The world’s forests play an important role in the natural environment, providing wildlife with shelter, food, water, and a safe place to breed. However, deforestation – the removal of forest habitat – is a major threat to the survival of many animal species. Deforestation occurs for a number of reasons, and each reason has its own impact on wildlife.
One of the most significant causes of deforestation is agricultural expansion, with large-scale commercial agriculture responsible for over 70% of global deforestation rates. This includes both local subsistence farming (farming to feed the family) and commercial crop cultivation such as oil palm or soya beans.
Logging is another major cause of deforestation, with the timber industry harvesting vast areas of forest for timber and fuelwood. Timber companies cut down huge trees such as mahogany and teak and sell them to furniture manufacturers and for use in building projects. This type of logging is often done by clearing entire forests in one go, a process known as clear-cutting. This can affect the quality of the soil in the area and can lead to erosion.
Other causes of deforestation include infrastructure development such as road building, and urbanisation. As cities expand, they need more space for housing and industrial buildings, and this usually means destroying or displacing wildlife. In some cases, clearing forest for urbanisation also affects the weather patterns in the region, with drier conditions resulting.
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