Deforestation is removing trees from an area of established forest or woodland.
Most deforestation occurs in the Earth’s tropical rainforests where high-value hardwood trees are felled for the timber to be sold. Trees are also cut down for use as fuel or building material by the indigenous people. Once cleared the land is used for grazing or for growing food crops. Unfortunately, it is vulnerable to soil erosion and can eventually become wasteland. Widespread deforestation has caused alarm among environmentalists because of the contributory effect it is having to global warming.
The continuing clearance of huge areas of the Amazon rainforest is of concern to the Norwegian government, which has issued a warning to the Brazilian government that if deforestation of the forest is not reversed it will completely withdraw financial assistance to the country. Since 2008 Norway has given over a billion dollars to Brazil, the payments being linked to a promised reduction in deforestation of the rainforest. Representatives of the two countries are meeting in Oslo today (23/6/17) to discuss how best to protect the Amazon rainforest, the preservation of which is vital to the whole world.
deforestation
the process of removing the trees from an area of land
