Our world's forests are becoming isolated and broken. In fact, today we have only two remaining continuous forests systems in the world-the Amazon and the Congo. The rest of the world's forests are becoming eparated-kind of like islands.
Why should that concern most of us city dwellers? It turns out that forests affect us in ways more than we can see and experience. If you had your breakfast this morning, blew your nose on a tissue, switched on a light or are reading this article, you have one thing to thank for-the world's forests and the products they supply us. Forest products are used by us in our daily lives either directly or indirectly. Think of paper and wood-your school textbook, newspaper your parents read, or the furniture you are sitting on. Even for our medicines and cosmetics we depend on forest products.
But that is only one way of looking at it. In another sense, forests are habitats for diverse plant and animal species; many people around the world depend on forests for their livelihood. Forests give us our rivers, help maintain the water cycle, act as a carbon sink and help prevent soil erosion.
For all that forests provide us, humans are using its resources faster than the forests can regain themselves, so much so that we are losing them fast—too fast for our own good! Forests today make up 30% of the land area of the world. But just in the last 50 years, more than one half of the world forests are gone. It is believed that forest areas, about half the size of Singapore, are being lost every day!
Forests don't disappear in a day. It is gradually eroded (侵蚀) away. The biggest cause is roads and man-made developments, as well as natural events such as wildfires. Did you know that when an area of a forest gets broken-up by artificial barriers, these areas tend to lose about 50% of all their species within a couple of decades?
The areas that are exposed by the disappearing forests now begin to experience extreme temperature, pressure and wind. Now add to it, invasive species that destroy the habitat.
It is in our hands to do something about it. If government officials and local populations can work together to reconnect the mini forests by planting linking trees, it may not be too late to preserve what we already have.