Rebuild the Earth: Stop Deforestation

Rebuild the Earth: Stop Deforestation

Did you know that one and a half acres of forest is cut down every second? That rate is equivalent to a loss of 20 football fields every minute. This is the sad reality of the world we live in today, where we are physically exterminating the environment around us, and either voluntarily choosing to ignore the consequences or sometimes genuinely unaware of each of our actions repercussions. In an attempt to stop our rainforests from being destroyed in the next century, I have founded Rebuild the Earth to create a responsible forest product industry and rebuild the areas that have fallen victim to deforestation. Ending deforestation not only is our best chance to conserve wildlife and forest communities, but is also one of the quickest and most cost-effective ways to curb globalization.

Rebuild the Earth is different from other environmental protection organizations because it focuses on three pillars: awareness, community support, and reforestation. Regarding our first focus, our organization will team up with local governments, communities, and schools to appropriately communicate the disastrous effects of deforestation, and where our world is headed if we continue at our current rate. We will intertwine the consequences of deforestation to the growing problem of global warming, as most people are unaware that tropical deforestation accounts for 17% of the worlds largest heat trapping emissions. By simply informing citizens about these statistics, people are able to easily detect the causes, effects, and ways to counteract deforestation. Through this awareness, individuals will make more informed daily choices and rally together to demand forest conservation policies for companies.

Rebuild the Earth will also focus on supporting communities in developing companies that have to turn to their local forests in order to increase their economic well-being. This dependence often pressures locals to deplete their forests of all their resources. In fact, rainforests in the Asia-Pacific are disappearing at a rate of 1.35 million hectares a year. In order to stop this, Rebuild the Earth will provide these communities with alternative ways to make money in a sustainable and long-term way. Also, we will encourage these communities to start localized tree planting programs to kickstart the rebuilding of their environment.

Finally, Rebuild the Earth will concentrate its efforts on physically replanting areas of great deforestation. To do this, we will select and dedicate large tracts of land to cultivate forests. This can be done in a variety of locations, ranging from wildlife reserves to city parks. Reforestation will improve biodiversity, give food security and market access for forest people, and reverse the effects of deforestation.

With these three main focuses and a whole family of passionate individuals to ensure my organization’s success, I truly believe we can come together, globally, and save our environment before it's too late.