Deforestationisthecuttingdownandremovalofallormostofthetreesinaforested

areaandprovidesbenefitstomankindalthoughithasdrawbacksaswell.Overall,I
mostlydisagreewiththestatementthatthebenefitsofdeforestationfaroutweighthe
impacts.Thisisbecauseoftheimpactshavingagreaterlongtermsignificanceon
humansurvivalthanthebenefitsdeforestationbrings.Inthisessay,Iwillbetalking
aboutcattleranchinganditsbenefits,theenhancedgreenhouseeffect,aswellasthe
increasedriskofflooding,soilerosionandsedimentation.

Areasonfor deforestationin dueto cattle ranching. Cattle ranching involvesoperating

largefarmstoraisecattle. Large areas ofrainforest areclearedtocreatelandforcattle
to graze.The benefits ofcattle ranching is thatitservesasafoodsupplyforpeopleas
wellas increasing themoneythat certain companiesmake.Anexampleisthefastfood
franchiseMacdonalds,whichis also a major contributor of cattleranching.Macdonalds
is able to provide cheap and convenient food to its customers with the help of cattle
ranching.Thus,deforestation can be goodformankindasagriculturalactivitiessuchas
cattleranchingcanhelpwithfoodsupplyandincreasethemoneycompaniesearn.

However, deforestation has impacts on the environment such as the enhanced

greenhouse effectwhichwillleadtoclimatechange.Treesactascarbonsinks andthey
absorb 100 times more carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. When forests are cut
down,not only has carbonabsorptioncease,butalsocarbonstoredintreesisreleased
into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. With more greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, more heatwillbetrapped,andthiswilleventuallyleadtotheriseinEarths
averagetemperature.Thisprocessiscalledtheenhancedgreenhouseeffect.Scientists
estimate that about 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide are absorbed by tropical
rainforestseveryyear. Morethan halfof the carbon dioxide released isfromBraziland
Indonesia, where large areas of tropical rainforests are found. This greenhouse gas
emission isdue todeforestation.Thus,deforestation can causelong term problemsfor
mankindsuchasincreasedglobaltemperature.

Deforestation leads to the increased risk offloodingand soil erosionbydestroyingthe

ground cover, which will result in flashfloodsand soil erosion. When rainfalls,forests
help tointercept the rainandallow the rainwater to seep intotheground.Also,thetree
roots hold the soil firmly together and hence, without the trees, the rainwater will fall
directlyonthegroundandflowoverthesurfacemorerapidlyassurfacerunoff,andalso
washing the soil into rivers. This cause river carrying capacity to reduce and hence
increase flood risk. For example, in 1979, due to deforestation in northern India and
Nepal, there were floods and India suffered 2 billion inproperty and numerous lives in

Ganges Valley. Hence, the removal of trees has led to the increased risk of flooding
whichcancausepropertydamageandthelossoflives.

In conclusion, even though deforestation can bring benefits to mankind such as

increased food supply, it is in the long run bad for it. This is because of the
environmental problems that we will face such as increased global temperatures and
increasedriskoffloodingthatwillposeagreaterdangertous.