Articles About Deforestation: Top 5 Examples and Prompts

Deforestation is a serious issue affecting wildlife, humans, and the climate. Discover our guide with the top picks on articles about deforestation.

Ask any adult how the forests were during their youth compared to the ones we now have today. I guarantee everyone will point out that they enjoyed cleaner air, lusher shades, and stronger soils that can withstand landslides. 

Due to human greed, there are fewer trees to give us clean air, protect us from storms, and secure our food. Our experience now is the adverse effects of deforestation or the mass destruction of our forests. Several programs are already attempting to mitigate its impact. Writing an article about deforestation is essential to bring attention to this serious issue.

5 Article Examples

1. Deforestation in Amazonia by William Laurance

“Many of the government’s recently announced measures to slow forest loss are positive steps, but if it does not curtail its aggressive plans for infrastructure expansion, Brazil will fail to address one of the most critical root causes of Amazonian deforestation.”

Laurance delves into the negative impacts of the Brazilian government’s infrastructure projects on the Amazonia forests. They explain these adverse effects through research and graphs showing how these expansions drastically contribute to deforestation. However, the government continues to deny these claims, offering mitigating programs that don’t prioritize the environment. Additionally, the researchers express their disappointment at the Brazilian President’s asking his federal ministers to get around laws that are put in place to protect nature.   

2. Deforestation Remains High, Despite International Pledges by Henry Fountain

“The report found that overall in the tropics, more than 27 million acres of forest cover was lost. But in its analysis the institute focuses on older primary forests in humid regions, which play by far the greatest role in keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and in maintaining biodiversity.”

Fountain focuses his article on the World Resources Institute’s annual report about acres of forest lost, citing Brazil as the top contributor to this neglect, followed by Congo and Bolivia. He shares that this loss is attributed to mining, agriculture, and uncontrolled fires. Aside from greenhouse gases, deforestation causes habitat loss and land degradation. The report also talks about other countries’ success in alleviating deforestation problems, such as Indonesia and Malaysia.

3. Deforestation Causes by Edward Parker

“Deforestation and forest degradation can happen quickly, such as when a forest is clear-cut to make way for a palm oil plantation or a new settlement. It can also happen gradually as a result of ongoing forest degradation as temperatures rise due to climate change caused by human activity.”

Parker tackles the reasons for deforestation. However, he notes that whether these causes occur immediately, most are linked to human activities. He quotes unsustainable forest management, forest conversions, and fuel harvesting. The author also incorporates an infographic to present data that are easily understandable by the readers.

4. Deforestation Tied to Changes in Disease Dynamics by Katarina Zimmer

“Although there is still much research needed on the mechanisms by which deforestation can result in the spread of vector-borne and zoonotic infections to humans, Vittor says, the idea is rapidly gaining traction: ‘We humans are in our environment and we influence it, and it influences us.'”

Zimmer starts her report with the 2002 Malaysian Borneo malaria outbreak, indicating no upsurge before extensive deforestation. She adduces several experts on the subject to offer evidence that human activities that disturb natural habitats result in diseases. Many researchers also believe that the destruction of forests may cause pandemics. Ultimately, Zimmer acknowledges that although several experts recognize the link between deforestation and diseases, more research is needed to confirm their assumptions.

5. Deforestation Drives Climate Change That Harms Remaining Forest by the University of California – Irvine

“By knowing exactly how much biomass is being lost through this activity, he explained, policymakers can make stronger arguments for why it’s worthwhile to curb deforestation, because they can now better describe the knock-on effects.”

UCI’s Li uses satellite data and climate variables to quantify tropical deforestation’s influence on its surrounding forests. The authors dedicate their paper to proving how avoiding deforestation results in carbon benefits and demonstrate the relationship between carbon, vegetation, and climate change. Through the team’s efforts and findings, many experts and policymakers believe they can develop better climate solutions. 

7 Prompts for Articles About Deforestation

1. The Main Causes of Deforestation

Educate your readers about the primary causes of deforestation through your article. Briefly define deforestation so your audience can better understand why it happens and why it’s unavoidable. You can divide your paper into two parts, one devoted to natural causes of deforestation and the other to human activities.

2. The Effects of Deforestation 

For this prompt, your goal is to convince your readers to want to do something about deforestation. Describe deforestation’s immediate and lasting effects and the programs concerned organizations and governments do to alleviate these consequences. To make your article more stimulating, relay a story demonstrating how deforestation started and how it’ll end. For instance, follow a story of illegal loggers and how it ends up causing landslides.  

See our persuasive writing guide to better grasp how to use it in your paper.

3. Politics and Deforestation

Discuss how government affairs impact deforestation. For example, how the economy is often prioritized over anti-deforestation attempts. Conduct research on how corporations or capitalists influence government decisions and how they are favored over the pending chaos posed by clearing forest land. You can also include laws that should be strictly implemented to save trees and offer a positive outcome if the issue is taken seriously.

Use quotes from experts across the board, such as economists, politicians, and environmental activists. You can focus your article on how partnerships like the Tropical Forest Alliance aim to remove beef, soy, pulp, paper, and palm oil from the global commodity supply chains and how it links back to deforestation.

4. Movies and Documentaries About Deforestation

The dire aftermath of deforestation can efficiently be conveyed through visual learning. Enumerate the best documentaries and films about deforestation in your article and describe them briefly to entice readers to watch them. For instance, National Geographic released a powerful documentary called “The Territory,” which shares the Amazon’s Indigenous Uru-eu-wau tribe’s fight against deforestation and their plight to save their home. 

5. Deforestation and the Future

In your article, share your prediction for the future if deforestation continues at the rate it’s going today. Use reliable statistics, studies, and research to support your statements, and cite experts’ opinions. Include all the known and unknown effects that pose a danger to plants, wildlife, climate, and humans.

6. Deforestation: Then and Now

Relay facts in your article by diving into the nitty gritty details of how deforestation is handled then versus now. Add how it started, changed landscapes, and why people know its future detrimental results but continue to destroy trees in favor of short-term gains. To give you an idea, some continue to plunder the forests because they think they’ll be dead when the effects of deforestation come in full force anyway.

7. What We Can Do To Mitigate Deforestation

Put yourself in an average Joe’s shoes. Explore how an ordinary person can help lessen deforestation’s harmful effects in the simplest ways possible. You can divide your article into students, working adults, and organizations and companies.

For example, students and working adults can join tree-planting activities, opt for recycled or sustainable products, and use less paper. Meanwhile, organizations and companies can push plans to protect the forest and commit to their green policies. You can also add how these groups can benefit from anti-deforestation endeavors. 

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