Deforestation is the biggest challenge that is affecting the Amazon forest. The cutting down of vegetation in the vegetation has facilitated a change in the ecosystem thus reducing the quality of natural life in the forest. The deforestation has led to various consequences in the forest and its environments. Some of the most common effects of the deforestation include flooding and deforestation. The ultimate effects of the increased biodiversity include the significant reduction of the species richness which is a major cause of decreased diversity. There are numerous reasons attributed to the high rate of deforestation in Amazon (Wallace, 2014). Human activities are the major reasons for cutting down the vegetation. The burning and cutting don of the forests has led to environmental impacts across the world that include climate change.
A lot of blame has been directed to the people who reside in the Amazon River Basin region for the deforestation processes (Wallace, 2014). The subsistence farmers in the locality are perceived to be cutting down the trees in order to acquire land to perform agricultural activities. The poor farmers have also been blamed for cutting down the forests in order to create sufficient space for their animal ranches. The forest is also perceived to be a very rich source of timber. This has attracted massive logging activities from various people.
There are numerous unseen factors that have motivated the deforestation of the Amazon. Large industrial activities promoted by people from North America are some of the factors that have led to the high deforestation rate in Amazon. The construction of roads into the forests has acted as on of the facilitating factors towards gaining access to the valued hardwoods in the forest that are targeted for logging (Wallace, 2014).
The local people are used to facilitate the logging activities and the hardwoods like mahogany are sold to the rich people in North America who make furniture and sell. Therefore, deforestation of in Amazon is a combination of the agricultural activities from the local people and the rich business merchants in North America who use the timber from the forest to advance their business endeavors.
- Wallace, S. (2014). Last of the Amazon. National Geographic Publication. Accessed on 7 October 2014 from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/last-of-amazon/
