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Deforestation What Is Deforestation?    Deforestation comes in all forms. Deforestation in Costa Rica began with cattle farmers in the 1970's who were subsidized by first world countries to burn jungle in order to provide a cheap source of meat to multi-national companies like Burger King and Wendy's. See United Nations Reports, Library of Congress, State of the Worlds Forests 1978. Costa Rica has been and is currently been deforested by locals and foreigners a-like who convert jungles to alternative unsustainable uses such as agriculture, and development of home-sites for sale, bulldozing roads through jungle and little by little decreasing the amount of intact jungles available for large mammals and other flora and fauna to survive.    Development projects have become the new threat and have spawned misuse of land and forests by a chain of people arriving to the area and trying to turn steep forest covered areas and otherwise regenerating forests into multi-dwelling urbanization projects. Recognizing the laws in place in Costa Rica, which are currently being enforced to the full extent, including criminal liability, is the first step to any conscious use of land in this bio-region. To Cut Or Not To Cut? That Is The Question.    In Costa Rica, where the native trees are so plentiful and numerous, it is easy to think that cutting a few will not hurt anything and that a few trees really does not matter. Or maybe, you heard that you can cut any tree as long as it is under a certain diameter, approx. 14 cm. Or that cutting off branches or trees from your neighbor’s property is ok with or wothout permission in order to open up your own ocean or valley view. Or maybe you just want to “open up” the area around your stream or river, clear away all those pesky vines and branches so you can see it better or take a suntan.    But be careful. What you may not know is that here in Costa Rica, cutting trees is closely monitored by MINAE officials as well as concerned neighbors in an effort to preserve these all important forests and maintain the healthy water supply we enjoy here. With so many competing interests and dollar signs flitting about, it is often convenient to believe your realtor when you are told that it is ok to build your 10 unit development and sacrifice a few trees.    Or, you may be one of the unlucky ones who is trying to steward your land properly but falls prey to a crew who lacks training and supervision when it comes to proper land stewardship. Indeed, you cannot blindly trust the maintenance crew that you have hired to care for your land in your absence. You must inquire as to the knowledge and experience of any people working on your land and make sure that workers will not be left unsupervised. It is a painful experience to return to your land after an absence and find that the maintenance crew has chopped everything down, including regenerating native species, protective plants, trees around streams and nacientes and a host of other problems. Be careful! Make sure you discuss these issues with your caretaker and do not take for granted that they will know what to do and how to do it. It is your responsibility to hire conscious workers and insist that they abide by all laws designed to protect our fragile environment. What Does Excessive Deforestation Do To The Land And Why Is It So Bad?    Degradation of tropical land through deforestation is a physical, chemical, and biological process set in motion by activities that reduce the land's inherent productivity. This process includes accelerated erosion, leaching, soil compaction, decreased soil fertility, diminished natural plant regeneration, disrupted hydrological cycle, possible salinization, water-logging, flooding, or increased drought risk, as well as the establishment of undesirable weedy plants. There is a strong relationship between inappropriate land-use practices and land degradation.    In some places, degradation is manifest (e.g., desertification), where in others it is inferred (e.g., declining crop yields). Conversion of tropical moist forest into farm or grazing land commonly results in rapid depletion of the soil's plant nutrient supply and accelerated soil erosion. In some places the degradation process leads to takeover by persistent, aggressive weed species of low nutritive value. Often the combined problems of low soil fertility and weed infestation become so great that the land is abandoned. Such lands are subject to frequent uncontrolled fires and are often covered by coarse grasses. Whenever the vegetation is burned, erosion may increase and productivity may be reduced further.    Each year, over 500,000 hectares of excessively irrigated lands become saline or alkaline as a result of inadequate drainage or use of salty irrigation water. Capillary action draws moisture to the soil surface where it evaporates, leaving salts in or on the topsoil. In some cases, salts can be leached from upland soils and bedrock, raising the salinity of runoff from deforested slopes. The increased runoff harms agricultural soil in lowland areas by causing temporary or lasting water logging and salinization. The best solution to such problems is to prevent inappropriate land-use practices on forested lands. Where it is too late for this approach, reforestation is an alternative. Trees planted on degraded lands will not give such high yields as trees planted on rich, fertile lands. However, it may be the only way to raise the productivity of the most degraded lands. Furthermore, in many countries, fertile sites are reserved for agricultural activities. Given the dwindling reserves of good land and the increasing amount of degraded tropical lands, reforestation is a technology with potential to rehabilitate soils and to provide many goods and services. What are the Consequences of Deforestation? Landslides    Deforestation in mountainous regions is one of the most acute and serious ecological problems today. Disturbance of vegetative cover on mountain areas with thin soil and steep slopes results in land instability (e.g., landslides) and soil erosion. Excessive erosion not only impairs site productivity but may also adversely affect other sites or water bodies farther down the watershed. The Overstory Agroforestry Guides: http://www.overstory.com    The potential for landslides is real and imminent when pastures erode after years of exposure to the sun’s strong, tropical rays. Days of beating rain, water running with a velocity unimaginable, weakens hills and eventually the land “implodes” into a frothy mousse of mud. Roads illegally and inadvisably cut across mountain ridges, unsupported by adequate erosion control measures inevitably slide and contribute to the awful case of storm water runoff adding excessive sediment to our rivers and streams disrupting their healthy balance and ability to sustain life. Brown stained oceans and rivers can be easily seen by the untrained eye and their negative effects of killing fish, algae, reptiles, amphibians and disrupting the fragile aquatic net of life as well as the fresh water itself. Drought When rivers and natural water springs are covered by healthy forest, their ecosystems are balanced and protected from the damaging and drying rays of the equatorial sun. Water loving plants like platanos, bananas, platanillos and a host of flora thrive and help the water to bubble to the surface. Natural spring environments where water is borne are the most protected areas in Costa Rica this means that more than 100 meters around nacientes are considered protected and sacred, no man's land (Forestry Law 7575 Article 33). No roads or buildings are permitted nor chopping trees or plants either. This totals around 7 acres to give you a rough idea of how much area is required to be left alone. Borders of streams and rivers must reserve an area of 15 meters from the high water mark and 50 meters when the grade of the bordering slope is more than 40% in steepness. When trees and plants in these restricted zones are cut or thinned in areas too close to a naciente or river or when riparian areas are built upon or covered over by earth moving practices, the water supply is interrupted and over time, due to exposure to sun and elements, can dry up. Alternatively, in case of torrential rains, growing fiercer each year as planetary weather patterns intensify due to global warming, flooding can and does occur destroying life and property.    Worldwide, the planetary effects of deforestation, just one of numerous factors contributing to global warming, can cause desertification as in Africa and Greece. Indeed, the cumulative effects of deforestation and reforestation can be felt everywhere, not just in your own backyard. Loss os species of flora and fauna    Large mammals need at least a 50 square mile radius intact of jungle habitat in order to survive. The very survival of the human race long term is linked closely with whether the other large mammals on earth can survive. As we marvel at the array of birds, iguanas, monkeys, pizotes and sloths (just to name a few creatures living in our forests here on the Southern Pacific coast) it may be easy to take them for granted due their apparent abundance. We grow accustomed to seeing these amazing animals and forget that their home is now our home and we have to make sure we leave enough room for their survival with us.    The rainforests also supply a host of medicinal plants for our well-being and harbors countless secret cures just waiting to be discovered.