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Deforestation
In the past century, the world population has increased and with it many countries have seen the need to foster industry and domestic economies by cutting down large areas of primary forest to sell timber and turn the cleared zones over to farmland, houses, factories, highways and holiday resorts. Over the past 50 years, 60-70 million hectares of forest have been cleared. In 1950, a quarter of all land was covered by forest. However, now the figure has shrunken to one-sixth.
Environmental specialists have proved that the rapid decrease in forest around the world has contributed to climatic changes in recent decades. In many places, rains no longer come in the rainy seasons but in normally dry periods. Some areas have suffered water and soil loss owing to deforestation of mountainous land, resulting in floods which have serious impact on local livelihoods. In view of the situation, some countries have actively pursued forest preservation and reforestation programmes in recent years to prevent the natural environment from further deterioration.
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