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Water pollution talks about contamination of water bodies because of the harmful substances that get into them as a result of human activities.

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Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know

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Our rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and seas are drowning in chemicals, waste, plastic, and other pollutants. Here’s why―and what you can do to help.

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There are many causes of water pollution, some of there are:

Industrial waste

Marine Dumping

Oil leaks and Spills

Agriculture

Global Warming

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It is common knowledge that around two-thirds of the world is made up of water, which means that taking care of the Earth's water should be a priority for everyone around the globe. When harmful microorganisms and chemical substances contaminate bodies of water, they cause the water quality to decrease and potentially make it toxic. Water pollution can have negative effects on our health, the environment and the economy.

When discussing the issues that can arise due to water pollution, there are three major areas to consider:

Health: According to the United Nations, every year there are more deaths caused by polluted water than all types of violence combined, including war. Waste from humans and animals that contaminates water carries bacteria and viruses that cause the spread of diseases such as typhoid, cholera and giardia.

Environment: All the species in an ecosystem rely on each other in order to survive. Outside substances, such as pollutants found in wastewater, can disrupt the complicated relationships between species that an ecosystem needs in order to thrive.

Economy: Polluted water can have many negative effects on the economy. It directly impacts sectors such as commercial fishing, recreational businesses, tourism and even property values, all of which rely heavily on clean water. Polluted drinking water can also cause treatment costs to rise, which in turn makes the cost of drinking water rise as well.

But what are the causes of water pollution, and what can we do about them?

The Causes of Water Pollution

Water is one of the most important elements on Earth when it comes to sustaining life. Unfortunately, it is also extremely susceptible to pollution. This is largely because water is a universal solvent that can dissolve many substances. While this is a wonderful quality that we take advantage of for everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning and taking medication, it is also the exact quality that causes water to become polluted so easily.

There are many causes of water pollution. Below, we will focus on seven of the major ways that water can become polluted.

1. Industrial Waste

Industries and industrial sites across the world are a major contributor to water pollution. Many industrial sites produce waste in the form of toxic chemicals and pollutants, and though regulated, some still do not have proper waste management systems in place. In those rare cases, industrial waste is dumped into nearby freshwater systems. When industrial waste is not treated properly (or worse, not treated at all), it can very easily pollute the freshwater systems that it comes into contact with.

Industrial waste from agricultural sites, mines and manufacturing plants can make its way into rivers, streams and other bodies of water that lead directly to the sea. The toxic chemicals in the waste produced by these industries not only have the potential to make water unsafe for human consumption, they can also cause the temperature in freshwater systems to change, making them dangerous for many water dwelling organisms.

2. Marine Dumping

The process of marine dumping is exactly what it sounds like, dumping garbage into the waters of the ocean. It might seem crazy, but household garbage is still collected and dumped into oceans by many countries across the world. Most of these items can take anywhere from two to 200 years to decompose completely.

3. Sewage and Wastewater

Harmful chemicals, bacteria and pathogens can be found in sewage and wastewater even when it's been treated. Sewage and wastewater from each household is released into the sea with fresh water. The pathogens and bacteria found in that wastewater breed disease, and therefore are a cause of health-related issues in humans and animals alike.

4. Oil Leaks and Spills

The age-old phrase "like water and oil" is used when describing two things that do not mix easily or at all. Just as the saying states, water and oil do not mix, and oil does not dissolve in water. Large oil spills and oil leaks, while often accidental, are a major cause of water pollution. Leaks and spills often are caused by oil drilling operations in the ocean or ships that transport oil. wildlife.

5. Agriculture

In order to protect their crops from bacteria and insects, farmers often use chemicals and pesticides. When these substances seep into the groundwater, they can harm animals, plants and humans. Additionally, when it rains, the chemicals mix with rainwater, which then flows into rivers and streams that filter into the ocean, causing further water pollution.

6. Global Warming

Rising temperatures due to global warming are a major concern in terms of water pollution. Global warming causes water temperatures to rise, which can kill water-dwelling animals. When large die-offs occur, it further pollutes the water supply, exacerbating the issue.

There are many everyday ways you can help reduce global warming, which will in turn help lower water pollution. These methods include recycling, carpooling and using CFL bulbs in your home.

7. Radioactive Waste

Radioactive waste from facilities that create nuclear energy can be extremely hazardous to the environment and must be disposed of properly. This is because uranium, the element used in the creation of nuclear energy, is a highly toxic chemical.

Unfortunately, accidents still occur at these facilities, and toxic waste is released into the environment. The coal and gas industries are, in many ways, no better. This is one of the major impetuses behind the development of alternative, clean sources of energy, including solar and wind.

Combatting Water Pollution

Water pollution is a major issue across the world and is caused by many contributing factors. It can greatly disrupt entire ecosystems and be extremely harmful to our health and economy. Water is an extremely valuable resource, and proper water treatment policies and management are imperative in the fight to keep the world's water supply clean.

There are numerous ways that each of us can help reduce water pollution, and the Natural Resources Defense Council has outlined a few, including:

1. Don't flush trash. Being mindful not to flush non-degradable products, such as plastic, down your toilet is one small but great way to stop contributing to the problem and start becoming part of the solution.

2. Pick up after your pets. Waste from animals is full of bacteria, and if not disposed of properly, that bacteria can find its way into the water supply through storm drains and runoff. The recommended disposal method is to use a bag made from recycled plastic to throw it in the trash.

3. Maintain your car. Antifreeze, oil, coolant and other chemicals can leak out of your car if it's not properly cared for. Then, rainwater washes those chemicals into the groundwater supply. Regular maintenance can reduce the amount of pollutants emitted by your car, and it enhances the vehicle's performance as well.

These are just a few ways to start the process of combatting water pollution, and they are contained to the actions you carry out in your home. There are bigger issues that need to be addressed, though, and that's where leaders come in. Changes to policy and advances in science can help tackle the larger issues contributing to water pollution, such as marine dumping and offshore oil spills. Earning a water resources master's degree online will prepare you with an advanced understanding of the growing complexity of water issues impacting the state, nation and globe. East Central University's online M.S. Water Resource Policy and Management trains students for leadership roles that make water policy decisions that impact various communities. Our program integrates knowledge from multiple disciplines to address the complex challenges of water resource decisions and to develop solutions that are socially acceptable, politically and economically viable and environmentally sustainable. Because our program is fully online, you'll be able to earn your degree on a schedule that works for you.

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What are the Causes of Water Pollution? | ECU Online

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There are many causes of water pollution. This article focuses on seven of the major ways that water pollution can occur. Learn More.

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It's well known that water is one of the most important resources for life, so having a bad quality of it can cause a significant impact on human and animal health, like illness and disease or pathogens and infection like cholera, or getting to the point of agricultural runoff.

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7 Effects Of Water Pollution | Atlas Scientific

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The pollution of water has severe effects on the environment and human health. When water bodies like lakes, rivers, and oceans are contaminated, the natural balance of ecosystems is thrown off.

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Causes and effects of water pollution - Sustainability | ACCIONA

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Climate change refers to the last weather and temperature pattern changes that had been defining the Earth's global climates and its conditions.

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Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed effects that are synonymous with the term. Changes observed in Earth’s climate since the mid-20th century are driven by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, […]

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The increase of Greenhouse Gas concentration

Oil burning

Agriculture and livestock activities

The use of fertilisers

All these activities involve the increase the concentration of gases like CO2, Methane, Nitrus Oxide, etc.

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Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth's temperature.

This adds enormous amounts of greenhouse gases to those naturally occurring in the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and global warming.

Global warming

2011-2020 was the warmest decade recorded, with global average temperature reaching 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels in 2019. Human-induced global warming is presently increasing at a rate of 0.2°C per decade.

An increase of 2°C compared to the temperature in pre-industrial times is associated with serious negative impacts on to the natural environment and human health and wellbeing, including a much higher risk that dangerous and possibly catastrophic changes in the global environment will occur.

For this reason, the international community has recognised the need to keep warming well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.

Greenhouse gases

The main driver of climate change is the greenhouse effect. Some gases in the Earth's atmosphere act a bit like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping the sun's heat and stopping it from leaking back into space and causing global warming.

Many of these greenhouse gases occur naturally, but human activities are increasing the concentrations of some of them in the atmosphere, in particular:

CO ₂ produced by human activities is the largest contributor to global warming. By 2020, its concentration in the atmosphere had risen to 48% above its pre-industrial level (before 1750).

Other greenhouse gases are emitted by human activities in smaller quantities. Methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO ₂, but has a shorter atmospheric lifetime. Nitrous oxide, like CO ₂, is a long-lived greenhouse gas that accumulates in the atmosphere over decades to centuries. Non-greenhouse gas pollutants, including aerosols like soot, have different warming and cooling effects and are also associated with other issues such as poor air quality.

Natural causes, such as changes in solar radiation or volcanic activity are estimated to have contributed less than plus or minus 0.1°C to total warming between 1890 and 2010.

Causes for rising emissions

Burning coal, oil and gas produces carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.

Cutting down forests (deforestation). Trees help to regulate the climate by absorbing CO₂ from the atmosphere. When they are cut down, that beneficial effect is lost and the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere, adding to the greenhouse effect.

Increasing livestock farming. Cows and sheep produce large amounts of methane when they digest their food.

Fertilisers containing nitrogen produce nitrous oxide emissions.

Fluorinated gases are emitted from equipment and products that use these gases. Such emissions have a very strong warming effect, up to 23 000 times greater than CO₂.

Countering climate change

As every tonne of CO ₂ emitted contributes to global warming, all emissions reductions contribute to slowing it down. In order to stop global warming completely, CO ₂ emissions have to reach net zero worldwide. In addition, reducing emissions of other greenhouse gases, such as methane, can also have a powerful effect on slowing global warming - especially in the short term.

The consequences of climate change are extremely serious, and affect many aspects of our lives. Both countering climate change and adapting to a warming world are top priorities for the EU.We need climate action now. Find out about what the EU is doing to fight the climate crisis.

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Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth's temperature.

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Including Global Warming, climate change is the main factor for other environmental issues such as melting sea ice, floods, heavy rains and snow, sea level raising, wildfires,etc.

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Higher average temperatures

This change in global average temperature-seemingly small but consequential and climbing-means that, each summer, we are likely to experience increasingly sweltering heat waves. Even local news meteorologists are starting to connect strings of record-breaking days to new long-term trends, which are especially problematic in regions where infrastructure and housing have not been built with intensifying heat in mind. And heat waves aren't just uncomfortable-they're the leading cause of weather-related fatalities in the United States.

Longer-lasting droughts

Hotter temperatures increase the rate at which water evaporates from the air, leading to more severe and pervasive droughts. Already, climate change has pushed the American West into a severe "megadrought"-the driest 22-year stretch recorded in at least 1,200 years-shrinking drinking water supplies, withering crops, and making forests more susceptible to insect infestations. Drought can also create a positive feedback loop in which drier soil and less plant cover cause even faster evaporation.

More intense wildfires

This drier, hotter climate also creates conditions that fuel more vicious wildfire seasons-with fires that spread faster and burn longer-putting millions of additional lives and homes at risk. The number of large wildfires doubled between 1984 and 2015 in the western United States. And in California alone, the annual area burned by wildfires increased 500 percent between 1972 and 2018.

From the poles to the tropics, climate change is disrupting ecosystems. Even a seemingly slight shift in temperature can cause dramatic changes that ripple through food webs and the environment.

Melting sea ice

The effects of climate change are most apparent in the world's coldest regions-the poles. The Arctic is heating up twice as fast as anywhere else on earth, leading to the rapid melting of glaciers and polar ice sheets, where a massive amount of water is stored. As sea ice melts, darker ocean waters that absorb more sunlight become exposed, creating a positive feedback loop that speeds up the melting process. In just 15 years, the Arctic could be entirely ice-free in the summer.

Sea level rise

Scientists predict that melting sea ice and glaciers, as well as the fact that warmer water expands in volume, could cause sea levels to rise as much as 3.61 feet by the end of the century, should we fail to curb emissions. The extent (and pace) of this change would devastate low-lying regions, including island nations and densely populated coastal cities like New York City and Mumbai.

But sea level rise at far lower levels is still costly, dangerous, and disruptive. Scientists predict that the United States will see a foot of sea level rise by 2050, which will regularly damage infrastructure, like roads, sewage treatment plants, and even power plants. Beaches that families have grown up visiting may be gone by the end of the century. Sea level rise also harms the environment, as encroaching seawater can both erode coastal ecosystems and invade freshwater inland aquifers, which we rely on for agriculture and drinking water. Saltwater incursion is already reshaping life in nations like Bangladesh, where one-quarter of the lands lie less than 7 feet above sea level.

Flooding

In addition to coastal flooding caused by sea level rise, climate change influences the factors that result in inland and urban flooding: snowmelt and heavy rain. As global warming continues to both exacerbate sea level rise and extreme weather, our nation's floodplains are expected to grow by approximately 45 percent by 2100. In 2022, deadly flooding in Pakistan-which inundated as much as a third of the country-resulted from torrential rains mixed with melting glaciers and snow.

Warmer ocean waters and marine heat waves

Temperature-sensitive fish and other marine life are already changing migration patterns toward cooler and deeper waters to survive, sending food webs and important commercial fisheries into disarray. And the frequency of marine heat waves has increased by more than a third. These spikes have led to mass die-offs of plankton and marine mammals.

To make matters worse, the elevated absorption of carbon dioxide by the ocean leads to its gradual acidification, which alters the fundamental chemical makeup of the water and threatens marine life that has evolved to live in a narrow pH band. Animals like corals, oysters, and mussels will likely feel these effects first, as acidification disrupts the calcification process required to build their shells.

Ecosystem stressors

Land-based ecosystems-from old-growth forests to savannahs to tropical rainforests-are faring no better. Climate change is likely to increase outbreaks of pests, invasive species, and pathogen infections in forests. It's changing the kinds of vegetation that can thrive in a given region and disrupting the life cycles of wildlife, all of which is changing the composition of ecosystems and making them less resilient to stressors. While ecosystems have the capacity to adapt, many are reaching the hard limits of that natural capacity. More repercussions will follow as temperatures rise.

Climate change appears to be triggering a series of cascading ecological changes that we can neither fully predict nor, once they have enough momentum, fully stop. This ecosystem destabilization may be most apparent when it comes to keystone species that have an outsize- role in holding up an ecosystem's structure.

Less predictable growing seasons

In a warming world, farming crops is more unpredictable-and livestock, which are sensitive to extreme weather, become harder to raise. Climate change shifts precipitation patterns, causing unpredictable floods and longer-lasting droughts. More frequent and severe hurricanes can devastate an entire season's worth of crops. Meanwhile, the dynamics of pests, pathogens, and invasive species-all of which are costly for farmers to manage-are also expected to become harder to predict. This is bad news, given that most of the world's farms are small and family-run. One bad drought or flood could decimate an entire season's crop or herd. For example, in June 2022, a triple-digit heat wave in Kansas wiped out thousands of cows. While the regenerative agriculture movement is empowering rural communities to make their lands more resilient to climate change, unfortunately, not all communities can equitably access the support services that can help them embrace these more sustainable farming tactics.

Reduced soil health

Healthy soil has good moisture and mineral content and is teeming with bugs, bacteria, fungi, and microbes that in turn contribute to healthy crops. But climate change, particularly extreme heat and changes in precipitation, can degrade soil quality. These impacts are exacerbated in areas where industrial, chemical-dependent monoculture farming has made soil and crops less able to withstand environmental changes.

Food shortages

Ultimately, impacts to our agricultural systems pose a direct threat to the global food supply. And food shortages and price hikes driven by climate change will not affect everyone equally: Wealthier people will continue to have more options for accessing food, while potentially billions of others will be plummeted into food insecurity-adding to the billions that already have moderate or severe difficulty getting enough to eat.

Many species' behaviors-mating, feeding, migration-are closely tied to subtle seasonal shifts, as in temperature, precipitation level, and foliage. In some cases, changes to the environment are happening quicker than species are able to adapt. When the types and quantity of plant life change across a region, or when certain species bloom or hatch earlier or later than in the past, it impacts food and water supplies and reverberates up food chains.

Ultimately, the way climate change impacts weather, the environment, animals, and agriculture affects humanity as well. But there's more. Around the world, our ways of life-from how we get our food to the industries around which our economies are based-have all developed in the context of relatively stable climates. As global warming shakes this foundation, it promises to alter the very fabric of society. At worst, this could lead to widespread famine, disease, war, displacement, injury, and death. For many around the world, this grim forecast is already their reality. In this way, climate change poses an existential threat to all human life.

Human health

Insect-borne diseases like malaria and Zika become more prevalent in a warming world as their carriers are able to exist in more regions or thrive for longer seasons. In the past 30 years, the incidence of Lyme disease from ticks has nearly doubled in the United States. Thousands of people face injury, illness, and death every year from more frequent or more intense extreme weather events. At a 2-degree Celsius rise in global average temperature, an estimated one billion people will face heat stress risk. In the summer of 2022 alone, thousands died in record-shattering heat waves across Europe. Weeks later, dozens were killed by record-breaking urban flooding in the United States and Korea-and more than 1,500 people perished in the flooding in Pakistan, where resulting stagnant water and unsanitary conditions threaten even more.

The effects of climate change-and the looming threat of what's yet to come-take a significant toll on mental health too. One recent study ( the largest of its kind to date) surveyed 10,000 young people from 10 different countries. Forty-five percent of respondents said that their feelings about climate change, varying from anxiety to powerlessness to anger, impacted their daily lives.

Worsening inequity

The climate crisis exacerbates existing inequities. Though wealthy nations, such as the United States, have emitted the lion's share of historical greenhouse gas emissions, it's developing countries that may lack the resources to adapt and will now bear the brunt of the climate crisis. In some cases, low-lying island nations-like many in the Pacific -may cease to exist before developed economies make meaningful reductions to their carbon emissions.

Even within wealthier nations, disparities will continue to grow between those rich enough to shield themselves from the realities of climate change and those who cannot. Those with ample resources will not be displaced from their homes by wars over food or water-at least not right away. They will have homes with cool air during heat waves and be able to easily evacuate when a hurricane is headed their way. They will be able to buy increasingly expensive food and access treatment for respiratory illness caused by wildfire smoke. Billions of others can't-and are paying the highest price for climate pollution they did not produce.

Hurricane Katrina, for example, displaced more than one million people around the Gulf Coast. But in New Orleans, where redlining practices promoted racial and economic segregation, the city's more affluent areas tended to be located on higher ground-and those residents were able to return and rebuild much faster than others.

Displacement

Climate change will drive displacement due to impacts like food and water scarcities, sea level rise, and economic instability. It's already happening. The United Nations Global Compact on Refugees recognizes that "climate, environmental degradation and disasters increasingly interact with the drivers of refugee movements." Again, communities with the fewest resources-including those facing political instability and poverty-will feel the effects first and most devastatingly.

Economic impacts

Recovering from the destruction wrought by extreme weather like hurricanes, flash floods, and wildfires is also getting more expensive every year. In 2021, the price tag of weather disasters in the United States totaled $145 billion-the third-costliest year on record, including a number of billion-dollar weather events.

Future Effects of Climate Change

The first wave of impacts can already be felt in our communities and seen on the nightly news. In the near future, between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause an additional 250,000 deaths per year from things like malnutrition, insect-borne diseases, and heat stress. And the World Bank estimates that climate change could displace more than 140 million people within their home countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America by 2050.

But the degree to which the climate crisis upends our lives depends on whether global leaders decide to chart a different course. If we fail to curb greenhouse gas emissions, scientists predict a catastrophic 4.3 degrees Celsius, (or around 8 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming by the end of the century. What would a world that warm look like? Wars over water. Crowded hospitals to contend with spreading disease. Collapsed fisheries. Dead coral reefs. Even more lethal heat waves. These are just some of the impacts predicted by climate scientists.

Climate mitigation, or our ability to reverse climate change and undo its widespread effects, hinges on the successful enactment of policies that yield deep cuts to carbon pollution, end our dependence on dangerous fossil fuels and the deadly air pollution they generate, and prioritize the people and ecosystems on the frontlines. And these actions must be taken quickly in order to ensure a healthier present day and future. In one of its latest reports, the IPCC presented its most optimistic emissions scenario, in which the world only briefly surpasses 1.5 degrees of warming but sequestration measures cause it to dip back below by 2100. Climate adaptation, a term that refers to coping with climate impacts, is no longer optional; it's necessary, particularly for the world's most vulnerable populations.

By following the urgent warnings of the IPCC and limiting warming, we may be able to avoid passing some of the critical thresholds that, once crossed, can lead to potentially irreversible, catastrophic impacts for the planet, including more warming. These thresholds are known as climate tipping points and refer to when a natural system "tips" into an entirely different state. One example would be Arctic permafrost, which stores carbon like a freezer: As the permafrost melts from warming temperatures, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Importantly, climate action is not a binary pass-fail test. Every fraction of a degree of warming that we prevent will reduce human suffering and death, and keep more of the planet's natural systems intact. The good news is that a wide range of solutions exist to sharply reduce emissions, slow the pace of warming, and protect communities on the frontlines of climate impacts. Climate leaders the world over-those on major political stages as well as grassroots community activists-are offering up alternative models to systems that prioritize polluters over people. Many of these solutions are rooted in ancestral and Indigenous understandings of the natural world and have existed for millennia. Some solutions require major investments into clean, renewable energy and sustainable technologies. To be successful, climate solutions must also address intersecting crises-like poverty, racism, and gender inequality -that compound and drive the causes and impacts of the climate crisis. A combination of human ingenuity and immense political will can help us get there.

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A rapidly warming planet poses an existential threat to all life on earth. Just how bad it gets depends on how quickly we act.

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Causes and Effects of Climate Change | National Geographic

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Represents one of the biggest natural issues. The permanent removal of trees from a forest.

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Deforestation can include clearing the land for farming or livestock, or using the timber for fuel, construction or manufacturing.

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The biggest reasons for tree deforestation are space for agriculture and livestock. Even though is a human "need", deforestation comes as one of the principal causes of global warming, greenhouse gas emission, loss of biodiversity, etc.

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Forests are a critical global resource, covering around 30 percent of the planet or 4.06 billion hectares. Increasing rates of deforestation threaten this important resource but also much more - as forests are deeply intertwined with the impacts of climate change, biodiversity and the livelihoods of people who depend on these precious and powerful ecosystems.

What Is Deforestation?

Deforestation is the practice of intentionally cutting down trees to clear land for other uses. In the past 10,000 years, the world has lost 2 billion hectares - or one-third - of its forested land, and half of that has occurred since 1900. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that an average of 10 million hectares of forest are cut down each year, but some years are much worse than others. 2016 remains the worst year on record for deforestation at 29.7 million hectares, partly due to significant forest fires.

What Are the Effects of Deforestation?

The impacts of deforestation are felt throughout the environment and the natural cycles that regulate life on Earth, as well as in human communities and the animals that depend on forests for habitat.

What Are the Negative Effects of Deforestation on the Environment?

Soil Erosion and Desertification

Trees and natural vegetation help to hold soil in place. When they are removed, the nutrient-rich topsoil erodes, and is easily washed away in heavy rains or blown away by wind. Rough, sandy particles that can't retain water are left behind, making the land unsuitable for growing crops as it eventually turns into a desert. As forests also regulate the water cycle, clearing them leads to drier local climates, further adding to the risk of desertification.

Climate Change

Forests store huge amounts of carbon, which can be released into the atmosphere when they are cut down. Deforestation accounts for around 10 percent of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Tropical forests are under such severe assault that they have tipped from being a net sink to a net source for carbon emissions, now emitting more than they can store.

Floods

How Does Deforestation Affect Us?

Health

Deforestation negatively impacts public health in several ways. Fragmentation of wildlife habitat through forest clearing has increased the spillover of novel pathogens from wildlife to people. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the loss of forest also risks the loss of potential future medicinal resources. By contributing to and exacerbating the impacts of climate change, such as floods, deforestation increases the risk of death, particularly for people in parts of the world that are more vulnerable to extreme weather. When we lose forests, we also lose a source of more direct health benefits such as improved mental and physical well-being and cleaner air.

Food Insecurity

Forests provide food for millions of people and fuelwood for cooking for 2.4 billion, particularly in developing countries. By maintaining soil quality, regulating climate and providing habitats and food for a diverse range of species, forests are a critical component of food production beyond their bounds as well. All of these benefits are threatened by deforestation, which also adds to the pressure on global food supplies due to climate change.

Local People and Their Livelihoods

Communities who live in and near forests are deeply impacted by deforestation. According to the World Bank, rural households living near forests can derive as much as 22 percent of their income from forest resources including timber, food, fuel, fodder, construction materials and medicine. As these resources become more scarce due to tree clearing, communities from Cameroon to India are struggling to make ends meet. Deforestation can also lead to migration, social disruption and conflict.

Effects of Deforestation on Biodiversity

Habitat Loss

Forests are some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, providing homes to trees, plants, animals, insects, microorganisms and carbon-sequestering fungi. Deforestation fragments and degrades this habitat, reducing or destroying its capacity to support other species.

Wildlife Extinction

When their habitat is destroyed, many forest-dwelling species struggle to survive in the pockets of forest that are left. Smaller areas of habitat can only support smaller populations of a species, reducing their gene pool and leaving them more vulnerable to hunting, poaching and predators. As some species are unique to specific forest regions, they can easily become extinct when their habitat is destroyed.

Acidic Oceans

When carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves into the oceans, it lowers the pH of the water and causes acidification. Because forests are such important carbon sinks, another result of deforestation is that more carbon dioxide ends up in the oceans as less is absorbed by trees.

What Animals Are Affected By Deforestation?

Deforestation and unsustainable logging threaten more than 4,000 species. Forest-dependent animals that have gone extinct just this century include the Formosan clouded leopard of Taiwan, the cryptic treehunter bird of Brazil and the Mount Glorious torrent frog of Australia.

What Are the Causes of Deforestation?

Animal Agriculture

Forest Fires

Fires are a naturally occurring event in some forest ecosystems and controlled fires have also been used sustainably by Indigenous communities for centuries to clear small pockets of land for agriculture. But forest fires are becoming more frequent and ferocious, breaking out in new regions as humid forests dry out. The remaining fragmented forests are more prone to fires as climate change is making conditions drier and hotter, which in turn makes it easier for fires to start and grow out of control.

Illegal Logging

There is a multi-billion dollar industry based on illegally harvested timber and related products such as paper and packaging. Some illegal logging also occurs to replace natural forest with monoculture plantations.

Mining

Overpopulation

The human population already stands on the cusp of 8 billion and is projected to peak at 10.88 billion at the turn of the next century. If current unsustainable uses of land continue apace, including clearing forests for agriculture and exploitation of other resources, the growth in population will exert further pressure on forest ecosystems.

Palm Oil

Around 66 million tons of palm oil is produced every year for use in household products, food, animal feed and as fuel for power and vehicles. The amount of land used to grow oil palm has grown from 4 million hectares in 1980 to 19 million in 2018. Along with soy, the expansion of oil palm plantations is the second biggest cause of deforestation globally after animal agriculture - though it accounts for less than half the amount of deforestation caused by cattle ranching. Nonetheless, it has been a disaster for forest wildlife, threatening nearly 200 species on the IUCN's red list, including tigers and orangutans.

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Urbanization

It was once hoped that urbanization, the process by which a population moves to urban areas, would decrease pressure on forests by slowing down the clearing of land for agriculture. But instead, the key drivers of deforestation have shifted too, with more populous urban areas driving up demand for products like beef, as found in a study published in 2010 in Nature Geoscience and a more recent study published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research International in 2020.

Where Is Deforestation Happening?

Deforestation in South America

Deforestation in Southeast Asia

Indonesia is another deforestation hotspot, with rates comparable to South America. Palm oil and logging are the main causes of deforestation in Indonesia as well as Malaysia. More than half of the natural forest cover of Southeast Asia has been lost - a catastrophe for the region's wildlife.

Deforestation in Africa

Deforestation rates vary greatly between African countries. Agricultural expansion is a major driver, with cocoa playing a significant role, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Producing nearly 3 million tons of cocoa every year requires huge amounts of land. Protected areas and their wildlife have been ravaged by cocoa production in Côte d'Ivoire, and 10 percent of Ghana's forests were cleared for cocoa production between 2001 and 2014. Logging for timber and demand for charcoal as a cooking fuel are also big drivers of deforestation in different parts of the continent.

How Can We Stop Deforestation?

Consuming Less and More Consciously

There are several actions people can take as individuals to prevent further deforestation, including buying less and making more conscious choices about what to buy. For example, you could look for second hand wood products like furniture and recycled tissue and paper products, or reduce consumption of products containing palm oil.

Eating Less Meat

As animal agriculture is the biggest driver of deforestation, cutting down on or avoiding meat is another key action individuals can take. Even if the meat itself has not been imported from a country experiencing deforestation, feed for farmed animals including dairy cows, pigs and chickens is often sourced from deforested areas. A 2021 study published in Nature found that replacing half of global meat consumption with fungi-derived protein could prevent 82 percent of future deforestation.

Government Regulations

Governments must do more to end deforestation. At the 2021 UN Climate Summit, COP26, more than 100 world leaders committed to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030, offering up billions in funding to that end. But a similar pledge in 2014, the New York Declaration on Forests, was a failure.

Still, because corporate deforestation commitments are insufficient on their own, government regulations remain essential. For example, the European Union, as the second biggest importer of agricultural products resulting from deforestation, has proposed mandatory due diligence requirements on companies to improve reporting and transparency in their supply chains. Both producer and consumer countries of products linked to deforestation need to improve forest governance such as better auditing, licensing and certification programs.

Spread Awareness About Deforestation

Research show the simple act of talking about climate change is one of the most effective forms of climate action. This could include discussing the larger role forests play in planetary health or highlighting products that are most likely to have come from deforested areas.

Leave Fossil Fuels and Palm Oil Behind

Burning fossil fuels is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, generating more than forests can absorb. As long as humanity keeps burning fossil fuels, climate change will keep negatively impacting forests and contribute to forest loss through worsening wildfires. But what we replace fossil fuels with matters to deforestation too. Palm oil is already being used as a replacement, but its environmental and climate costs are significant. Reducing the need for fossil and biofuels through, for example, improved transportation infrastructure, and replacing the remainder with cleaner sources of energy and fuel is crucial.

Reforestation and Afforestation

Reforestation involves the restoration of an area that was recently deforested, while afforestation means establishing forests where there were none or have been none for a long time. Allowing forests to naturally regenerate is gaining recognition as a cost-effective reforestation strategy. Reforestation is occurring in countries from Russia to China - but the key challenge is whether these efforts can outpace the rate at which trees are lost. There are notable afforestation efforts underway around the world, including China, which has increased its forest cover by 22 percent since the late 1970s.

Further Action

In addition to reducing your own consumption of deforestation-linked products, you can support or campaign for policies that aim to reduce such consumption at a larger scale. Another key form of action - support Indigenous communities who are defending forests from being cleared by corporations by donating to relevant nonprofits or to legal defense funds for Indigenous activists.

Claire Hamlett

Claire is an Associate Editor at Sentient Media and a freelance writer focused on animals, climate and the environment.

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Forests are a critical global resource, covering around 30 percent of the planet or 4.06 billion hectares. Increasing rates of deforestation threaten this important resource but also much more - as forests are deeply intertwined with the impacts of climate change, biodiversity and the livelihoods of people who depend on these precious and powerful ecosystems. Deforestation is the practice of intentionally cutting down trees to clear land for other uses.

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Deforestation | Causes, Effects & Solutions | Video for Kids

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Biodiversity loss means the disappearance or the risk of disappearance of biological diversity. It is mostly cause because of human activities, like deforestation, hunt, climate change, destruction of habitat, overexploitation of natural sources, etc.

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Biodiversity loss, a risk for the environment and for humanity

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The planet’s biodiversity is under threat and the main culprit is the one who, paradoxically, depend on it most: human being. Slowing down biodiversity loss, understood as the reduction or disappearance of the variety of living beings that inhabit the planet, is one of humanity’s great challenges. Below, we review the causes, consequences and possible solutions.

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Loosing biodiversity can have many bad consequences for all the environment, including humans:

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