Mid-Term Paper: Global Deforestation

Marta Swiercz
ENVS 3340
Peter Penz
22 October 2014

Table of Contents
I.

Introduction

Page 1

II.

Human Impacts and Conservations

Page 2

III.

Current Policies on Reducing Deforestation

Page 3

IV.

Further Research: Why this issue requires being addressed globally

Page 5

V.

Change: The need to enforce new laws and regulations

Page 7

VI.
VII.

Proposal For a New Regime

Page 8

Conclusion

Page 8

References

Page 10

Global Deforestation
I. Introduction
The rate of deforestation has increased exceptionally over the past few decades however
with the lack of national and global governance, it continues to increase. (Pauli, 2010).
Deforestation occurs in all regions around the world with little or no governance. (Pauli, 2010)
With the increased rate of deforestation occurring, it has contributed to approximately seventeen
percent of global carbon emissions into the earths atmosphere. (Pauli, 2010). This results in
more global issues such as an increase in greenhouses gasses and climate change. Therefore, in
order to address the major issues of climate change, one must first address the leading factors
that cause for climate change to become a global issue.
Climate change will continue to occur providing deforestation remains an issue that is
untouched. Therefore, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is important to address the
major contributors. The main contributors of carbon dioxide emissions are due to anthropogenic
causes such as combustion of fossil fuels, conversion of land and deforestation. (Pidwirny,
2010). Though, the main attention is deforestation and how the contribution of global
governance has the potential to reduce the rates of deforestation and additionally reduce the
impacts of climate change.
There are several causes that contribute towards uncontrolled deforestation such as
poorly defined property rights, non-transparent decision making processes, corruption, lack
of accountability, inappropriate forest laws and weak law enforcement capacity. (Pauli, 2010).
The reason for this is that forests are economically valuable and therefore affecting global and
even local involvement to protect them. (Pauli, 2010).

With the aim of reducing rates of deforestation, new laws and regulations must be applied
globally in order to address them at a national level. Laws and regulations should be arranged in
order to address the issues of maintaining biodiversity, protecting habitats, reducing greenhouse
gas emissions, reducing impacts of climate change and to benefit the human population.
Trees are a vital part of the earths ecosystem as they produce oxygen and absorb carbon
dioxide. In addition, they are vital for human health for the reason that without proper oxygen
levels; the human population and other living organisms would be non-existent. Consequently,
why does deforestation still occur at increased rates? And why has this issue not been addressed
through global governance? These are a couple of questions that will be further assessed.

II. Human Impacts and Conservation

There are various negative human impacts that have contributed towards deforestation.
However, there are progressive efforts of human impact to protect forests through conservation
programs for several reasons. In addition, there are organizations that strive towards reducing
deforestation.
First, the primary intention for the occurrence of deforestation was for agriculture and
urban use. (Ledig, 1992) Forests had been converted to land for agriculture for several years and
continue even today. (Ledig, 1992) In addition, humans have impacted forests by fragmenting
wild lands, altering habitats, introducing exotic species, and endangering various species. (Ledig,
1992) Humans have affected and disrupted the genetic diversity in forest ecosystems. (Ledig,
1992) By the use of clearing forests, deforestation was permanent in most areas due to
urbanization and overgrazing in the farmlands that replaced the forested area. (Ledig, 1992)
Therefore, through clearing of forests with the use of burning the trees, this has contributed to

approximately fifteen percent of carbon emissions from deforestation. (Werf et al., 2010)
Therefore, deforestation continues to increase due to negative human impacts.
Following, there are various national efforts in order to reduce deforestation. According
to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the largest source of emissions from
deforestation occurs in developing countries. (Climate Change, 2007). Therefore, there are
attempts of positive human impacts to reduce deforestation rates. The are organizations such the
UN Forum on Forests and the International Tropical Timber Organization that attempt to
decrease deforestation both nationally and globally. (Climate Change, 2007) The goal of the UN
Forum on Forests is to reverse the loss of forest. This is done by means of sustainable forest
management worldwide through restorations, protection, and reforestation and increase efforts to
prevent forest degradation. (UNFF, 2014) The goal of the International Tropical Timber
Organization is to develop internationally agreed policy documents in order to promote
sustainable forest management and conservation. (ITTO, 2014)
Therefore, there are various negative human impacts that caused deforestation to occur
and to continue. However, there are various organizations that strive to reduce deforestation yet
need the cooperation of various individuals in order to succeed in global governance.

III. Current Policies on Reducing Deforestation

Currently, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol, there are no policies to exist to reduce emissions from
deforestation. (Climate Change, 2007) The main reason to why deforestation laws are remaining
to be untouched is for the reason that deforestation will continue as long as it remains more

profitable to remove trees than to keep them. (Pauli, 2010) In order for this to change, it is
necessary to discover a solution that will be more profitable rather than deforesting areas.
However, there are initiatives being proposed and there have been minor improvements
at both national and international levels. Primarily at national levels, there is a focus on battling
the issue of illegal logging in many countries. (Climate Change, 2007) Noticeably, there has
been a minor increase in charges and convictions although it is reasonably challenging to control.
(Climate Change, 2007) Following, there has been improvement with conserving various areas
of forest such as protected areas for habitat restoration, indigenous reserves, and community
reserves . (Climate Change, 2007) This protects these areas from being converted for other land
use.
Next, there continues to be global initiatives towards reducing deforestation.
In addition to these organizations, The World Bank has altered lending policies to reduce
the direct impacts towards forests. (Climate Change, 2007) Recently, The World Bank and the
G-8 summit introduced the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) process to fight
against illegal logging in Asia and Africa. (Climate Change, 2007) FLEG is said to improve the
sustainability of forest management by monitoring and patrolling forests for illegal activity in
participating countries. (Forest Law Enforcement and Governance, 2014)
In addition, The World Bank introduced The Program on Forests (PROFOR). This
program has further researched and assisted in providing proper technology to improve
monitoring of forest activities in order to examine illegal activity and gather statistics. (Forest
Law Enforcement and Governance, 2014) PROFOR focuses on four themes of which include
Livelihoods, Across Sectors, Financing Sustainable Forest Management and Governance.
(Profor, 2014) First, a livelihood is explained as bettering the lives of all and not just the human

population. (Profor, 2014) Across Sectors is the coordination of policy across several different
areas promoting sustainable forest management worldwide. (Profor, 2014) PROFOR researches
methods of new financing ideas that can promote for sustainable forestry to become more
profitable than unsustainable forestry. (Profor, 2014) For this to be achieved, sustainable forest
management requires a balance between the increasing demands for forest products and the
preservations of the forests health and biodiversity. (Profor, 2014) Lastly, governance is the most
challenging issue. PROFOR focuses on maintaining the proper governance by providing
advanced technological systems for monitoring. (Profor, 2014)
Furthermore, there are initiatives that strive in order for this issue to become on the global
agenda and for improvement of global laws and regulations towards this matter. These
organizations deserve the support from larger parties such as the Kyoto Protocol and the
UNFCCC.

IV. Further Research: why this issue requires being addressed globally
There are about eighty percent of remaining forests in developing countries that belong to
the government. (Speth and Haas, 30) Therefore, the government has the capability of restricting
deforestation yet is hesitant to do so. In addition, due to the reason that most forests belong to the
government, they are pressured into deforesting areas for reasons of timber concessions,
urbanization, agricultural development and ranching. (Speth and Haas, 30) In addition, there are
many international factors that have worsened the situation of funding from international
development agencies towards dams, highways, power developments and transmigration
schemes. (Speth and Haas, 31) Forests are a vital part of maintaining a balanced biodiversity. For
example, in the tropical region, in approximately 1 acre of forested land, there is the potential to

find hundreds of species of living organisms. (Speth and Haas, 30) Through deforestation, there
is a possibility that there are hundreds of species that have never been discovered however will
never be if deforestation continues to solely increase. Unfortunately, there is only about 20
percent of Earths original forest left on this planet. (Speth and Haas, 29) With this statistic, one
can only imagine the amount of potential undiscovered species that once roamed the forests.
These forests will only continue to decrease if proper management does not result.
The Amazon rainforest is vastly affected with deforestation mainly from the reason of
cattle ranching. For example, the main factors are currency devaluation, infrastructure, interest
rates and land tenure laws. (Butler, 1994) The government in Brazil decided for cattle to be a
major export, consequently requiring the government to create free land and expand their
highways for better transportation. (Butler, 1994) Thereby, they required removing many miles
of rainforests. Furthermore, cattle ranching is sourced and focused on for its profit and therefore
causing it more profit for the country rather than leaving the trees standing. Many governors in
Brazil such as Blairo Maggi (governor of Matto Grasso) are the cause of deforestation.
(McCarthy, 2005) In an interview, this is what Blairo Maggi states Brazil has its own
environmental legislation, one of the most rigorous in the world, and yet were treated as if were
bandits.... To me, a 40 per cent increase in deforestation doesn't mean anything at all, and I don't
feel the slightest guilt over what we are doing here. We're talking about an area larger than
Europe that has barely been touched, so there is nothing at all to get worried about."(McCarthy,
2005) This only proves the ignorance that the government views towards the issue of
deforestation. For the reason of profit, deforestation will continue to increase.
V. Change: The need to enforce new laws and regulations

Unmistakably, deforestation is a rising issue and the effects concern both human health
and the environment. Therefore, this issue requires the aid of global governance. Deforestation
both can follow under the principal of subsidiarity and the principal of decentralization. It is
important for global governance to disperse functions to nations to address their issue of
deforestation and apply new laws and regulations.
Furthermore, the issue of deforestation follows the four criteria in order to be managed on
a global scale provided in Speth and Haas. First, there is abuse of global commons, which in this
circumstance is deforestation. (Speth and Haas, 15) Forests are abused everyday for the goods
and services they provide from deforestation. Next, is widespread trans boundary pollution.
(Speth and Haas, 15) Deforestation causes air pollution by emitting mass amounts of carbon
dioxide emissions into the earths atmosphere affecting both human health and the environment.
Third, there is a local asset of concern outside the country. (Speth and Haas, 15) Deforestation
may be beneficial for its goods and services within the nation, however has negative impacts
outside the nation on a global scale. For example, the Brazilian amazon is an environmental asset
of Brazil but deforestation affects the worlds population due to high emissions of carbon
dioxide. However, this is difficult for the world to argue due to a justice issue. Lastly, there is an
environmental problem that is strictly local but share national. (Speth and Haas, 15) As
mentioned earlier, carbon dioxide emissions are emitted locally when deforestation occurs but
this issue is shared nationally and globally. This creates the issue of climate change, which is a
concern that is a leading environmental problem that is shared globally. Through this analysis, it
can be observed that the issue of deforestation follows the four criteria in order to be managed on
a global scale.
VI. Proposal For a New Regime

Deforestation should require a new global regime and require all nations to involve in
following new laws and regulations. The idea behind having a new regime is to reduce the rates
of deforestation, eventually ending it until biodiversity is fully restored. A new regime for this
issue will require various factors.
In order for the new regime to benefit both the environment and human population, it
requires various elements. First, the new regime should include limiting the amount of trees that
can be allowed to be extracted at once in a specific area. This will prevent an increase in carbon
dioxide emissions and simultaneously help reduce climate change. In addition, it should involve
rehabilitation programs to restore the biodiversity in given areas by planting more trees.
However, the new regime must include an alternative method of producing better profit as
oppose to deforestation. For example, introducing the idea of emissions trading and providing
permits can benefit many nations with profit. In result, the nation will be awarded for reducing
emissions rather than being charged for emitting them.
International agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol have the objective to stabilize
greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, deforestation has only been discussed within these agreements
and never further pursued. Deforestation is one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas
emissions, specifically carbon dioxide, and therefore should be necessary to be on the global
agenda for the Kyoto Protocol since their objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If the
Kyoto Protocol battles against deforestation then there may be noticeable improvement in
climate change.
VII. Conclusion
In conclusion, deforestation will only continue to rise and requires the assistance of
global governance in order to reduce the negative effects that develop towards the environment

and human health. Deforestation outweighs its negative outcomes with the single benefit of
profit and therefore in order to reduce deforestation, a new global regime is required. The new
global regime should require an alternative to profit, law against deforesting areas, and
rehabilitation programs. With these three considerations towards a new global regime,
deforestation will decrease as well as an improvement with climate change. Therefore, as
deforestation follows the four criteria of a global issue, it requires global governance in order
reduce its negative impacts.

References
Butler, Rhett. Deforestation in the Amazon. 1994. 8 October 2014.
<http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html>.
Climate Change. 2007. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 8 October 2014.
<http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/ch9s9-6-1.html>.
Forest Law Enforcement and Governance. 2013. The World Bank. 8 October 2014.
<http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/forests/brief/forest-law-enforcement-governance>.
ITTO. 2014. International Tropical Timber Organization. 8 October 2014.
<http://www.itto.int/about_itto/>.
Ledig, Thomas. Human Impacts on Genetic Diversity in Forest Ecosystems. 1992. 8 October
2014. <http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/ledig/captured/psw_1992_ledig037.pdf>.
McCarthy, Michael. The Rape of the Rainforest. 2005. Independent News and Media Inc. 8
October 2014. < http://www.rense.com/general65/behind.htm>.
Pauli, Natasha. Tropical Forest Governance in the 21st Century. University of Oxford: 21st
Century School. February 2010. Web. 8 October 2014.
<http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/briefings/200912-ForestGovernance.pdf>.
Pidwirny, Michael. Causes of Climate Change. 2010. The Encyclopedia of Earth. 9 October
2014. <http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150960/>.
PROFOR. 2014. Program on Forests. 9 October 2014.
<http://www.profor.info/content/our-mission>.
Speth, James. Haas, Peter. Global Environmental Governance. Washington D.C: Island Press.
2009. Print.

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UNFF. 2014. The United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat. . 9 October 2014
<http://www.un.org/esa/forests/about.html>.
Werf et al. Global fire emissions and the contribution of deforestation, savanna, forest,
agricultural, and peat fires (19972009. 2010. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 9
October 2014. <http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/11707/2010/acp-10-11707-2010.pdf>.

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