. The more I listen to our mother earth and the words she has to say through nature the more I am aware of the sadness that she feels from the loss of her habitat and natural balance.

I also spend time listening to the elements within nature such as the trees, streams, insects, rocks, clouds, flowers etc through the processes I outline in my book 'The Heart Walk'. When talking with these elements I often find a great level of confusion they are feeling around this concept we call 'capitalism'. It goes against the heart and I have spent hours explaining to the elements within nature what capitalism is, how it works and the massive effects it is having on the natural world.

However we always come to the conclusion that the model of capitalism is flawed and not sustainable. The reason for this is that capitalism rests on the premise of continual growth. If growth stops and declines then the model ends up going into either a recession or a depression. However because the earth's resources are limited then it is impossible to continually expand and grow. Trees for example inherently know this because there is a limit to their growth.

So what is the solution to deforestation?

Well obviously the ultimate solution is to curb the demand by changing the unsustainable capitalistic model in which we live. Just as we change the model of our car, we can also change the model in which we live. Personally I feel a long term model based on love and aligning with what is in our heart is the ultimate solution todeforestation. However in the short term it is more about curbing the demand that is causing the habitat destruction within our forests.

If we simply stop clearing the forests then Gaia naturally restores balance. For example I have seen a number of paddocks on the edge of rainforest that were simply left for 20-30 years. Now they are full of 'pioneer' species and it is barely perceptible that they were once cleared land.

Gaia simply has a way of self regulating to restore the balance in favour of sustaining life. So if we just stop what we are doing then the forests will naturally restore themselves.

However it is also possible to actively restore this balance through large scale re-forestation. This is simply a matter of planting trees on cleared and marginal land.

For example, following the destruction caused by the US bombing South Korea during the Korean War in the 1950's large tracts of forest were left destroyed. However since the 1970's South Korea has planted over 11 billion trees and forests now cover over 64 percent of the total area of the country.

The program instigated by the South Korean government could feasibly be a model to actively restore the balance after the destruction caused by deforestation. However such a program on a world scale would need to come from a shift in global consciousness such has happened with the Kyoto protocol.

There are many negative effects of deforestation such as habitat destruction, global warming, soil erosion and increased flooding. There are also solutions to deforestation such as changing the capitalist model in which we live, allowing Gaia to natrually restore balance and actively reforesting the planet based on South Korea's reforestation model.

Gaia | Deforestation | Rite Of Passage

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