Photo Credits to: AUF CAS Dolphins
The Lungs of the Earth
Trees in an urban context provide green spaces especially due to the heat, and carbon emissions found and produced in metropolitan cities. Trees function to offshoot and clear up some of the carbon emissions produced by humans and vehicles while providing shade. Trees are also an essential part of the conversation to encourage physical activity for people (cycling, jogging, walking, etc..) and make walkable cities possible. Lastly, trees serve as a refuge and habitat for urban animals (raccoons, dogs, cats, and squirrels to name a few).
The roles that trees play in rural and natural contexts tend to overlap. The ability of trees to prevent soil erosion is important, especially for disaster-prone areas. The tree's ability to lessen the strength of flowing waters, and provide vegetative cover for bare soil, assists in weakening floods and soaks up extra water from the soil. The last point prevents the integrity of the soil and fertile lands from being compromised by an overflow of water. By soaking up this excess water, they also have the capacity to deal with droughts through the release of this excess water during hotter seasons. In general, though, trees are capable of improving soil quality, ensuring consistent water supplies to an extent, and providing clean air by filtering carbon dioxide and other gases. Note that these benefits are also present in urban areas but are much more apparent and relevant to rural and natural contexts.
Sad Tales on Trees
→ Why are trees being deforested?
According to National Geographic, forest trees are being cut down to:
Make space for agriculture and animal grazing – deforestation transforms forests into agricultural fields or pastures, providing open land for farming and grazing. This allows farmers to cultivate crops and raise livestock.
Obtain wood for fuel, manufacturing, and construction – during logging operations, trees are cut down to make timber, which can be processed into various products that have fuel (e.g. charcoal), manufacturing (e.g. mahogany), and construction (e.g. Douglas fir) purposes.
→ What are the harmful effects of deforestation?
Deforestation has a lot of numerous harmful effects on both the environment and human beings. Here are some of them:
Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Since there are fewer trees that take in carbon dioxide, this greenhouse gas accumulates in the atmosphere and accelerates global warming
Loss of biodiversity
Forests serve as home to many plant and animal species and their destruction may lead to the extinction of numerous medically and economically important species
Increased risks of soil erosion
Trees help prevent erosion by anchoring soil with their roots and their removal increases the chances of landslides and reduces soil fertility (essential plant nutrients in the soil)
Holding Breath
→ What actions are currently being taken to oppose deforestation and reforest trees?
Because of the effects of deforestation on the environment and its contribution to accelerating global warming, there have been numerous movements both locally and internationally to oppose deforestation or the cutting of trees. The following international organizations have been working to stop deforestation:
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – WWF is an organization for wildlife conservation. They work with companies, governments, and other authorities to advocate for their causes. The group has been working on reducing the irresponsible expansion of agricultural projects, has been pushing for sustainable infrastructure, and funding conservation areas to ensure that these are well-protected. WWF has also been advocating for the use of bioenergy and renewable resources.
International Union for Conservation of Nature – recognizing the arising issues from deforestation, IUCN has been working on forest landscape restoration. The IUCN is one of the major supporting bodies to the Restoration Assessment Methodology (ROAM). This program aids different governments in how they should implement reforestation programs based on the severity of the problem in the area of concern.
United Nations Environment Program – this arm of the UN is focused on reversing the damaging effects of deforestation by the year 2030. UNEP has been involved in several initiatives, including Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. The UNEP works with the World Bank and the UN development program for assistance.
In the Philippines, there have also been movements that attempt to put an end to deforestation. One local example is the Save the Trees Coalition (STC), which is a group advocating for saving trees along highways in Pampanga. The said trees are being cut down for road-widening processes, but the group has stood in opposition, citing the importance of these trees in regulating carbon dioxide levels in the area.
It must be noted that despite the current efforts, the issue is still apparent because there are large companies or bigger entities that are not joining the effort to save trees. This is why a call to action is highly necessary.
To Plant Hope
→ Learn and Act
Awareness and education
As a Biology student, you can advocate reforestation and trees by educating people about their value to our environment. Also, by informing friends, classmates, and the local community about the ecological and environmental benefits of trees, hosting workshops, seminars, or awareness campaigns. You can motivate others to take action and support tree-planting campaigns by imparting your knowledge and spreading the word about the importance of reforestation.
Volunteer in reforestation projects
Be involved in reforestation projects as a volunteer. Join local environmental organizations or community groups that organize tree-planting activities. Participate in reforestation efforts in areas that were deforested or degraded.
Research and conservation
As a biology student, you can conduct research related to trees, reforestation, and their impact on ecosystems. Explore subjects like tree physiology, biodiversity in forest ecosystems, or the consequences of deforestation. Identify native tree species that are suitable for various ecosystems and conduct studies to understand the best reforestation practices. Advance the understanding of reforestation and improve conservation efforts by conducting scientific research. Share findings with the appropriate parties, such as regional or local government agencies or environmental nonprofits.
→ Encourage, Embody, Empower, Evaluate (4Es)
Encourage the people and big corporations
With easy access to social media, we can easily spread information about the grave consequences of deforestation to the world, and why reforestation is a great option that would mitigate the issue. With it, we are able to easily encourage people to participate in the information dissemination, so that a wider audience would be reached in hopes of more people taking the initiative to promote and protect trees. Thus, would also give more manpower in helping to encourage bigger corporations to find other greener alternatives for the success of their business ventures.
Empower the voice of the Indigenous people
Taking the initiative of promoting reforestation would also help to empower the desire of the IPs to protect the environment on which they greatly rely. The IPs are more connected to the environment, thus, they are one of the first ones to suffer when corporations resort to deforestation for their own gain.
Embody the green dream
Like the IPs, every human being relies on the environment for their survival. And more than that, as Biology students, we are aware of the various flora and fauna that thrive and flourish in many forests. This said, it is important that we walk what we are taught — that is to help conserve the environment because every aspect of it, both biotic and abiotic factors, (from the tiniest organism to the whole ecological body) is interconnected. This is also true for every citizen in any country. The concern for our dearest forests should extend to our decisions in order to take action that would benefit everyone and everything around us. For example, not cutting down trees, or if it is really needed, then plant more than what was cut. Such action would also be a lot easier with the participation of the government, whose role is centered around the making of laws, and implementing effective actions that would promote reforestation and the effective banning of deforestation in many important forests around the world.
Evaluate our actions
As part of the promotion of reforestation and walking the talk, we students are also encouraged to evaluate our actions to see whatever habits we have that we need to avoid in order to help fight against deforestation. We, students, can make sustainable choices for promoting reforestation by "consuming less, avoiding single-use packaging, eating sustainable food, and choosing recycled or responsibly-produced wood products."
For a summary of this blog post and our advocacy for this week, check out the infographic below:
Bibliography:
Deforestation. (2022). National Geographic Society. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/deforestation/
European Environment Agency. (2015, September 24). Forests can help prevent flood and droughts. https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/forests-can-help-prevent-floods
IUCN. (2022). Deforestation and forest degradation. IUCN. https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/deforestation-and-forest-degradation
Solutions to Deforestation. (n.d.). GreenPeace. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forests/solutions-to-deforestation/
Speak For the Trees Boston. (n.d). Benefits of Urban Trees. https://treeboston.org/tree-equity/benefits-of-urban-trees/
The Royal Parks. (n.d). Why are trees so important? https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/the-regents-park/things-to-see-and-do/gardens-and-landscapes/tree-map/why-trees-are-important
UN Environment Programme. (2021). Inside the global effort to save the World’s forests. UNEP. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/inside-global-effort-save-worlds-forests
World Wildlife Fund. (2017). Deforestation and forest degradation. WWF. https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation
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