THE term “deforestation” refers to the permanent removal of forests or the conversion of forestlands into agriculture or urban areas. Forests currently cover only 2.5% of Pakistani land. Pakistan is one of those countries where the rate of deforestation is alarming high and is increasing day by day. Plants maintain natural environment and climate of earth. They stable the environment by maintenance of humidity, regulation of atmospheric temperature and by their influence precipitation takes place.
Carbon dioxide is the main atmospheric gas which play role in rising atmospheric temperature. Loss of plant cover reduces the rate of photosynthesis due to which large amount of carbon dioxide is freely spreading in environment. As a result, climate change occurs. Main cause of deforestation is increase in population. Increase in population increases the requirement of fuel, wood which is a major ingredient in building construction and land for residential purposes. And this all is achieved on the cost of deforestation.
Deforestation not only affects environment by inhibiting water recycling, triggering severe flooding, aquifer depletion soil degradation and extinction of plant and animal species but also affect the climate by increasing the level of carbon dioxide in atmosphere and is extremely changing the climate of earth.
Cutting down forests will cause a decline in photosynthetic activities which plays a vital role in presence of higher level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Forests also store an enormous amount of organic carbon which is release into atmosphere as carbon dioxide when forests are cleared by burning.
Deforestation is contributing to more and more carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere more than that can be absorbed from existing carbon sinks such as forests. The present level of carbon dioxide in atmosphere is contributing a lot in global warming.
Level of carbon dioxide is increasing due to anthropogenic activities. Plants absorb carbon dioxide, but due to lack of forests level of carbon dioxide and this leads to climate change. Deforestation is a real harm for our environment, which leads to global warming.
To maintain the atmosphere of earth to overcome the climate change, we should slow down the rate of clearing of forest, because we can’t completely stop the cutting of plants as we use different parts of plant for many purposes such as in paper industry for making paper, in pharmaceutical industries and many more. But we can overcome this problem by more plantation to fulfil our day by day needs which requires to cut down the plants.
To conclude with, it can be said that deforestation is a major cause of climate change on earth. Notwithstanding it is not possible to completely stop deforestation, but it is necessary to overcome this problem plant more trees.
—The writer is occasionally contributes to the national press, based in Rawalpindi.
views expressed are writer’s own.
