:: MGRM ::

Historically, wood has been the most dominant form of heating, fuel, building houses, making a multitude of implements ETC. The nuts & fruits of the trees are useful for human food, medicines and dyes. As population expanded and settlements grew, more and more trees were cut down to provide clearings for agriculture, fire for heating and cooking, and construction materials for homes and household goods. As a result, a series of ecological breakdowns occurred as animals overgrazed, topsoil eroded and flooding became common that affected even the most formidable civilizations. In 650 BC the Greece hillsides once covered with vegetation became barren, seriously affecting the Greek economy and political power. Greek philosopher Plato (427 – 347 BC) compared hills and mountains of Greece to the bones of a wasted body stating, "All the richer and softer parts have fallen away and the mere skeleton of the land remains." In the fourth & fifth century serious deforestation and abuse of other natural resources, in addition to the political decay, greatly contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. The Roman generals would simply burn the massive forestlands to the ground whenever Gauls or Britains would escape into them. The history of Easter Island, its statues and its peoples, has long been shrouded in mystery. New evidence based on pollen analysis suggests that the Easter Island inhabitants destroyed their own society through deforestation.

After the first European contact with the New World over 500 years ago, the forests of the Western Hemisphere began to disappear. The more accessible forests of Brazil and the Caribbean were converted into sugar plantations. In North America, settlers arrived from Europe and slaves were brought in from Africa to convert what was once a vast expanse of temperate forest into farms and ranches to accommodate the settlers' growing needs for cooking, heating, constructing houses and furniture. Meanwhile, back in Europe, the arrival of the Industrial Revolution put tremendous pressure on the remaining forests to supply fuel for the smelters and foundries of the new industries. Before the end of the 19th century, most of the Europe's ancient forests were only distant memories.

All that has changed since the mid-twentieth century is that this ancient process of catastrophic cutting of trees has accelerated at an alarming rate and is beginning to cause severe, irreversible damage to the environment today.

But what exactly is a forest, why is it so important and what constitutes ‘deforestation’?