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Curbing destruction of trees to preserve environment
2006-03-23 09:59:27
By RAYMOND FARAI
Whilst we can get a lot of money by cutting down trees, it is important for us to weigh the gains against the losses.
Human economic activities are constantly threatening the environment at alarming levels such that if the trend continues we are going to experience recurrent droughts.
According to meteorologists drought is a prolonged period with less than average precipitation.
If this happens then it means there won’t be enough moisture to sustain crops.
The most significant economic activity which is yielding negative results is deforestation.
Tanzania is experiencing an increased destruction of forests every year. This certainly influences climate change.
When people cut down trees they should be aware that they are destroying nature’s ability to create rainfall.
Long back people used to rely on wood as the major source of domestic cooking and heating, but the trend has changed with the discovery of other energy sources like electricity, gas and fossil fuels.
Not only does deforestation cause drought it also causes soil erosion. The roots of plants hold the soil together and the plants give soil protection from agents of erosion like rain water wind and ice.
When there is massive soil erosion siltation also occurs and this reduces the capacity of dams and rivers to hold more water.
In the event that siltation takes place in a dam that is used to generate electricity then it means the capacity of that dam to generate electricity is reduced drastically.
This will affect the economy of the country since most economic activities require electricity.
The dam will also dry up quickly such that human beings and animals who get water from this dam will experience problems.
People cut down trees for different reasons.
Some do this since they do not have alternative sources of energy others will be clearing land to build houses and some cut down trees to create fields to grow crops on.
There are however some who cut down trees in order to export charcoal.
These do it at a large scale and they cut down a lot of trees, so that they can benefit economically through the sale of charcoal.
The act of cutting down trees has resulted in recurrence of drought not only in Tanzania but also in a number of African countries.
Some people who cut down trees lack the necessary knowledge, they do not know the importance of trees.
Some have grown up in closed communities where cutting down of trees is a norm.
They have seen their fathers doing this ever since they were growing up and they do not see any problem with that.
The moment an area experiences drought it means that the amount of rain fall that enters rivers and dams decreases once this happens, it will mean that the amount of evaporation required for rain formation has also decreased hence it will be very difficult to have normal rains in that particular area.
An expert with UNEP’s division of Early Warning and Assessment, Christian Lambrechts explained that most people have the wrong belief that oceans are responsible for most of the rains we receive.
He argued that 62 percent of precipitation occurs over land, due to evapo- transpiration, from dense vegatation, lakes and wetlands. He added that only 38 percent of precipitation is generated from oceans and seas.
Trees have a great job of pumping up water from underground to the atmosphere. The water goes up to the atmosphere as vapour and comes down as rainfall.
Without this precious rainfall there will be untold suffering on earth. Droughts will occur and the human race will perish.
Government, non- governmental organizations and other stakeholders should take the initiative to educate the populace on the importance of trees.
Most people do not know the importance of trees and worse still some believe that trees will always be there.
Forests are dwindling and if the rate at which they are being cut down remains this high they will be extinct.
People should know that it is extremely difficult to replace a tree. It takes years for a tree to grow.
Trees need to be preserved, people should only cut down trees if it’s highly necessary and steps should be put in place to replace those trees which have been cut down.
Governments should also concentrate on improving the livelihood of the rural poor so that they don’t engage in destructive tendencies like cutting of down trees.
Governments can ensure this by building infrastructure, especially installing electricity and encouraging people to use solar energy.
There are other culprits who engage in wood felling for economic gain by exporting logs and charcoal these people if caught should be given very stiff penalties, as a way of deterring other would be offenders.
It is high time people realize that destroying trees reduces the amount of rainfall an area receives and that means drought and starvation.
The general public should be very responsible and they should use resources wisely.
The government alone cannot win the fight its high time citizens put concerted efforts in trying to safeguard trees which are such a precious resource and very difficult to replace once destroyed.
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