DEFORESTATION

 Deforestation or felling trees has become a favorite activity of man to extract assorted needs-
be it medicines or precious paper to waste.

 According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an estimated 18
million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest are lost each year.

 In the last two decades, Afghanistan has lost over 70% of its forests throughout the country.

 Over half of the world’s forests have been destroyed in the last 10,000 or so years — the
majority of this loss has occurred in just the last 50 years, occurring simultaneously with a
massive increase in the human population.

 The incredible scale of this loss has led to significant changes throughout many parts of the
world, and in recent years these changes have been accelerating.

 These changes include: large-scale extinction events, desertification, climatic changes, topsoil
loss, flooding, famine, disease outbreaks, and insect ‘plagues’ — among others.

Deforestation Effects, Causes, And Examples:

1. Agriculture

 Agriculture is one of the primary drivers of deforestation — both in modern times and in
ancient times. The vast old-growth forests that once covered much of the world have largely
been cut and burned down because of agriculture.

 Even when such agricultural-land is reclaimed by nature it generally lacks the great
biodiversity that was found there previously, being replaced largely by fast-growing plants
and ‘weeds’ that favor the depleted soil.

 Subsistence-farming accounts for 48% of deforestation, and commercial agriculture for a

further 32% of deforestation, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change.

 2. Population Growth And Expansion

 While agriculture is often the direct cause of deforestation, growing and expanding
populations are often the driver. The world’s population has exploded from an estimated max
of 15 million people in prehistory, to the 8 billion humans of today.

 Such large population numbers and densities make people very dependent upon agriculture
for survival, and also, importantly, dependant upon expansion. With increased population
numbers also comes increased urbanization — which brings with it further impetus for
deforestation, and also a number of other negative influences on the surrounding areas via
various forms of pollution.

 As large populations often quickly use up all of the resources located near them, they almost
always become dependent upon expansion in order to continue fueling their infrastructure.
 this continues until the reliance on distant, far-off resources becomes too burdensome and
inefficient, and the civilization collapses or retracts.

 As an example: Western Europe experienced significant deforestation from around 1100 to

1500 as a result of the then rapidly expanding human population.

 The large industries of the day

 the building of wooden sailing ships by European naval powers

 colonization and resource-plunder dependent on ships

 slave-trade and other sea-based trade

All these activities have largely consumed and used up the forest resources of Europe.

3. Desertification

 Desertification is the process by which fertile land is transformed into desert, usually as a
result of deforestation, drought, and agriculture use/practices.

 Desertification played a significant role in the collapse of many large empires and civilizations
— such as the Roman Empire, Carthage, the Harappan civilization, and Ancient Greece .

 Most of the desertification that these civilizations experienced was as a result of agriculture,
deforestation, and the associated changes in aridity and the climate.

 The process occurs primarily in dry-land ecosystems — which are already very fragile, and
simply can’t support the pressures that result from significant human populations.

 Drylands currently occupy about 40% of the world’s total land area. As these lands are
cultivated the limited nutrients that are available in them are quickly depleted.

 Often times the land is also improperly irrigated — leading to salty soils, and emptied
aquifers. The limited natural vegetation that is present is also often overgrazed, leading to
large-scale soil erosion and increased runoff/decreased rainfall retention.

 As a side note, the Sahara Desert is currently expanding south at a rate of up to 48 kilometers
per year.

4. Extinction And Biodiversity Loss

 Deforestation has been the cause of a truly massive number of species extinctions in modern
times and historical times. Even when the originally deforested area is over time reforested, it
always lacks the large biodiversity of its previous state.

 With the disappearance of the original forest, many species go extinct, and many that don’t
lose a great deal of their genetic diversity and variation.

 Many potential medicines — and also disease and pest resistant varieties of agricultural crops
(useful for hybridization) — have been lost as a result of deforestation.
  Modern agriculture is now almost entirely dependent on only a very limited number of crops
— crops which are becoming increasingly lacking in genetic diversity, and, as a result,
increasingly susceptible to disease, pests, and climatic changes.

 With the loss of related wild species much genetic diversity is lost that could potentially be
used to address future outbreaks of disease and to increase resiliency.

 It’s currently estimated that the world is losing around 137 plant, animal and insect species
every day as a result of rainforest deforestation. That means that around 50,000 species are
going extinct every year currently.

5. Soil Erosion

 In ‘undisturbed’ forests there is only a very minimal rate of soil loss. Deforestation
considerably increases this rate of soil erosion — largely through the actions of increased
rainfall runoff and decreased ground debris. This is further compounded by the increasing
aridity of the unprotected soils and the absence of vegetation and roots — which
work/function to hold the soil together.

 “The decline of the Roman Empire is a story of deforestation, soil exhaustion and erosion,”
wrote author Mr. G. V. Jacks. “

 As demand for food and resources increases with a growing population, the land and soil is
gradually depleted of its nutrients, and also increasingly experiences erosion. “Regular
clearing and plowing exhausted existing soil, which eventually became infertile.

 Runoff from deforested hillsides increased the amount of silt and impeded the flow of water
into agricultural areas.

6. Atmospheric Change/Greenhouse Effect

 Deforestation has a pronounced effect on the climate and geography of both local
environments and also the broader global one. It’s currently one of the primary contributors
to modern anthropogenic climate change.

 It’s estimated that deforestation is directly responsible for around 20% of the world’s
greenhouse gas emissions, currently.

 Indirectly it contributes even more, via the mechanism of reducing carbon dioxide uptake by
plants/trees. As it stands, an estimated 1.5 billion tons of carbon is released every year by
tropical deforestation.

 Deforestation also has a profound effect on many of the world’s water cycles. Reduced
vegetation and ground-cover leads to a general drying-out of the soil — which over time leads
to lower levels of rain. And, eventually, leads to significant soil erosion and desertification.

 Research done on the deforested north and northwestern regions of China found that, with
said deforestation, the average annual precipitation there fell by 1/3 between the 1950 and
1980.
7. New Zealand
During the ‘only’ 800 years that New Zealand has been occupied by modern humans around 75% of
the country’s original forests have disappeared.

 This loss was at first caused via large-scale burning of the forests by Maori, and then
Europeans, but over time logging has risen to become the dominant cause of deforestation in
the region.

 As a result of the deforestation of the islands a great many animal species have gone extinct.
This includes all of the known species of Moa — a group of giant flightless birds that grew at
least as tall as 12 feet, and weighed over 500 lbs.

 The largest eagle known to have ever existed — the Haast’s Eagle — also went extinct. It was
a truly massive bird, the largest eagles of today only grow to about half of the size that these
birds reached. They were the primary predator of the Moa, and died out around the same
time as their primary food source did.

8. Madagascar

 Around 94% of Madagascar’s previously biologically-productive lands have been severely

degraded by deforestation — resulting in high levels of desertification, greatly decreased
water supplies, and high levels of soil loss.

 Humans are thought to have first settled there about 2000 years ago, since then the island has
lost more than 90% of its original forest.

 A large proportion of this loss has occurred in recent years, and is primarily due to slash-and-
burn agriculture.

 Notably, deforestation has greatly diminished the food resources, soil quality, and fresh water
resources available there.

 In addition, nearly all of Madagascar’s mega-fauna has gone extinct since human settlement.

 This includes eight species of giant elephant-birds, two species of hippopotamus, a very large
species of Fossa, a strange unique mammal named Plesiorycteropus, and seventeen species of
lemurs.

Solutions to Deforestation

 The best solution to deforestation is to curb the felling of trees, by employing a series of rules
and laws to govern it.

 Deforestation in the current scenario may have reduced however it would be too early to
assume. The money-churner that forest resources can be, is tempting enough for
deforestation to continue.

 Clear cutting of forests must be banned. This will curb total depletion of the forest cover. It is
a practical solution and is very feasible.
 Land skinned of its tree cover for urban settlements should be urged to plant trees in the
vicinity and replace the cut trees.

 Also the cutting must be replaced by planting young trees to replace the older ones that were
cut.

 Trees are being planted under several initiatives every year, but they still don’t match the
numbers of the ones we’ve already lost.

FACTS ABOUT DEFORESTATION

 Forests cover 30% of the earth’s land.

 It is estimated that within 100 years there will be no rainforests.

 One and a half acres of forest is cut down every second.

 Loss of forests contributes between 12 percent and 17 percent of annual globalgreenhouse

gas emissions. (World Resources Institute)

 If the current rate of deforestation continues, it will take less than 100 years to destroy all the
rainforests on the earth.

 There are more than 121 natural remedies in the rain forest which can be used as medicines.

 According to Rainforest Action Network, the United States has less than 5% of the world’s
population yet consumes more than 30% of the world’s paper.

 20% of the world’s oxygen is produced in the Amazon forest.

 Up to 28,000 species are expected to become extinct by the next quarter of the century due to
deforestation.

 25% of cancers fighting organisms are found in the amazon.

 13 million hectare per year in South America and Africa and south East Asia is converted from
a forest to an agriculture land.

 Half of the world’s tropical forests has already been cleared.

 4500 acres of forests are cleared every hour by forest fires, bull dozers, machetes etc.

 Poverty, over-population and unequal land access are the main causes of man- made
deforestation.

 1.6 billion people across the globe depend on forest products for their livelihoods there by
adding more to deforestation.

 Almost half of world’s timber and up to 70% of paper is consumed by Europe, United States
and Japan alone.

 Industrialized countries consume 12 times more wood and its products per person than the
non-industrialized countries.
 Fuel wood in sub Saharan African countries is consumed up to 200% times more than the
annual growth rates of the trees. This is causing deforestation, lack of timber resources and
loss of habitat for the species living in it.

 Soil erosion, floods, wildlife extinction, increase in global warming, and climate imbalance are
few of the effects of deforestation.

 Worldwide more than 1.6 billion people rely on forests products for all or part of their
livelihoods.

 Tropical forests, where deforestation is most prevalent, hold more than 210 giga-tonnes of
carbon.

 According to Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
about half the world’s tropical forests have been cleared or degraded.

 Tropical rainforests which cover 6-7% of the earth’s surface, contain over half of all the plant
and animal species in the world!

 Deforestation affects water cycle. Trees absorb groundwater and release the same into the
atmosphere during transpiration. When deforestation happens, the climate automatically
changes to a drier one and also affects the water table.

 The world’s forests store 283 billion tons of carbon present in the biomass.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Rapid population growth and urbanization in developing countries has led to people
generating enormous quantities of solid waste and consequent environmental degradation.

 The waste is normally disposed in open dumps creating nuisance and environmental
degradation.

 Solid wastes cause a major risk to public health and the environment.

 Management of solid wastes is important in order to minimize the adverse effects posed by
their indiscriminate disposal.

The study of disposal of domestic refuse, commercial and industrial solid wastes or semisolid
materials is called solid waste Management.

Types of solid wastes: Depending on the nature of origin, solid wastes are classified into:
 URBAN OR MUNICIPAL WASTES

 INDUSTRIAL WASTES

 HAZARDOUS WASTES

SOURCES OF URBAN WASTE: Urban wastes include the following wastes:

Domestic wastes: containing a variety of materials thrown out from homes

 Food waste

 Cloth

 Waste paper

 Glass bottles,

 Polythene bags

 Waste metals

Commercial wastes: It includes wastes coming out from shops, markets, hotels, offices,
institutions, etc.

 Waste paper

 packaging material

 cans, bottle,

 polythene bags,

Construction wastes: It includes wastes of construction materials.

 Wood,

 Concrete,

 Debris,

Biomedical wastes: It includes mostly waste organic materials

 Anatomical wastes

 Infectious wastes,

 Classification of urban wastes

Urban wastes are classified into:

 Bio-degradable wastes - Those wastes that can be degraded by micro organisms are called
bio-degradable wastes
Ex: Food, vegetables, tea leaves, dry leaves, etc.

 Non-biodegradable wastes: Urban solid waste materials that cannot be degraded by micro
organisms are called non-biodegradable wastes.
Ex: Polythene bags, scrap materials, glass bottles, etc.
 SOURCES OF INDUSTRIAL WASTES
The main source of industrial wastes are chemical industries, metal and mineral processing
industries.
Ex:

 Nuclear plants: It generated radioactive wastes

 Thermal power plants: It produces fly ash in large quantities

 Chemical Industries: It produces large quantities of hazardous and toxic materials.

 Other industries: Other industries produce packing materials, rubbish, organic wastes, acid,
alkali, scrap metals, rubber, plastic, paper, glass, wood, oils, paints, dyes, etc.

EFFECT OF IMPROPER SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Due to improper disposal of municipal solid waste on the roads and immediate surroundings,
biodegradable materials undergo decomposition producing foul smell and become a breeding
ground for disease vectors.

 Industrial solid wastes are the source for toxic metals and hazardous wastes that affect soil
characteristics and productivity of soils when they are dumped on the soil.

 Toxic substances may percolate into the ground and contaminate the groundwater.

 Burning of industrial or domestic wastes (cans, pesticides, plastics, radioactive materials and
batteries) produce furans, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls that are harmful to human
beings.

 Solid waste management involves waste generation, mode of collection, transportation,

segregation of wastes and disposal techniques.

STEPS INVOLVED IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT:

Two important steps involved in solid waste management are:
(a)Reduce, Reuse and Recycle of Raw Materials

(b) Discarding wastes

Reduce - If usage of raw materials is reduced, the generation of waste also gets reduced
Reuse - Refillable containers that are discarded after use can be reused. Rubber rings can be
made from discarded cycle tubes and this reduces waste generation during manufacture of
rubber bands.
Recycle- Recycling is the reprocessing of discarded materials into new useful products
 Old aluminum cans and glass bottles are melted and recast into new cans and bottles

 Preparation of cellulose insulation from paper

 Preparation of automobile body and construction material from steel cans

 The most common domestic materials that recycled are paper, plastic, glass and aluminium.

Advantages
(i)It conserves sources such as raw material and energy.

(ii)The volume of the waste is also much reduced by recycling of the materials.

Recycling of Newspaper
 The largest item which is recycled is newspaper.

 The release of chlorine or other bleaching acids and organic solvents is significantly less in
recycling process as compared to that in the processing of virgin newspaper.

 Whiteness of the recycled newspaper is improved by two ways

(i) Either by blended old paper with the virgin newspaper.

(ii)Bleaching with peroxides and hydrosulphites.

 In recycling process the fiber of the newspaper becomes shorter so it can be recycled again
and again for five times.

 Recycling of Plastics
 The recycling of plastics is done by three ways.

 1. Reprocessing

 2. De-polymerization

 3. Transformation

 1. Reprocessing
 In this process, plastics are remelted and used for the manufacturing of different
products.

 Example
 The original use of polystyrene is for the manufacturing of foam, packaging, cutlery,
furniture, etc. but after its reprocessing it is used mostly for the manufacturing of toys, trays,
etc.

 2. De-polymerization
 In this process, plastics are converted back into their original components by a chemical or
thermal process. The monomers are then polymerized again

 Example
 Polyethylene terephthalate can be thermally de-polymerised in the presence of a catalyst
and heat into its original components.
 3. Transformation
 In this process , plastics are converted into low quality substances. These substances are then
used for the production of other materials.

 Example

 Cracking of polyethylene at high temperatures gives its monomers which are used for
the manufacturing of lubricants.

This method (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle), i.e, 3R's help save money, energy, raw materials and
reduces pollution.

DISCARDING WASTES:
The following methods are adopted for discarding wastes:

 Landfill

 Incineration

 Composting

LANDFILL:
 Solid wastes are placed in a sanitary landfill in which alternate layers of 80 cm thick refuse is
covered with selected earth-fill of 20 cm thickness.

 After 2-3 years solid waste volume shrinks by 25-30% and land is used for parks, roads and
small buildings.

 This is the most common and cheapest method of waste disposal and is mostly employed in
Pakistani and Indian cities.

Advantages:
 It is simple and economical.

 Segregation of wastes is not required

 Landfilled areas can be reclaimed and used for other purposes

 Converts low-lying, marshy waste-land into useful areas.

Natural resources are returned to soil and recycled.

Disadvantages:
 Large area is required

 Land availability is away from the town, transportation costs are high

 Leads to bad odor if landfill is not properly managed.

 Land filled areas will be sources of mosquitoes and flies requiring application of insecticides
and pesticides at regular intervals.

 Causes fire hazard due to formation of methane in wet weather.

INCINERATION:
 It is a hygienic way of disposing solid waste. It is suitable if waste contains more hazardous
material and organic content.

 It is a thermal process and very effective for detoxification of all combustible pathogens. It is
expensive when compared to composting or land-filling.

 In this method municipal solid wastes are burnt in a furnace called incinerator.

 Combustible substances such as rubbish, garbage, dead organisms and non-combustible

matter such as glass, porcelain and metals are separated before feeding to incinerators.

 The non-combustible materials can be left out for recycling and reuse. The leftover ashes and
clinkers may account for about 10 to 20% which need further disposal by sanitary landfill or
some other means.

 The heat produced in the incinerator during burning of refuse is used in the form of steam
power for generation of electricity through turbines.

 Municipal solid waste is generally wet and has a high calorific value. Therefore, it has to be
dried first before burning.

 Waste is dried in a pre-heater from where it is taken to a large incinerating furnace called
"destructor" which can incinerate about 100 to 150 tons per hour.

 Temperature normally maintained in a combustion chamber is about 700 0C which may be

increased to 10000 C when electricity is to be generated.

ADVANTAGES:

 Residue is only 20-25% of the original and can be used as clinker after treatment.

 Requires very little space.

 Cost of transportation is not high if the incinerator is located within city limits.

 Safest from hygienic point of view.

 An incinerator plant of 3000 tons per day capacity can generate 3MW of power.

DISADVANTAGES
 Its capital and operating cost is high

 Operation needs skilled personnel

 Formation of smoke, dust and ashes needs further disposal and that may cause air pollution.

COMPOSTING
 It is another popular method practiced in many cities in our country.

 In this method, bulk organic waste is converted into fertilizer by biological action.

 Separated combustible waste is dumped in underground trenches in layers of 1.5m and finally
covered with earth of 20cm and left for decomposition.

 Sometimes, actino-mycetes are introduced for active decomposition. Within 2 to 3 days

biological action starts.

 Organic matter is destroyed by actino-mycetes and lot of heat is liberated increasing the
temperature of compost by 750C and the refuse is finally converted into powdery brown
colored, odorless mass called humus that has a fertilizing value and can be used in agriculture.

 Humus contains lot of Nitrogen essential for plant growth apart from phosphates and other
minerals.

ADVANTAGES
 Manure added to soil increases water retention and ion-exchange capacity of soil.

 This method can be used to treat several industrial solid wastes.

 Manure can be sold thereby reducing cost of disposing wastes

Recycling can be done

DISADVANTAGES
 Non-consumables have to be disposed separately

 The technology has not caught-up with the farmers and hence does not have an assured
market.