URBAN GROWTH, FARM EXPORTS DRIVE TROPICAL DEFORESTATION
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URBAN GROWTH, FARM EXPORTS DRIVE TROPICAL DEFORESTATION
INTRODUCTION
A sizable but undisclosed portion of the money will go towards programs to halt the loss of tropical forests, which are a major source of greenhouse gases.
Beyond 2012, tens of billions of dollars each year might be generated if a planned UN climate change agreement is implemented.
However, environmental scientists publishing in the journal Nature Geoscience on Sunday warned against rushing to support plans that are unlikely to succeed.
A popular belief is that forest pressure can be alleviated by reducing rural population or deterring rural people from cutting land for fuel or food for their own use.
Ruth DeFries of Columbia University in New York conducted the study, which examined satellite data for forest loss in 41 nations between 2000 and 2005 and compared it to a variety of other factors.
They discovered two far significant drivers of increased forest loss.
One was the demographic expansion of the host country’s cities.
Urbanisation increases consumption and demand for agricultural products.
City people consume more processed foods and meat, which promotes large-scale agricultural and forest destruction.
The other factor is agricultural exports, which have boosted demand for lands.
“The strong trend in movement of people to cities in the tropics is, counter-intuitively, likely to be associated with greater pressures for clearing tropical forests,” according to the investigation.
“We therefore suggest that policies to reduce deforestation among local, rural populations will not address the main cause of deforestation in the future.”
Poor tropical countries are consequently faced with a dilemma: feed their growing cities, export food for profit, or conserve their forest heritage.
One approach, according to DeFries, is to increase food production on previously cleared land.
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