Alpha M Sesay
How would you feel if all the trees on earth are cut down? Deforestation as an environmental issue has many effects on our lives and the environment. It is not known exactly how many of Koinadugu and Falaba’s forest have already been destroyed and continue to be razed each year.
Some of the causes of deforestation are: construction of houses, farming, charcoal production, timber logging.
The need to build more houses due to the increase in population in the district has left most forest deforested. People clear the forest to construct houses, the trees are used as firewood or timber.
Farming activities like bush burning, land clearing, overgrazing etc. have left so many lands uncovered. Thousands of trees have been cut down because of the poor agricultural practices by farmers in the district.
People cut down trees for the purpose of producing charcoal. Several trees have been cut down for this purpose and it is an everyday thing.
Timber logging has become a usual thing in the district, our forests are destroyed in the name of boosting the country’s economy. About 80% of timbers have been cut down without replacement, the timber loggers do not care whether a tree is replaced or not.
We are experiencing enormous effects of deforestation in Koinadugu some are, soil erosion, climate change, global warming, biodiversity loss.
Top soils have been carried away either by wind or by water, the trees that protect the soil from erosion are being cut, hence the land is exposed to erosion, so, this leads to poor agricultural productivity because the top soil that contains plant nutrient is being washed off.
Irregular weather pattern is becoming a concern in the district, especially to the farmers. For the past years, farming has been very difficult for farmers. There has been changes in the time the seasons change, the rainy season used to start in late April to early June, but that is not the case now. Few years back we did not get rain until at the end of June, the situation left most farmers with less productivity.
Koindadugu District used to be coldest district in the country, over the years we have been experiencing an increase in the average temperature within the district. Cold-loving crops have been affected seriously by the increased temperature, hence, low productivity.
Forests are the habitats for most wildlife, we have lost wide variety of biodiversity due to the continuous cutting down of forests. The loss of forests also means the loss of habitats for many species of animals and plants.
All these adverse effects can be mitigated if we try to conserve our forest and protect them for us and the generation yet unborn. With the massive loss of trees in forests comes a massive loss in all the things that go hand in hand with this rich diverse environment. Animal species, plant species, medicine, livelihoods and weather patterns will all be greatly affected following the loss of forests.
