Before researching about the causes of the destuction of rainforests, I thought that poverty and overpopulation were the main causes of forest loss. According to the World Rainforest Movements and other non-profit organizations, they believe that the main cause of most forest loss is because of the excessive consumption habits that rich industrialized countries have and they are solely responsible.
One cannot just base the loss of forest from excessive consumption habits. There are other factors that cause forest loss.
1. Basic Causes:
Harrison Ngua, who is a tribesman from Sarawak, Malaysia says that the tropical forestes are being destroyed because, “The roots of the problem of deforestation and waste of resources are located in the industrialized countries, where most of our resources, such as tropical timber end up. The rich nations with one quarter of the world's population consume four fifth of the world's resources. It is the throw away culture of the industrialized countries, now advertised in and forced on to the Third World countries that is leading to the throwing away of the world. Such so-called progress leads to destruction and despair!”
2. Colonialism
Most of the tropical rainforest’s are found in Third World countries. All these countries have people who have had their own system of land management or owned a piece of land for thousands of years before the manipulation of colonists from rich industrialized nations. These colonists felt that they could overrule the indigenous people’s rights on their land and exploit their resources. Colonism has turned these economies which was non depended on others into zones for agriculture export purposes. This process still continues today and each day the situation worsens.
3. Debt
Some countries who have a government that is financially poorer than other countries feel that they need to make money to repay their international debt. These poor countries feel that they need to take action and resort to exploiting their natural resources, including their forests to earn foreign exchange for their debt.
Other third world countries that have no government organizations feel that there is not change for the stopping of impoverishment and destruction of nature without having an alternative solution to their debt crisis.
Before researching about the causes of the destuction of rainforests, I thought that poverty and overpopulation were the main causes of forest loss. According to the World Rainforest Movements and other non-profit organizations, they believe that the main cause of most forest loss is because of the excessive consumption habits that rich industrialized countries have and they are solely responsible.