5  Lifestyle Changes You Can Make To Reduce Deforestation

By Devaraj Bollareddy

Today is World Rainforest Day 2022  and despite how passionately you feel about the adverse effects of deforestation and how humans should conserve forests, many feel like there is not much one can do on an individual level to reduce the impact of deforestation on forest depletion. But, what if you were told that there are in fact, many things you could do to reduce deforestation levels?

Today, on the occasion of World Rainforest Day, let’s look at small changes you can make to your lifestyle that can make a huge impact in the long run on the environment.

1. Start Buying sustainable wood products and recycled paper products.

Off late, there have been many companies that started selling sustainable wood products. Although these products are still made with wood, this wood is sourced sustainably. Ensure that the product you are buying is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The FSC is currently the best global standard for forest management. There are also a lot of companies selling products made out of recycled paper, try and shift your paper consumption towards sustainability. Paper and wood are materials that directly come from trees, if more people start becoming conscious about sustainability, deforestation rates can significantly be  reduced in the long run.

2. Avoid products made out of palm oil.

Palm oil production is one of the main causes of tropical rainforest deforestation. Although a small amount of palm oil is produced sustainably, a huge majority of it comes from recently cleared land. Malaysia and Indonesia are some of the biggest exports of palm oil and virgin rainforests are being cleared at an alarming rate in these countries. Some everyday products that contain palm oil are peanut butter, chips, margarine and ice cream.

3. Avoid disposable wooden utensils.

A lot of restaurants and fast food chains switched from disposable plastic utensils to disposable wooden utensils, and although this is a good shift, using disposable wooden utensils to this extent is harmful to the environment. Next time you go to a restaurant and they pack your leftovers with a wooden spoon, ask them not to give it to you and if you are a fan of eating with chopsticks, invest in a pair of metal chopsticks so that you will not have to use a new pair of wooden ones each time.

4. Reduce your consumption of meat.

This is by no means a tiny lifestyle change, however, to produce the same amount of protein from animals requires much more land than plant-based farming. As demand for meat-based products grows, so does the demand for more land. This is why animal farming is one of the leading causes of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. In fact, around 70% of the land clearing in the Amazon rainforest is done to create room for cattle ranches. This need not be a drastic change though, you can slowly start cutting back on meat and start replacing it with plant-based proteins such as beans or soya.

5. Plant a tree.

This is the simplest, yet most effective way to combat deforestation. Look at it this way, planting a tree is the equivalent of a life-long investment towards the environment on your behalf. Trees produce Oxygen and regulate toxic greenhouse gases and the more trees there are, the better it is for the global environment in the long run. By planting a tree, you are reducing the pace of global warming, saving water, and preventing soil erosion along with combating deforestation.

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