ople are left to farm the borders of these lands. While doing this, they often attack edges of the forest, cutting down trees, trying to plant crops. The soil in these places is insufficient and cannot produce very much food. This leads to yet another chain reaction of destruction. Since these farmers have minimal amounts of money, they cannot afford fertilizer, so they abandon this land and once again destroy more forests. Another contributing factor to deforestation is overpopulation. “The human population was estimated in 1971 to total 2.5 million and have an average annual growth rate of 2.6 percent.” (Lamb 6). At least ninety percent of this growth is taking place in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. These growing populations recognize the tropical rain forests as free land to be cleared away for planting crops, and to provide firewood to cook their food. They took advantage of this recognition and contributed in the blessed rain forest’s destruction.Corporate greed and government corruption are also contributing factors. In some parts of Malaysia, the government allows Japanese logging companies to clear-cut forest areas of the Penan people of this Malaysian area. These logging companies make huge profits, some of which ends up in the pockets of government officials. The United States is demanding that Latin America and other third world countries preserve their rain forests, but they are not demanding it of themselves. This is a very ironic and hypocritical situation, in that our own government is destroying the rain forest in Alaska. In a sense the US government is saying those third world countries should do as we say, not as we are doing. Unfortunately, schemes like these are underway and being planned everyday in other countries as well.Since trees dominate the rain forest, if we remove the trees, the whole mechanism falls apart. The increasing attack on rain forests is also bringing a rapid r...
