How Can We Conserve Our Forests?

Deforestation is a major issue when it comes to discussions about the environment and we all know how valuable trees are for life on planet Earth. We look at how forests are being threatened and how we can conserve them.

What is causing deforestation?

Deforestation, forest fires and the effects of climate change are causing the destruction of vast amounts of forests.

Some forest fires are actually important. According to the WWF, “Even before human involvement, natural, low-intensity wildfires occurred every few years to burn up fuel, plant debris, and dead trees, making way for young, healthy trees and vegetation to thrive. That new growth in turn supports forest wildlife.

“Forest managers are now replicating this natural strategy when appropriate, starting manageable, slow-burning fires to make room for new life that will help keep the forest healthy in the long term.”

However, wildfires can also become out of control, such as with the Australian forest fires at the beginning of 2020, which has devastating consequences for the forests and the wildlife that inhabited them.

Moreover, recently a global study found that more fierce and frequent fires are reducing forest density and tree size and may damage forests’ ability to capture carbon in the future.

Many areas of forest are also being lost as a result of land clearing. This is most frequently done for large-scale agricultural purposes, although it sometimes occurs illegally as a way for criminals to make money. In fact, in a previous blog, we explored how parts of the Amazon rainforest were being sold illegally on Facebook marketplace.

Can forests continue to survive?

Experts say that climate change is changing conditions so much that some areas are becoming unsuitable for trees, and deforestation is happening at such a fast rate that we cannot plant enough trees to mitigate the damage caused.

In some areas, trees are not regrowing after being cleared or destroyed and it is believed this is due to the fact that the climate has grown too hot or dry to support them.

There are also increasing worries that if forests continue to die out, they will switch from absorbing carbon to emitting it, because the dead trees will release their carbon back into the atmosphere.

How can we conserve the forests?

Tree planting, or reforestation in the case of forests, is one important solution but it needs to be done in the right way. For example, there was recently some controversy in the UK because The Forestry Commission, the government agency that must deliver the new trees, was accused of spending taxpayers’ money on non-native plantations, some of which damage peatlands and imperil rare species and habitats.

This incident shows the importance of planting the right trees in the right ways and the best way to support tree planting and reforestation efforts is to back experts in their work.

Eden Reforestation Projects, for example, are commitments to replanting native tree species in locations where they have been destroyed. They also believe that their projects must have a benefit for locals to be truly sustainable and have the most positive impact.

They state, “It is essential to be committed to and work alongside local villages and communities to achieve a successful and longstanding reforestation effort. Eden Reforestation Projects utilizes its Employ to Plant methodology to benefit members in the local communities where we plant. Through steady employment, people living in extreme poverty can begin to afford daily necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, and medicine.”

However, as well as reforestation efforts, it is also imperative that we protect the forests we have left by tackling climate change and deforestation practices. We must continue to demand climate action from the world’s leaders so that our forests are not destroyed forever.

Another important initiative to help conserve our forests is the Trillion Trees project – a joint venture by WWF, BirdLife International and the Wildlife Conservation Society, three of the world’s largest conservations. Their vision is for a trillion trees to be restored, saved from loss, and better protected around the world, by 2050.

According to their own statement, they do this by:

• Implementing work on the ground to protect and restore forests,
• Influencing global policy and private sector practices, and
• Inspiring us all to value, protect and restore forests.

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