Agricultural to 80% of current deforestation rates. there

Agricultural ExpansionOne of the major cause of deforestationis the conversion of forest into agricultural activities. Due to overincreasing demand for commodities, such as soybeans and palm oil, huge amountof trees are being cleared to grow such crops. For example, palm oil which isan ingredient that are highly prized consumed from food to cosmetics and evenheralded as a biofuel. So, oil palm growers had cleared massive swaths ofnatural forests to make room for oil palm plantation.

According to the WorldWatch Institute, Malaysia which is the world’s largest producer of palm oiluntil 2006 has led deforestation to skyrocket due to rapid expansion of oilpalm plantation. LoggingLogging involves legal and illegallogging which occur around the world. Illegal logging includes harvesting timber, transporting, purchasing or selling of timbers in violation of law. Especially wood based industry has ahigher demand for timbers for making their commercial items such as matchsticks, papers and furniture. Also, wood is being used for fuel. Therefore, some of the industries will thrive on illegal wood cutting to meet the demands. It was reported that half of the forest trees were illegally removed for fuel.

Livestock RanchingAnother driving force behind thisdeforestation is livestock ranching. Cattle ranching is common in every Amazoncountry, amounting to 80% of current deforestation rates. There are estimate200 million head of cattle ranching in Amazon Brazil, one of the largest cattleexporter in the world.

Because of the low investment in which grass is alreadygrowing, easy transportation and high returns, ranching has become an appealingeconomic operation in the forest frontier. Farmer, nowadays, uses slash andburn techniques to clear land in order to provide pasture for livestock. MiningImportant resources such as gold, copper, diamonds and other precious metal are found in the rainforest in theworld. As such, private mining sector and governments start to mine, resultingin deforestation. This is because, in order to mine, trees and vegetation areto be cleared and burned. With the ground completely bare, then can metals andminerals be extracted from the soil. Often, this projects is accompanied bylarge infrastructure construction, such as road, railways and power systemswhich further contribute to deforestation. Mining happens in many places aroundthe world and is very active in Amazonia region, Guyana, Suriname and otherSouth American countries.

Even Indonesia and other S. E. Asian countries areheavily involve in mining. UrbanizationDue to overpopulation, there is a rapid increase in global needsleading to expansion of cities.

As a result, forest land again has to becleared to establish more settlements and housings. Apart from it, countless oftrees are chopped to construct roads and highways so as to make way forurbanization. The road expansion usually leads to logging and illegal logging whichfurther lead to deforestation.