Impact of Deforestation
                     Click to edit Master title styleIMPACT OF 
DEFORESTATION
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CWlhicakt  tIos Deedfito rMeassttaetiro tnit?le style
• Deforestation is the clearing, destroying, or otherwise removal of trees through deliberate, natural, or 
accidental means. It can occur in any area densely populated by trees and other plant life, but the 
majority of it is currently happening in the Amazon rainforest.
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Source: www.pachamama.org
CLoliscsk  otfo H eadbitit Mataster title style
• One of the most dangerous and unsettling effects of deforestation is the loss of animal and plant 
species due to their loss of habitat. 70% of land animals and plant species live in forests. 
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Source: www.pachamama.org
CInlcicrke atsoe edd Gitr eMeanshteoru tsietl eG assteysle
• In addition to the loss of habitat, the lack of trees also allows a greater amount of greenhouse gases 
to be released into the atmosphere. Healthy forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, 
acting as valuable carbon sinks. Deforested areas lose that ability and release more carbon.
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Source: www.pachamama.org
WClaictke rt oin e tdhite  MAatmsteors pthitelere style
• The trees also help control the level of water in the atmosphere by helping to regulate the water 
cycle. In deforested areas, there is less water in the air to be returned to the soil. This then causes 
dryer soil and the inability to grow crops.
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Source: www.pachamama.org
CSoliicl kE rto seiodnit  aMnads tFelor otditilneg style
• Further effects of deforestation include soil erosion and coastal flooding. Trees help the land to retain 
water and topsoil, which provides the rich nutrients to sustain additional forest life.
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Source: www.pachamama.org
DCleicstkr utoc teiodnit  oMf aHsotemr etliatlned style
• As large amounts of forests are cleared away, allowing exposed earth to whither and die and the 
habitats of innumerable species to be destroyed, the indigenous communities who live there and 
depend on the forest to sustain their way of life are also under threat.
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Source: www.pachamama.org
Local and regional consequences 
Colifc dk etfoo reedsitta Mtiaosnter title style
• The local level is where deforestation has the most immediate effect. With forest loss, the local 
community loses the system that performed valuable but often under-appreciated services like 
ensuring the regular flow of clean water and protecting the community from flood and drought. 
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Source: rainforests.mongabay.com
Environmental Refugees
Click to edit Master title style
• Environmental deterioration can leave people as "environmental refugees"—people who are 
displaced due to environmental degradation, including deforestation, sea-level rise, expanding 
deserts, and catastrophic weather events. Red Cross research shows more people are now displaced 
by environmental disasters than by war.
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Source: rainforests.mongabay.com
ClINicCkR tEoA eSdEi tO MFa TsRteOrP tIiCtAleL s DtyISleEASES
• Many emergent and resurgent diseases are directly linked to land alterations which bring humans in 
closer contact with such pathogens. For example, malaria and snailborne schistosomiasis have 
escalated because of the proliferation of artificial pools of water like dams, rice paddies, drainage 
ditches, irrigation canals, and puddles created by tractor treads. 
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Source: rainforests.mongabay.com
ClDiceks ttrou cetdioitn M oafs Rtern teiwtlea bsltey lReesources
• Deforestation can rob a country of potential renewable revenues while replacing valuable productive 
lands with virtually useless scrub and grassland. Tropical forests provide important renewable 
resources that can significantly contribute to national economic growth on a continuing basis.
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Source: rainforests.mongabay.com