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What happens in Africa doesn’t stay in Africa.
In fact, when forests get destroyed in Central Africa, it affects rainfall in Chicago. Sound hard to believe? A 2005 study by Duke University found connections between rainfall in Central Africa and the upper and lower Midwest as well as between the Amazon and Texas.
Normally, large areas of vegetation can absorb large amounts of heat. But when areas are deforested, large expanses of soil are left—and soil is unable to absorb the same amount of heat as the vegetative cover. Ultimately, that means less moisture is taken up into the atmosphere, and rainfall patterns across the world are affected.
Besides its significant contribution to climate change, deforestation also impacts the nearly 1 billion people living in extreme poverty that depend on forests for their water, fuel or livelihood, and countless plant and animal species whose homes are threatened.
Deforestation is perhaps less widely recognized as a contributor to climate change than burning fossil fuels, but it has devastating effects. Far from slowing down, deforestation rates are climbing across the tropics, and once remote tropical forests in Central Africa are now sites for extensive logging operations. Not only does this compromise local natural resources and landscapes, perhaps irreversibly, but the echoes of deforestation can be felt around the world.
What The Nature Conservancy is Doing.
The Nature Conservancy believes that addressing deforestation must be part of a larger climate change strategy. We are encouraging the world’s governments to develop meaningful incentives to encourage the preservation and restoration of forests. The Conservancy is conducting research around the world to measure the amount of carbon captured by forests.
Action starts when people talk.
Deforestation in Central Africa affects you, and that means you can do something about it. First, start a conversation about the issue with friends, family and colleagues. Take a look at our Conversation Starters for relevant and compelling facts. And, learn more about our work by visiting related projects on the Conservancy’s web site, nature.org.
