How deforestation will be prevented by island civilization

            Of the many threats to the environment caused by humans today is the act of deforestation. Deforestation occurs when huge areas of forest are clear-cut, either to harvest resources, or make way for new buildings, roads, or other construction. Many people see cutting down forests as the only way of accommodating for the expansion and growth of humanity that is taking place at rapid and increasing rates. While it is important for the human race to keep expanding and bettering itself, deforestation is an unsustainable and irresponsible way of doing it.

            Forests are essential to the stability of the Earth’s ecosystem and biodiversity.  The University of California, Irvine School of Biological Science’s webpage on deforestation outlines the importance of forests. One of the most important roles of forests is that they serve as a habitat to a huge portion of all the species of Earth. Tropical rainforests alone are home to about 50 percent of all species.

The place that is affected by deforestation is, quite obviously, the forest, but for the species that live there, the forest is more than just a “place”. For people, the forest has little meaning beyond its utility. People generally only care about how much timber can be extracted from a given area of woodland, or how much will need to be cut down to make room for a new development. However, for all the species that live there, the forest is their home, and without it, they have nowhere to live. They take refuge there, raise there young, and depend on it for food and survival. Without this place they cannot live the way they evolved to, and will die.

            Island civilizations would be a way of solving the problem of deforestation and the destruction of the forests. In the system of island civilization, people live in 100 mile wide islands of civilization all over the world. These are the only areas that people live in, and the rest of the world is given back to nature. This means that forests will re-grow, and all the species that live there will once again have a permanent home that will not be destroyed by people.

UC Irvine deforestation page: http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/issueguides/TimberCert/deforest/index.html