Mohd Imtiaz Mughal
There are about 320,000 species of plants of which the great majority is of seed plants. These seed plants grow into trees and there are approximately 3,041 trillion trees in the world. And regarding their habitat they are distributed worldwide. Russia has the largest no of trees followed by Canada , Brazil, USA , China Australia , democratic republic of Congo, Argentina , Indonesia and India.
And the role of trees especially of tropical rain forests account for restoring biodiversity through forest restoration in both low and high income countries and in all climatic zones, and the communities that live within forests rely the most directly on forest biodiversity for their lives and livelihoods, using products derived from forest resources for food, fodder, shelter energy medicine and income generation . 86 million forests provide more than 86 million green jobs and support the livelihoods of many more. An estimated 880 million people spend part of their time collecting fuel wood for producing charcoal. Of these people 90 percent living in extreme poverty, other 90 percent are dependent on forests for at least part of their livelihoods.
But unfortunately since 1990, 420 million ha of forests have been lost as a result of human activity including land clearing for agriculture and logging. As of 2020 forests cover accounts for about 31 percent of worlds total land area. However we are losing thousands of ha more land with every passing day. Another interesting fact to note down about the human vandalism regarding the deforestation is that we have beeen chopping down 5 million HA of trees every year to make space grow for crops and livestock and to produce materials such as paper . This accounts for about 16 percent of total loss cover . 95 deforestation takes place on tropical forests.
One major contributor for deforestation is the beef production which is responsible for 41 percent of global deforestation and according to a study by USDA 2020 Brazil is the largest producer of beef followed by Australia, USA and India. Now let’s contemplate how come beef industry is responsible for the deforestation. The farming industry needs to clear substantial pasture lands for cattle and livestock to keep up with the global demand of beef. Apart from this Soy which is also used as animal feed is responsible for about 12 percent of the deforestation. However environmentalist and health care professionals across the globe promote plant based diet to mitigate deforestation issues.
Beside, it is amazing to note that mouth watering munching snacks chocolate and biscuits are also major contributors to deforestation. According to 2020 report from the UNs food and Agriculture organization , agricultural expansion is the main driver of deforestation and you know for large scale commercial cocoa production accelerates cocoa farming only thereby leading to cut down other tree species in that very region . For the felicitation of human activities say for example for production of furniture to paper industry
Then palm oil industry is also responsible for a significant deforestation and to keep up with the demand, forest land equivalent to 300 football fields are being cleared every hour to make room for palm plantations destroying habitats of critically endangered species of orangaton and tiger. So all these commercial gimmicks by the industrialists, farmers and others are actually converting forests into monoculture plantations i.e., planting only single species across the land. That is not only a threat to the biodiversity of the ecosystem but also increases risk of soil erosion and reducing soil fertility
Additionally, the forest loss has contributed nearly 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide into atmosphere each year which equals to 10 percent of annual human emission. Loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion , fewer crops, flooding , increased green house gases in the atmosphere and a host of problems for the indigenous people also . For them losing land can mean losing life.
So these were some deforestation facts that are causing global warming, climate change, fires, floods, droughts etc but let’s remind ourselves of the scenario of our biodiversity rich Jammu and Kashmir . But before that let me tell you all that in Japan if a tree is in a way of road building , the Japanese people bind the roots of the trees and move it. But here in Jammu and Kashmir the forests have suffered much damage in the recent decades due to increase in construction , armed conflict and political turmoil. I believe the root cause of all problems is ignorance and lack of awareness. We do whatever wrong we do because we do not know the consequences of our actions.We also do not take up the issue with our governments because we don’t know how serious this is.
So, the least that talking about these issues on certain days does is help us know what is going on around us. It creates noise and gives rise to debates and discussions in our society and puts pressure on the authorities to take notice, regulate and legislate also. Let us take a pledge, that we will educate not only ourselves but our peers also, our colleagues ,our near and dear ones till we see some outcomes. Why only some outcomes,let us go a step further. Let us do it till it becomes a movement. A movement which forces the governments of the world to act to protect the environment and our future generations.
This is a very relevant and important issue today.
Some steps :
Let each one of us pledge to plant 3 trees for every 1 that is cut down for the forest industry. By planting trees we can combat global warming as you all know that trees absorb carbon dioxide.
Also we can reduce run off water from the hills . Trees roots prevent landslides and rock slides that sometimes can harm animals, people or damage buildings. It would not be out of place to mention that the construction of one of the historical Mughal roads that connects the rural Pir Panjal region with the beautiful Kashmir division has led to a great deal of irreparable biodiversity loss . Albeit road connectivity was a must for the rural areas of Pir Panjal region but this ill planned development has caused environmental degradation also. If we the botanist and our science students of all the institutions of Jammu and Kashmir divisions join hands to slowly and gradually help improve the species lost due to construction activities, I think we can make a considerable difference.
Let’s also educate ourselves when we visit our local tourist spots especially Pir Ki Gali , Wullar lake, Dal lake and other such places of immense scenic beauty, apart from the scenic beauty there let’s enjoy the local cuisine there. Let’s not buy chips and other junk food and let’s not dump garbage consisting of non biodegradable plastic there. Honestly speaking, when I come across such dumps in nature’s cool calm and serene environment, and there is nothing more glamorous than nature I feel sad.
(The author is a Teacher Govt. HS SANAI Surankote, in Poonch)
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