Environmental Sciences

Group members:

1. Moeez Ejaz (64865)

2. Umaima Aamir (64631)
3. Mustafa Khalid (64630)

Supervisor: Sir Abdullah Athar

Environmental issues:
Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often
of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is
the practice of protecting the natural environment on the individual, organizational or
governmental levels, for the benefit of both the environment and humans. Environmentalism is
a social and environmental movement that addresses environmental issues through advocacy,
legislation education, and activism.

Creating awareness about such issues is critically important in order to save the environment as
much as we can. Our environment has been through so much and the least we can do is to
create awareness among people so that they can apply necessary steps to maintain the
environment for the betterment of our society.

We were assigned with the topic of ‘deforestation’ to create awareness through many different
activities. Deforestation is also a very important issue that has been harming our environment
for decades and it can be stopped by taking necessary measures and actions.

Deforestation:
Deforestation refers to the decrease in forest areas across the world that are lost for other uses
such as agricultural croplands, urbanization, or mining activities. Greatly accelerated by human
activities since 1960, deforestation has been negatively affecting natural ecosystems,
biodiversity, and the climate. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the annual
rate of deforestation to be around 1.3 million km2 per decade
Today, the greatest amount of deforestation is occurring in tropical rainforests, aided by
extensive road construction into regions that were once almost inaccessible. Building or
upgrading roads into forests makes them more accessible for exploitation. Slash-and-burn
agriculture is a big contributor to deforestation in the tropics. With this agricultural method,
farmers burn large swaths of forest, allowing the ash to fertilize the land for crops. The land is
only fertile for a few years, however, after which the farmers move on to repeat the process
elsewhere. Tropical forests are also cleared to make way for logging, cattle ranching, and oil
palm and rubber tree plantations.

Deforestation can result in more carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. That is
because trees take in carbon dioxide from the air for photosynthesis, and carbon is locked
chemically in their wood. When trees are burned, this carbon returns to the atmosphere as
carbon dioxide. With fewer trees around to take in the carbon dioxide, this greenhouse gas
accumulates in the atmosphere and accelerates global warming.

Impact of deforestation on our society:

 Effects of Deforestation on Biodiversity

The most known consequence of deforestation is its threat to biodiversity. In fact, forests
represent some of the most veritable hubs of biodiversity. From mammals to birds, insects,
amphibians or plants, the forest is home to many rare and fragile species. 80% of the Earth’s
land animals and plants live in forests.

By destroying the forests, human activities are putting entire ecosystems in danger, creating
natural imbalances, and putting Life at threat. The natural world is complex, interconnected,
and made of thousands of inter-dependencies and among other functions, trees provide shade
and colder temperatures for animals and smaller trees or vegetation which may not survive
with the heat of direct sunlight. Besides, trees also feeding animals with their fruits while
providing them with food and shelter they need to survive.

 Effects of Deforestation on Local People

Healthy forests support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people globally, one billion of whom are
among the world’s poorest. This means there are many people depending on forests for
survival and using them to hunt and gather raw products for their small-scale agriculture
processes. But in developing countries such as Borneo, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, or Mexico,
land tenure systems are weak. This allows big businesses to get these lands and use them for
other ends, disrupting local people’s lives.
Locals then have to make one of two choices. They can decide to abandon “their” land and
migrate somewhere else, avoiding conflict and embracing the challenge of a new different life.
Or they can stay and work for the companies exploring it in remote plantations – often getting
unfair wages and working under inhumane conditions. In some countries like Mexico,
plantations’ owners are often forced to share their profits with local cartels to keep their
families alive and to avoid having their crops burned.

 Deforestation Affects and Contributes to Climate Change

Deforestation also has a very strong contribution to climate change. Why? Let’s remember
trees absorb and store CO2 throughout their lives. If we speak about tropical forests, they hold
more than 210 gigatons of carbon, according to WWF. And what’s worrying is that the
destruction of these trees has two big negative side-effects.

Firstly, taking down trees means they’ll release back into the atmosphere the CO2 they were
keeping. Secondly, fewer trees available means reducing the planet’s overall ability to capture
and store CO2. Both these effects negatively contribute to the greenhouse effect and to climate
change. As a matter of fact, while food and agriculture account for 24% of greenhouse gas
emissions, deforestation is estimated to be responsible for 10-15% of all anthropogenic CO2
emissions.

How can we minimize deforestation:

1 – Fighting illegal logging and limiting logging in old-growth forests;

2 – Protecting forested areas by creating laws and policies that ensure forests are kept
protected and restored and betting on land practices such as wildfire corridors;

3 – Reforming trade agreements, starting to value differently products obtained through

deforestation, and creating incentives for the use of sustainable forestry certifications such as
FSC;

4 – Educating local communities and tourists about the need to protect forests and develop and
enroll in ecotourism activities.

How did our class create awareness about environmental issues?

Because of the rising issues that are harming our environment, our faculty Abdullah Athar and
other management helped us in conducting an exhibition to create awareness among people
about the concerning environmental issues. By the help of our faculty and co-operation of our
class fellows, we introduced 11 standees while each of them discussing about specific
environmental issue to give the people a broader perspective on how they are damaging our
lives and environment.

Some senior managers and working people visited our university in order to gain insight about
the awareness among the young generation and they all were pretty impressed. Apart from the
standees, we carried out many other activities such as creating videos in different domestic and
international languages, handing out seeds to the respected guests so that they will plant more
trees, and making them sign on the pledge certificate to promise that they will protect the
environment at all circumstances. We hope that the people who attended the exhibition will try
to play their part in improving and protecting the environment.