The Spread of Viruses Essay

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Indigenous Environmental Studies

The Link

For this assignment, we choose the problem of deforestation in Africa and it potential link to the outbreak of the Ebola virus. There have been scientific discussions and debates about whether deforestation was the primary cause of the rise and spread of the Ebola virus which is yet to be conclusively proven but there are enough indications to this end. Hence, for this paper, it is proposed to study the possible link between deforestation in Africa to the spread of the deadly virus that resulted in one of the greatest natural disasters for mankind.

Was deforestation the case of west Africa's Ebola outbreak?

Deforestation in Africa -- especially in sub-Saharan Africa is a major problem and a cause of concern for environmentalists as well as for the local population. However, this problem turned out to be a care for the global population after the rapid spread of the Ebola virus that killed thousands of people in Africa alone and spread to at least half of the world's geographic area.

Many scientists believe that deforestation could have been the triggering factor for recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa. A section of scientists are of the opinion that the destruction of forest and natural habitat was responsible for bringing in bats into greater contact with humans. Bats are believed to have been the source of spread of the deadly Ebola virus in humans.

Environmentalists are of the opinion that subsistence agriculture forced locals to cut down forests. Rampant mining activities were also the cause of deforestation along with export-oriented large-scale logging.

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The Problem

It is widely accepted that deforestation is a complex problem since it is linked and often caused by strive of people to earn a livelihood. In Africa -- especially in West Africa, this problem is abundant and is coupled with low economic growth and alternative means of livelihood.

At least 30% of the world's tropical forests were present in Africa which had an estimated 528 million hectares of forests about 20 years ago. However, the deforestation in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa is much more than the global average of 0.8%. The primary cause of deforestation in Africa is associated with human activities in contrast to commercial logging or cattle raising in rest of the world.

Another major problem for the rapid deforestation of the African region is the use of wood as fuel for households. Estimates are that nearly 90% of the entire population of the continent and especially in the sub-Saharan region use wood as fuel for cooking. This wood is obtained from trees and cutting them down for this purpose is another reason for rapid deforestation.

According to Porter and Brown, as much as 60% of the global deforestation is caused by the conversion of forests for the purpose of subsistence and for commercial agriculture (Chasek, Downie & Brown, 2014). Commercial logging, on the other hand, results in estimated 20 to 25% of deforestation every year.

Other human activities for commercial purposes like mining, planting of cash crops, cattle ranching and construction of infrastructure such as dams are thought to be the reason.....

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