Deforestation

It goes without saying that forests are very important as they help to keep the world’s climate in balance and they also support 60 per cent of the world’s wildlife.

On the other hand, they provide us with lots of useful products, we can’t go without. Firstly, around one third of all our medicines come from plants, and scientists are still studying rainforest plants to find new medicines. Secondly, we also depend on wood that is used for building houses and boats and making furniture and lots of other useful things. Thirdly, we get many different kinds of food from forests as well, for example, nuts, fruit, berries, mushrooms and seeds. In addition, there are necessary paper products that come from forests, for instance, newspapers, magazines, books, copy-books, toilet roll and others. Finally, over half of all the wood is used as fuel. So, it’s quite clear why we can’t afford to lose them.

Unfortunately, deforestation is one of the main environmental problems nowadays. Forests are being cut down for timber, farmland, mining and building sites. They are also being harmed by acid rain and forest fires which may become more common as a result of global warming.

But what can we do to protect our forests? To my mind, everybody could plant a tree or even two or more trees. Moreover, people could use less paper and recycle it, as well as buy recycled paper products. And last but not least, we could buy wood products only if they are really necessary. If we follow these simple rules, we could contribute to protecting our Earth from deforestation.