Deforestation in Amazon rainforests

Why is deforestation in Amazon rainforests such a serious problem?

Introduction:

Nowadays forest extinction had become a crucial topic which worries most scientists. As the
consequences of this problem are too dangerous for the society, these worries have been
recognized by a lot of researchers and people all around the world. Deforestation is a process of
destroying trees to free the land for human uses. According to the latest statistics given by United
Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N. FAO, 2005), each year the world loses 7.3
hectares of the forests which are approximately similar to the size of Panama. Therefore, it is
necessary to start taking actions as it is being one of the most significant issues for today.

The problem of cutting down the trees is important in Kazakhstan too. Due to the report
(U.N.FAO, 2010, p.229), within 20 years there was a change in forest cover for about 3.3% in
our country. That is why most communities are trying to tackle this problem as soon as possible.

The relevance of this issue is given by a comparative analysis of World Wildlife Fund. The
organization states that there is a loss of about 36 football fields which contain trees per minute
(2009). If this number remains constant, then, as a result, the Earth will become a planet without
its “lungs” which usually balance the composition of an air.

As for the factors that motivated me to choose this topic, I was influenced by the video shot by
BBC News. It was related to the shocking consequences of such a human activity. Moreover, it
is known that the lives of the whole future generation depend on what people do today and that is
why it is necessary to explain the society how important the issue is. In addition to this, I can
provide myself with a great experience that will help me to build a successful career. My future
work will be connected to volunteering in environmental organizations which focus on dealing
with such problems. Therefore, I strongly believe that the results of this project can be used to
improve the work done by these communities.

Aims:

The purpose of the research question is determining the reasons of deforestation in Amazon
rainforests and to help the society to understand the significance of this problem all around the
world.

The questions which this research will guide are:

  What do people know about the process of deforestation in Amazon rainforests?
 What consequences does the forest extinction have?
 How can the problem in Amazon affect the situation in Kazakhstan?
 What should environmental organizations do to prevent unpleasant outcomes?

Aforementioned questions will allow me to identify the ways of warning local people about the
issue that is essential in another part of the world. Therefore, I am going to use the results in
order to call Kazakhstani people to support others in protecting natural resources.

Methods

This research project included different types of methods. Therefore, it was decided to use mixed
design as it involves both quantitative and qualitative research methods. It gives an opportunity
to understand the awareness and opinions of local people about the deforestation in Amazon and
to get acquainted with the specialists’ perspectives on the issue.

As the data collection methods, literature review, as well as interviews and survey, were used. At
first, secondary research was conducted to gather relevant data on the issue from various credible
sources. The sources enabled to get general information about the rate of forest extinction in
Amazon and evaluate the problem’s significance in the world. For instance, the data which was
calculated by FAO helped to provide relevant and useful arguments relating to deforestation
levels.

The information about public opinion in Kazakhstan to Amazon’s forest extinction was
constructed with the help of two primary research methods.

The first instrument used in the study was a survey. It enabled to gain quantitative data about the
extent to which people are aware of deforestation problem and its consequences.

To gather more detailed information about the importance of the problem, structured interviews
were used. To be more exact, the interview asked about interviewee’s personal opinions about
the deforestation process and also suggestions to tackle the problem.

Both methods provided answers for aims questions, as there were some which were involved in
surveying or an interview.
As for the target population, the survey was conducted among people of different ages, because
it helped to summarize the ideas of many people so that alternative solutions for this problem
could be found. What is more, as people are from different ages, it was easy to get an access to
them, because everyone had an opportunity to become a participant of a survey.

The target population size was 1.7 million because the purpose was to investigate public opinion.
Recommended sample size for this survey was 385, so the responses of exactly 385 people could
be generalizable to all citizens of Kazakhstan. To make the sample representative, 5 schools of
Aktobe were chosen including teachers, workers, and students. It was enough as the survey
participants had different ages and it enabled to calculate the approximate rate for awareness of
locals and to have a margin of error with likelihood 5%.

The first section was designed to gain information about a respondent. The questions about
possible variants of solutions to this issue and questions concerning to problem, in general, were
provided as well. The survey lasted for 2-3 minutes for each individual and it was sent them via
e-mail. Some, mostly adults, took a paper form of the survey. Finally, the results were rewritten
to the diagrams.

As for the interview, two specialists, who had a deal with such environmental problems, were
chosen, because they had background knowledge on this topic and likewise, it was easy to get
their permission, as they worked as teachers of Biology and Chemistry in one of the local
schools. One teacher was from Columbia which is located near Amazon. Each interview lasted
for 3-5 minutes. They were asked structured questions, so it helped to gather more accurate
answers. Also, they were given an informed consent form asking for an agreement to take part in
the research with an explanation of mentioned procedure.

There were some limitations during the primary research. Space where respondents were allowed
to express their own opinion, were filled with several irrelevant answers. Particularly, sixth,
seventh and the eighth questions had an answer like “maybe”, “-“ or “no” which were not
suitable.

Context

Deforestation is the process of destroying large areas of tropical rainforests (Cambridge

Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus, n.d.). An increase in the rate of forest extinction
in the Amazon is one of the most important issues for today, as it is considered to be one of the
largest rainforests all over the world. According to a recent research, near 9,000 square
kilometers of Amazon was deforested from 2008 to 2012 without identification by the official
monitoring system of the government. This number is almost the same as the area of Puerto
Rico (Stacey, 2016). Likewise, approximately 30 million people who include 350 indigenous
and ethnic groups, live in the Amazon, such way depending on natural food, traditional
medicines, and shelter (World Wildlife Fund, n.d.). It is obvious that deforestation is a really
essential problem which needs serious and effective solutions, that is why it demands
responsibility from the side of each individual living in this world and caring about the future
of the Earth.

Amazon’s problem influences Kazakhstan too. “Fewer forests means larger amounts of
greenhouse gasses entering the atmosphere—and increased speed and severity of global
warming” (Scott-Lynch,2015, para 5).Also according to the article written by Matthews
(2006), 30 percent of greenhouse gasses, which is approximately 1.6 billion tons, are released
because of cut trees. It means that as a result of deforestation, there appears a problem of
climate change which affects lots of countries including Kazakhstan.

This problem and especially its causes are described by different perspectives. As it is
considered, the main reason for forest extinction is to free the space for new roads or houses
which make the land available for urbanization. It is a governmental perspective because as a
result, the population of the city grows. For instance, in Brazil, cities located near the
rainforests are assumed to be the fastest growing ones. “The latest census indicates that 10 of
19 Brazilian cities that have doubled in population over the last decade are in the Amazon, and
the region's population grew by 23 percent compared to the country's overall 12
percent”(Romero, The New York Times,2012,p.A6).

The other factor for deforestation is represented as an economical benefit. It is well known that
most trees are used to produce paper or wood products. However, the developing of agriculture
sphere and mainly the growth of the beef industry is also considered to be the biggest cause for
it with indexes of 70 percent of all clear-cutting in the Amazon from 2000 to 2005(Sarma,
2014).The research conducted by The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
shows that 24 to 25 million hectares of the land were used in a production of soy which is
consumed by animals as a result. Also, due to Butler (2016), three-quarters of deforested land
were used for cattle ranching in the 2000s. Therefore, growing crops and a ranch is closely
related to the process of deforestation.
The significance of this issue is proved with the help of its consequences because the effects of
forest extinction are really threatening. According to scientists, approximately 5-18% of
Amazon mammal species will be extinct by 2020 (Dickins, 2013, para 4). That is why, by
destroying local rainforests, people will affect the whole ecosystem.

This is the same for water cycle in the atmosphere. As it is known, trees play an essential role
in controlling the level of water in the air. If people simply cut down the forests, there will be
less water in the air which as a result will affect the soil. Because of the lack of water, the soil
might become drier and influence the growth of crops.

A lot of actions are being taken today to prevent the consequences of destroying the trees.
According to Petterson(n.d.), most environmental and governmental organizations suggest
activities such as sustainable forestry (replanting the trees), stewardship (monitoring of logging
activities) and erosion control (reducing depleted lands). Nevertheless, it is obvious that
without people’s desire to start taking even some little actions themselves, the problem of
deforestation cannot be entirely solved.

Jenn Savedge (2009) argues that it is important for each individual to realize the relevance of
this topic and take responsibilities to improve the situation. As a solution, the author offers
some good activities which can be done by a human being:

• Using less paper

• Consuming vegetarian food

• Recycling and purchasing some recycled products

• Planting a tree

However, nowadays not all people are aware of that they can participate in aforementioned
actions. Therefore, this research will explore this topic in different ways and look at the
possible methods of warning the society about activities that can be done by them.

Results

The research which was conducted on the Internet was very useful as it helped to evaluate the
problem’s relevance. The main findings have already been described in the Context section.
To summarize, the level of deforestation in Amazon is increasing dramatically in recent years
and it is caused by different factors. However, the main issue is that, consequently, this process
can affect not only nearby countries but the whole world in general.
The results of an obtained survey were valuable and analysis of the data was illustrated in
Appendix. The main findings of the survey can be summarized as:
• The data from Question 2 demonstrated the rate of awareness of local people about
deforestation and according to the results, only 261 out of 385 respondents knew about
mentioned problem.
• The answers to the Question 4 showed that 50.3% of people think that Amazon’s issue
cannot affect Kazakhstan and other 49.7 % stated that it can influence because of consequences
of deforestation.
• If we will talk about the biggest driver of cutting down the trees, most respondents (26%)
answered that it is happening because of freeing the land for buildings or roads. 24% think that
the main reason is the existence of factories which produce paper or wooden products. 54
people chose the agriculture development as the biggest driver and illegal logging was ticked
by 93 respondents out of 385.Others offered own variants such as industry and construction.
• The next question describes the data about possible solutions for preventing unpleasant
repercussions. The biggest number is 23% which stands for “recycling” option. 15 % of
participants agreed to use less paper in order to save forests and 5% suggested their own advice
which includes stopping corruption or completely banning the logging.

The interviews, taken from 2 specialists, were important, too. Because both interviewees were
able to provide answers with real life examples and share their knowledge and experience.
To sum up, respondents’ answers differ from each other, but the idea is the same. There are my
findings:
• The answers for the first questions demonstrated the significance of forests in people’s
lives and proved the awareness of both specialists about the issue of forest destruction.
According to Miss C., there was a threatening situation related to deforestation in Columbia
that killed almost 250 people, so she states that people do not realize how important the trees
are.
• As for the third question’s responses, the information obtained from both interviews are
almost the same. Miss J. relates the changes in the deforestation rate with the cattle-ranching
and selling it, while Miss C. told about making medicine and exporting it. To summarize, the
main reason for forest cutting is money.
 • The answers for Question 6 described how Kazakhstani people can protect forests.
According to specialists, admitting the fact that Amazon rainforests can influence the whole
world will help to call people to plant or to protest against cutting.

Finally, answers for both interviews and survey were essential, as they consisted of some
questions which were mentioned in the aims. Comparing the data obtained by these primary
research methods, it can be said that developing own business or selling the natural resources is
closely connected with the reasons for promoting deforestation.
Likewise, it was determined that the society is generally aware of the forest destruction in
Amazon. However, the problem is most people still do not realize the relevance and seriousness
of repercussions of this issue.

Conclusion

Responding to research questions, it is possible to make these conclusions:

What do people know about the process of deforestation in Amazon rainforests?

People are informed about the issue and know that deforestation has more disadvantages rather
than advantages. To be more exact, about 76.3% of the population thinks that it influences the
environment negatively. However, it may seem that the oldest generation was not fully involved
in a research as there were only 13% of representatives of “41 or more”. Therefore, it is difficult
to generalize the whole Kazakhstan’s population.

What consequences does the forest extinction have?

According to the individual responses, the forest extinction strongly affects the species, because
cutting the trees is devastating for their habitats. The change in the rate of oxygen in the
atmosphere, as well as the soil erosion, was mentioned too.

How can the problem in Amazon affect the situation in Kazakhstan?

As the deforestation is the biggest reason for global warming, this causes the climate change in
the territory of Kazakhstan. The percentage of hazardous gasses in atmosphere increases and it
affects the level of the sea. As a result, different disasters or completely different ways of
behaving of the weather happen.

What should environmental organizations do to prevent unpleasant outcomes?

The main forms of action that respondents are willing to take include:

 Recycling
 Organizing more protests
 Planting
 Stopping corruption
 Going paperless

To conclude the results of this research, forest destruction has a wide range of consequences that
occur because of anthropogenic factors. Even realizing the fact that continuing cutting the trees
will damage the planet, a level of deforestation is not decreasing. That is why it is important to
raise awareness of locals. There is an example of planting trees on Saturday mornings twice or
three times per year near few buildings. This idea should be developed and promoted so that
individuals will understand their responsibility. However, it is also needed to show people how
dangerous the consequences of this issue are, thus calling them to fight with illegal loggers. In
this case, the perspectives of older people are thoroughly significant, so at least, more research
should be done.

The research also shows that locals are ready to take actions in order to prevent the repercussions
of deforestation. The main barriers to implementing the individual activities are considered to be
the lack of time and money.

Evaluation

In general, the results of the research were clearly explained and described. The brief
explanations of the answers for the research questions have been provided as well.

The research strengths are that there were used credible sources of data. For instance, the United
Nations and World Wildlife Fund can be accepted as reliable organizations as they have an
ability to witness the situation and provide people with accurate, up-to-date statistics. However,
other sources such as individual writers who work for newspapers may have been biased due to
their personal attitudes to this issue. Therefore, it was decided to include more relevant
information given by neutral sources.

According to the conducted primary research, it is possible to make some clear conclusions.
They were based on interviews with two specialists and perspectives of 385 people who
represent the population of Kazakhstan. However, conclusions are generalizable only for those
who are under 41, because the number of older people who had taken a survey was
comparatively small.

As for my personal point of view, it has not changed much as the answers given in both
interviews and questionnaire were similar to my perspectives. The only thing that was altered is
the fact that corruption may cause deforestation and in this case, to find a solution for this
problem can be rather difficult.

Despite that there were some weaknesses, overall, it can be said that answers obtained with the
help of primary research methods were useful. Furthermore, these results increased the
confidence of reliability of the data described in the context part and gave an opportunity to
answer the aims questions. Nevertheless, it would be more generalizable if the target population
of the research had been decreased to the size of one city’s population so that we can include
more people of different ages and especially the old ones. Thus, more opinions can be found and
analyzed.

Further Research

The variety of drawbacks suggests different questions which need a further study.

Firstly, more research should be conducted on the perspectives of older people. An aging
population’s role in determining the society’s attitude to deforestation is extremely important.
Group discussions with aging people can be included, thus understanding their opinion and
evaluate the rate of their awareness. Encouraging them to take action will be the best example for
youth people so that they will try to follow elders.

The second case is the involvement of more qualified people. Surely, interviews taken from two
teachers gave an opportunity to be clearly informed about the current issue. However, a few
more respondents who work in the environmental area should be interviewed in order to
determine the significance of the deforestation problem in Kazakhstan.

As financial situation affects the actions of the society, it is necessary to make a research on how
to reduce the costs of organizing some activities. The study must focus on the help from the side
of small businessmen or governmental organizations.

Primary methods should include focus groups because there will be more discussions which will
be analyzed as a result and lead to different types of solutions. Consequently, the process of
generalizing information can be done quickly and easily.
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