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Deforestation is a pressing environmental problem. Environmental disasters: deforestation Environmental problems deforestation what are the solutions

Unfortunately for very a large number people, the forest is just a source of timber. We can only change this situation by providing information about the importance of the forest and the consequences of its destruction. Forests provide economic benefits and at the same time provide basic human needs. Underdevelopment in some regions has led to misuse forest resources. Population growth has increased the demand for new land for farming. Agriculture, for settlements and structures, which affected the state of forests.

Earth Summit

In 1992, the United Nations organized the Earth Summit, which global community warned of the dangers of deforestation. As a result, governments around the world began to make efforts to prevent a catastrophe by carrying out activities to ensure the conservation and sustainable development forests. The Intergovernmental Commission on Forests was organized at the Earth Summit to oversee the implementation of the Forest Policy program. All countries should take part in greening the world by planting trees. Forestry must be managed in such a way that it satisfies the social, economic, environmental, cultural and spiritual needs of present and future generations.

International financial assistance developing countries so they can protect their forest resources. Forest conservation policies should support the identity, culture and rights of indigenous peoples through the implementation of sustainable forest management programs that take into account guidelines for environmental protection. Such programs should be developed by national governments, non-governmental organizations, and private enterprises in cooperation with all stakeholders.

Forest Functions

Environmental:

The forest serves as a habitat for most animals and natural environment for plants.
The forest creates and preserves the soil for agriculture.
The forest is involved in the formation of climatic conditions.
The forest regulates the water cycle and ensures a constant supply of water.

Economic:

The forest is the source of timber.
The forest creates conditions for agriculture.
The forest is a source of components for the production of medicines / medicines.
The forest is involved in the development of ecotourism.
The forest gives work to foresters, scientists, and other categories of workers.
Despite all these important features, forests are becoming scarce as a result of highway and dam construction, mining, industrial deforestation, settlement building, forest fires, pollution and agriculture.

Consequences of deforestation:

Droughts, floods, soil erosion and land desertification.
Climate change causing global warming.
The disappearance of certain plant and animal species (reduction biodiversity).
Hunger and poverty.
Job loss.
Conflicts over fertile land.
What can be done to save the forest?

You can cut down on paper and wood consumption. Use paper made from recycled paper or non-wood materials. Choose paper that has not been made using chlorine. Always write to reverse side sheet when possible.

Manage your business responsibly. Business owners need to know that they are accountable to the public for actions that cause harm environment. If you think that the company's actions are malicious, send a letter to this company expressing your concern.

Practice reuse or processing. Now almost everything can be recycled. Take hangers back to the dry cleaners and use carton milk bags as seedling pots.

Choose products with minimal packaging. Do you really need separate juice packs when you can use a thermos instead? Almost 50% of the garbage is packaging.

Plant trees. The UN has launched a tree planting campaign. Contact your school or club to join the campaign and get involved in tree planting.

Spread the word. How more people learn about the death of wet rainforest, the more actively they will fight to stop this process.

Interesting facts about forests

Every second, a part of the tropical rainforest, an area equal to a football field, disappears. The woods Central Africa are the natural habitat for more than 8,000 various kinds plants. Over 5,000 different things are made from wood, such as houses, furniture, pencils, kitchen utensils, fences, books, newspapers, movie tickets, toothpaste, and even clothing.

The oldest tree on Earth, which is already 4700 years old, grows in the USA. This tree, which is the most ancient "inhabitant" of the Earth, grew when the Egyptians were building the pyramids.

Most of the tropical rainforests are cut down for valuable timber. The liberated areas are used for agriculture, as pastures, and are also occupied by companies to locate their production facilities.

Millennia ago, almost the entire Earth was covered with forests. They spread to North America, occupied a significant proportion Western Europe. The vast territories of Africa, South America and Asia were dense forests. But with the growth in the number of people, their active development of land for economic needs, the process of deforestation and mass deforestation began.

What are the benefits of forests?

People use the forest for many purposes: they get food, medicines, raw materials for the paper industry.

Wood, needles and tree bark are raw materials for many industries. chemical industry. About half of the extracted wood goes to fuel needs, and a third goes to construction.

A quarter of all medicines used are derived from rainforest plants. Through photosynthesis, forests give us oxygen to breathe while absorbing carbon dioxide.

Trees protect the air from poisonous gases, soot and other pollution, noise. Phytoncides produced by the majority coniferous plants destroy pathogenic microorganisms.

Forests are habitats for many animals - they are the real pantries of biological diversity. They are involved in creating a favorable microclimate for agricultural plants.

Forest areas protect the soil from erosion processes by preventing surface runoff of precipitation. The forest is like a sponge that first accumulates and then releases water to streams and rivers, regulates the flow of water from the mountains to the plains, and prevents floods.

The most deep river world - the Amazon, and the forests included in its basin are considered the lungs of the Earth.

Damage from deforestation

Despite the fact that forests are a renewable resource, the rate of their deforestation is too high - they simply cannot keep up with us.

Millions of hectares of deciduous and coniferous forests. Tropical forests, which are home to more than 50% of the species that exist on Earth, used to cover 14% of the planet, and now only 6%.

India's forested areas have shrunk from 22% to 10% in the last half century. Are destroyed coniferous forests central regions Russia, tracts of forests on Far East and in Siberia, and swamps appear on the site of clearings. Valuable pine and cedar forests are cut down.

Deforestation is. The deforestation of the planet leads to sharp temperature changes, changes in the amount of precipitation and wind speeds.

Burning forests causes carbon monoxide pollution in the air, more carbon monoxide is emitted than is absorbed. Also, when forests are cleared, carbon is released into the air, which accumulates in the soil under the trees. This contributes about a quarter of the creation process greenhouse effect on the ground.

Many areas left without forest as a result of deforestation or fires become deserts, as the loss of trees leads to the fact that a thin fertile layer of soil is easily washed away by precipitation.

Desertification causes a huge number of ecological refugees - ethnic groups for whom the forest was the main or only source of existence. Many inhabitants of the forest territories disappear along with their home.

Plants of irreplaceable species used to obtain medicines, and many biological resources valuable to mankind are being destroyed. More than a million species living in tropical forests is endangered.

Soil erosion that develops after logging leads to floods, since nothing can stop the flow of water. Level violations lead to floods groundwater, as the roots of trees that feed on them die.

For example, as a result of extensive deforestation at the foot of the Himalayas, Bangladesh began to suffer from large floods every four years.

Previously, floods occurred no more than twice every hundred years. So, for example, diamond mining in Yakutia became possible only after cutting down and flooding a significant amount of forest.

Why and how are forests cut down?

Forests are cut down for the sake of mining, obtaining timber, clearing the area for pastures, and obtaining agricultural land.

And as the cheapest raw material, it is used in almost all and other products. And it kills rainforests and deprives many animals of their homes.

Forests are divided into three groups:

Forest areas forbidden for deforestation, playing, which are reserves.
Forests of limited exploitation, located in densely populated areas, are strictly controlled for their timely restoration.
The so-called operational forests. They are cut down completely and then re-sown.

IN forestry There are several types of cutting:

Main felling- this is the harvesting of the so-called ripe forest for wood. They can be selective, gradual and continuous. Clear cuts destroy all trees except seedlings. With gradual cutting process is carried out in several stages. With a selective type, only individual trees are removed according to a certain principle, and in general the territory remains covered with forest.

Plant care cabin. This species includes cutting down plants that are not practical to leave. They destroy plants of inferior quality, while at the same time thinning and clearing the forest, improving its lighting and providing nutrients to the remaining more valuable trees. This allows you to increase the productivity of the forest, its water-regulating properties and aesthetic qualities. Wood from such cuttings is used as a technological raw material.

Complex. These are reshaping fellings, reforestation and reconstructive fellings. They are carried out in cases of loss of forest useful properties in order to restore them Negative influence on the environment with this type of logging is excluded. Cutting favorably affects the clarification of the territory and eliminates root competition for more valuable tree species.

Sanitary. Such felling is carried out to improve the health of the forest, increase its biological stability. This type includes landscape felling, carried out in order to create forest park landscapes, and felling to create fire breaks.

The strongest intervention clear felling. Overcutting of trees has negative consequences when more trees are destroyed than grows in a year, which causes the depletion of forest resources. In turn, undercutting can cause forest aging and disease of old trees.

It is preferable to cut down the forest in winter, when the snow cover protects the soil and young growth from damage.

How to repair this damage?

In order to stop the process of deforestation, it is necessary to develop norms for the reasonable use of forest resources. The following directions must be followed:

conservation of forest landscapes and its biological diversity;
conducting uniform forest management without depletion of forest resources;
training the population in the skills of caring for the forest;
strengthening at the state level of control over the conservation and use of forest resources;
creation of forest accounting and monitoring systems;
improvement of forest legislation,

Replanting trees often does not cover the damage caused by logging. IN South America, South Africa And South-East Asia forest areas continue to shrink inexorably.

In order to reduce the damage from cutting down, it is necessary:

Increase planting areas for new forests
Expand existing and create new protected areas, forest reserves.
Deploy effective measures to prevent forest fires. To carry out measures, including preventive measures, to combat diseases and pests.

Conduct selection of tree species that are resistant to environmental stress.
Protect forests from the activities of enterprises engaged in the extraction of minerals.
To carry out the fight against poachers. Use efficient and least harmful felling techniques.

Minimize wood waste and develop ways to use them.
Introduce methods of secondary processing of wood.
Encourage eco-tourism.

What can anyone do to save the forest?

rational and economical use of paper products; buy recycled products, including paper. (It is marked with a recycled sign)
landscaping around your home
replace trees cut down for firewood with new seedlings
draw public attention to the problem of deforestation.

Man cannot exist outside of nature, he is part of it. And at the same time, it is difficult to imagine our civilization without the products that the forest provides.

In addition to the material component, there is also a spiritual relationship between the forest and man. Under the influence of the forest, the formation of culture, customs of many ethnic groups takes place, it also serves as a source of livelihood for them.

Forest is one of the cheapest sources natural resources, but every minute 20 hectares of forest areas are destroyed. And humanity should already now think about replenishing these natural resources, learn how to competently manage forest management and the miraculous ability of forests to self-renew.

"and today we will not look at animal world, but on vegetable. Or rather, how gradually this vegetable world does not disappear. “Why would you suddenly be interested in this the scale of deforestation and available solutions to the problem? - you ask. To which we will answer - we have long been environmental problems. But there was no solution...

Whereas recently, in relation to forests, we still came up with an answer. But first, let's talk about the problem. Deforestation is happening all over the world. The main sources consuming wood are the production of pulp, and primarily for paper. And then there is furniture and other wooden structures.

So, the solutions to the "deforestation" problem promised at the beginning. There can be many of these solutions - but each person personally can easily apply only a few. which we will describe. But first - the scale of deforestation, to realize the reality of the problem.

The scale of deforestation can be imagined using the service http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation-tracker/ - spectroradiometric information about each area of the Earth's surface with an area of 5 km2 comes from the Aqua and Terra satellites. This information is compared with information received a year ago. If 40% of the area of a five-kilometer square loses green color, then a new point appears on the map, signaling clearings.

Information about South America:

Data about the west of Russia:

Oddly enough, there is no data on Russia about deforestation for the last 2 years. It seems that the scale is so large that they decided to hide it 🙂

The first solution we came up with against deforestation was watching Sea Breakfasts with Jamie Oliver. This culinary show with an environmental focus.

The main idea is that now there is an uneven catch of fish. The most popular are 2-3 varieties of fish, and it is these varieties that are sold. Therefore, these types of fish are under the threat of extinction, because people eat a lot 🙂 Whereas there are plenty of other fish that are no less tasty than traditional ones - which no one knows about. And which Jamie presents, showing how to cook them INSTEAD of traditional fish.

Its logic is simple: if people start asking sellers for other fish, even though it is not on the shelves, then the increased demand will generate supply - sellers will start ordering this fish. And the pressure on traditional fish will stop.

That is, easily, simply, without politicians and mega-money investments, Jamie proposes to solve the problem of the disappearance of fish species.

One solution to save forests, similar to the fish solution, is to create demand for alternative, non-wood based paper. Did you know that paper can be made from any cellulose fibers? Not only from trees, but from any other sources of cellulose? And this is exactly so. And other sources of cellulose regenerate MUCH faster than forests because they are grasses.

The most common and affordable "fast" plants:

cotton
seaweed.

Why don't paper manufacturers use these sources? Most likely, because the production is already “sharpened” for wood. Whereas no one will redo the line without future income. But the "future income" is the increasing demand for paper made from cotton and algae. And the more requests there are, the faster papermakers will move, and the faster deforestation will slow down.

So the first solution to reduce deforestation is to ask vendors for paper made from cotton or seaweed.

So, more than 7 billion people live on Earth, and in 10 years there will be more than 8 of them. What if each person plants a tree? And not once, but once a month?

The consequences are simple: in 20 years, the number of forests will not only recover, but will be greater than before.

The second solution to the problem of deforestation is to plant trees personally.

Of course, it will not be possible to organize all the inhabitants of the planet at once ... But gradually, step by step, by personal example - so, you see, in 100 years we will pass on to our descendants not a barren desert where you cannot live without an oxygen mask, but a flourishing Earth 🙂

The most important thing is that every person can afford to buy a seedling and plant it in the nearest forest belt. Well, tell everyone about this decision 🙂

Good luck solving the problem of the scale of deforestation!

What ideas do you have about this?

The forest is not just a cluster of trees, but a complex ecosystem that combines plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms and affects the climate, the state of drinking water, clean air.

Millennia ago, a huge part of the Earth's surface was covered with forests. They spread to North America, occupied a significant share of Western Europe. The vast territories of Africa, South America and Asia were dense forests.

But with the growth in the number of people, their active development of land for economic needs, the process of deforestation began.

People take a lot from the forest: building materials, food, medicine, raw materials for the paper industry. Wood, needles and tree bark are raw materials for many branches of the chemical industry. About half of the extracted wood goes to fuel needs, and a third goes to construction. A quarter of all medicines used are derived from rainforest plants.

Through photosynthesis, forests give us oxygen to breathe while absorbing carbon dioxide. Trees protect the air from poisonous gases, soot and other pollution, noise. Phytoncides produced by most coniferous plants destroy pathogens.

Forests are habitats for many animals, they are real storehouses of biological diversity. They are involved in creating a microclimate favorable for agricultural plants.

Damage to the planet caused by deforestation

Despite the fact that forests are a renewable resource, the rate of their deforestation is too high and is not covered by the rate of reproduction. Millions of hectares of deciduous and coniferous forests are destroyed every year.

Tropical forests, which are home to more than 50% of the species that exist on Earth, used to cover 14% of the planet, and now only 6%. India's forested areas have shrunk from 22% to 10% in the last half century. The coniferous forests of the central regions of Russia, the forest massifs in the Far East and Siberia are destroyed, and swamps appear on the site of clearings. Valuable pine and cedar forests are cut down.

The disappearance of forests is . The deforestation of the planet leads to sharp temperature changes, changes in the amount of precipitation and wind speeds.

Many areas left without forest as a result of deforestation or fires become deserts, as the loss of trees leads to the fact that a thin fertile layer of soil is easily washed away by precipitation. Desertification causes a huge number of ecological refugees - ethnic groups for whom the forest was the main or only source of existence.

Many inhabitants of the forest territories disappear along with their home. Entire ecosystems are being destroyed, plants of irreplaceable species used to obtain medicines, and many biological resources valuable to mankind are being destroyed. More than a million biological species living in tropical forests are under threat of extinction.

Soil erosion that develops after logging leads to floods, since nothing can stop the flow of water. Floods are caused by a violation of the level of groundwater, as the roots of trees that feed on them die. For example, as a result of extensive deforestation at the foot of the Himalayas, Bangladesh began to suffer from large floods every four years. Previously, floods occurred no more than twice every hundred years.

Punching methods

Forests are cut down for the sake of mining, obtaining timber, clearing the area for pastures, and obtaining agricultural land.

Forests are divided into three groups. The first one is the forest areas forbidden for felling, which play an important ecological role that are nature reserves.

The second group includes forests of limited exploitation, located in densely populated areas, their timely restoration is strictly controlled.

The third group is the so-called operational forests. They are cut down completely and then re-sown.

There are several types of felling in forestry:

Main felling

Clearings of this type are the harvesting of the so-called ripe forest for timber. They can be selective, gradual and continuous. Clear cuts destroy all trees except seedlings. With gradual cutting process is carried out in several stages. With a selective type, only individual trees are removed according to a certain principle, and in general the territory remains covered with forest.

Plant care cutting

This species includes cutting down plants that are not practical to leave. They destroy plants of inferior quality, while at the same time thinning and clearing the forest, improving its lighting and providing nutrients to the remaining more valuable trees. This allows you to increase the productivity of the forest, its water-regulating properties and aesthetic qualities. Wood from such cuttings is used as a technological raw material.

Integrated

These are reshaping fellings, reforestation and reconstructive fellings. They are carried out in cases where the forest loses its useful properties in order to restore them, a negative impact on the environment with this type of cutting is excluded. Cutting favorably affects the clarification of the territory and eliminates root competition for more valuable tree species.

Sanitary

Such felling is carried out to improve the health of the forest, increase its biological stability. This type includes landscape felling, carried out in order to create forest-park landscapes, and felling to create fire breaks.

The strongest intervention is produced by clear cuttings.. Overcutting of trees has negative consequences when more trees are destroyed than grows in a year, which causes the depletion of forest resources.

In turn, undercutting can cause forest aging and disease of old trees. At clear felling, in addition to the destruction of trees, burning of branches occurs, which leads to the appearance of numerous fires.

Trunks are pulled away by machinery, destroying many ground cover plants along the way, exposing the soil. The young are almost completely destroyed. The surviving shade-loving plants die from excessive amounts of sunlight And strong winds. The ecosystem is completely destroyed and the landscape is changing.

Without harm to the environment, cutting can be carried out if the principle of continuous forest management is observed, based on the balance of cutting and reforestation. Selective logging is characterized by the least environmental damage.
It is preferable to cut down the forest in winter, when the snow cover protects the soil and young growth from damage.

Measures to eliminate the damage caused by deforestation

In order to stop the process of deforestation, it is necessary to develop norms for the reasonable use of forest resources. The following directions must be followed:

conservation of forest landscapes and its biological diversity;
conducting uniform forest management without depletion of forest resources;
training the population in the skills of caring for the forest;
strengthening at the state level of control over the conservation and use of forest resources;
creation of forest accounting and monitoring systems;
improvement of forest legislation,

Replanting trees often does not cover the damage caused by logging. In South America, South Africa and Southeast Asia, forest areas continue to shrink inexorably.

In order to reduce the damage from felling, it is necessary:

Increase areas for planting new forests
Expand already existing and create new protected areas, forest reserves.
Deploy effective measures to prevent forest fires.
Conduct measures, including preventive measures, to combat diseases and pests.
Conduct selection of tree species that are resistant to environmental stress.
Guard forests from the activities of enterprises engaged in the extraction of minerals.
Realize fight against poachers.
Use effective and least harmful logging techniques. Minimize wood waste, develop ways to use it.
Deploy ways of secondary processing of wood.
Encourage ecological tourism.

What can people do to save forests:

rational and economical use of paper products;
buy recycled products, including paper. It is marked with the recycled sign;
landscaping the area around your home;
replace trees cut down for firewood with new seedlings;
draw public attention to the problem of deforestation.

Man cannot exist outside of nature, he is part of it. And at the same time, it is difficult to imagine our civilization without the products that the forest provides. In addition to the material component, there is also a spiritual relationship between the forest and man. Under the influence of the forest, the formation of culture, customs of many ethnic groups takes place, it also serves as a source of livelihood for them.
The forest is one of the cheapest sources of natural wealth, 20 hectares of forest areas are destroyed every minute. And humanity should already now think about replenishing these natural resources, learn how to competently manage forest management and the miraculous ability of forests to self-renew.

The forest expanses of Russia seem almost limitless. But even on such a scale, a person in the process economic activity manages to damage them. Felling for the purpose of harvesting timber in some places is becoming widespread. Such intensive and unreasonable use gradually leads to the fact that the forest fund begins to be depleted. This is noticeable even in the taiga zone.

The rapid destruction of forests leads to the disappearance of unique flora and fauna, as well as to the deterioration of the ecological situation. This is especially true for the composition of the air.

Main causes of deforestation

Among the main reasons for deforestation, first of all, it is worth noting the possibility of its use as a building material. Also, very often, forests are cut down for the purpose of building or using land for agricultural land.

This problem became especially acute at the beginning of the 19th century. With the development of science and technology, most of the felling work began to be done by machines. This made it possible to significantly increase productivity, and, accordingly, the number of cut down trees.

Another reason for the massive logging is the creation of pastures for farm animals. This problem is especially relevant in tropical forests. On average, grazing one cow will require 1 ha of pasture, which is several hundred trees.

Why should forest areas be conserved? What causes deforestation

The forest area is not only trees and shrubs and herbs, it is also hundreds of different living beings. Deforestation is one of the most common environmental problems. With the destruction of trees in the biogeocenosis system, the ecological balance is disturbed.

Uncontrolled destruction of forests leads to the following negative consequences:

Some species of flora and fauna are disappearing.
Species diversity is decreasing.
The amount of carbon dioxide begins to increase in the atmosphere ().
Soil erosion occurs, which leads to the formation of deserts.
In places with high level groundwater begins to swamp.

Interesting! More than half of all forest areas are tropical forests. At the same time, about 90% of all known animals and plants live in them.

Statistics on deforestation in the world and in Russia

Deforestation is a global problem. It is relevant not only not for Russia, but also for a number of other countries. According to deforestation statistics, about 200 thousand km 2 of forests are cut down worldwide every year. This leads to the death of tens of thousands of animals.

If we consider the data in thousand hectares for individual countries they will look like this:

Russia - 4.139;
Canada - 2.45;
Brazil - 2.15;
USA - 1.73;
Indonesia - 1.6.

The problem of deforestation is least affected by China, Argentina and Malaysia. On average, about 20 hectares of forest plantations are destroyed in one minute on the planet. This problem is especially acute for tropical zone. For example, in India, over 50 years, the area covered with forests has decreased by more than 2 times.

In Brazil large areas forests were cut down for the purpose of development. Because of this, the populations of some animal species have been greatly reduced. Africa accounts for approximately 17% of the world's forest stock. In terms of ha, this is about 767 million. According to the latest data, about 3 million hectares are cut down here annually. Over 70% of Africa's forests have been destroyed in recent centuries.

The logging statistics in Russia are also disappointing. Especially a lot of trees are destroyed in our country conifers. Mass cutting in Siberia and the Urals contributed to the formation a large number swampy areas. At the same time, it is worth noting that most of felling is illegal.

Forest groups

All forests on the territory of Russia in terms of their conservation and economic importance can be classified into 3 groups:

This group includes plantings that have a water protection and protective function. For example, these can be forest belts along the banks of water bodies or wooded areas on mountain slopes. This group also includes forests that perform a sanitary-hygienic and health-improving function, national reserves and parks, natural monuments. The forests of the first group account for 17% of the total forest area.
The second group includes plantings in areas with a high population density and a well-developed transport network. This also includes forests with an insufficient forest resource base. The second group accounts for about 7%.
The most numerous group accounts for 75% of its share in the forest fund. This category includes plantings for operational purposes. Due to them, the needs for wood are satisfied.

The division of forests into groups is described in more detail in the Fundamentals of Forest Legislation.

Clearing types

Wood harvesting can be carried out in all forest groups without exception. In this case, all cuttings are divided into 2 types:

main use;
care.

Main fellings

Final fellings are carried out only in plantations that have reached the ripening period. They are subdivided into the following types:

Solid. With this type of felling, everything is cut down except for the undergrowth. They are carried out in one go. The restriction on their implementation is imposed in forests that have conservation and environmental significance as well as in nature reserves and parks.
Gradual. With this type of felling, the forest stand is removed in several steps. In this case, first of all, trees that interfere with further development young, injured and sick. Usually 6 to 9 years pass between the stages of this felling. In the first step, about 35% of the total forest stand is removed. At the same time, overmature trees make up the bulk.
Selective. Their main purpose is the formation of highly productive plantations. During them, diseased, dead, windbreak and other inferior trees are cut down. All care cuttings are divided into the following types: clarification, cleaning, thinning and passing. Depending on the condition of the forest, thinning may be continuous.

Legal and illegal logging

All deforestation works are strictly regulated Russian legislation. At the same time, the most important document is Felling ticket". The following documents will be required for its registration:

A statement stating the reason for the cutting.
Plan of the area with the allocation of the area allocated for felling.
Taxation description of cut down plantings.

A felling ticket will also be required when exporting already harvested wood. Its price is proportional to the cost of compensation for use natural resources. Cutting down trees without proper documentation is classified as illegal logging.

Responsibility for it is provided for by Article 260 Part 1. It is applicable only in cases where the amount of damage exceeds 5000 rubles. For minor violations, administrative liability is applicable. It involves imposing a fine of 3,000 to 3,500 rubles on citizens and 20,000 to 30,000 on officials.

The consequences of deforestation

The effects of deforestation are a far-reaching problem. Deforestation affects the entire ecosystem. This is especially true for the problem of purification and saturation of air with oxygen.

Also, according to recent studies, it was found that mass felling contribute global warming. This is due to the carbon cycle occurring on the surface of the Earth. At the same time, one should not forget about the water cycle in nature. Trees take an active part in it. By absorbing moisture with their roots, they evaporate it into the atmosphere.

Erosion of soil layers is another problem that accompanies the problem of deforestation. Tree roots prevent erosion and weathering of the upper fertile soil layers. In the absence of a tree stand, winds and precipitation begin to destroy the upper humus layer, thereby turning fertile lands into a lifeless desert.

The problem of deforestation and ways to solve it

Tree planting is one way to solve the problem of deforestation. But she cannot fully compensate for the damage done. The approach to this problem must be comprehensive. To do this, you must adhere to the following directions:

Plan forest management.
Strengthen the protection and control over the use of natural resources.
Develop a system for monitoring and accounting for the forest fund.
Improve forest legislation.

In most cases, planting trees does not cover the damage. For example, in South America and Africa, despite all the measures taken, the forest area continues to decline inexorably. Therefore, in order to reduce negative consequences felling, it is necessary to take a whole range of additional measures:

Increase planting area annually.
Establish protected areas with a special forest management regime.
Send significant forces to prevent forest fires.
Deploy recycling wood.

Forest protection policy in different countries may differ significantly. Someone introduces a restriction on the use, and someone simply increases the volume of restoration plantings. But, completely new approach to this problem has developed Norway. She plans completely eliminate cutting.

This country has officially announced that the policy of the so-called "zero deforestation" will be implemented on its territory. Over the years, Norway has actively supported various forest protection programs. For example, in 2015, it allocated 1 billion rubles to Brazil for the conservation of the Amazon rainforest. Investments from Norway and a number of other countries have helped to reduce logging by 75%.

From 2011 to 2015, the Norwegian government allocated 250 million rubles and other tropical country- Guyana. And since this year, Norway has officially declared “zero tolerance” for logging. That is, it will no longer purchase forest products.

Ecologists say that paper can also be produced by recycling the corresponding waste. And other resources can be used as fuel and building materials. To this statement, the state Pension Fund Norway reacted by withdrawing from its portfolio all shares of enterprises associated with damage to the forest fund.

According to the fund wildlife, every minute forests with an area comparable to the area of 48 football fields disappear from the surface of the Earth. It also significantly increases the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.