6. Why is it difficult to regulate the deforestation of forests?

In the first place, because the forests are located in the territories of some countries, which refuse to stop marketing them, because the sale of logs and wood boards is a big business and therefore, they are not willing to abandon it. The governments of these nations use sovereignty as an argument to contain any attempt to stop deforestation. This is the first obstacle to overcome if we want to stop the destruction of the rain forests and save the future of life on Earth.

The second difficulty is that the use of wood is very extensive, as it is used in the construction industry, interior decoration, furniture manufacturing and the paper industry. These needs are nurtured at the expense of forest deforestation, which is aggravated by controlled fires, used as the most economical method to clear the ground of branches, roots and other remains of felled trees. These supposed controlled fires often get out of hand, causing serious forest and wildlife losses.

Wood is a natural product that, due to its warmth, texture, and beauty, has no substitute in some of the aforementioned uses. Among these we have the manufacture of some types of furniture and the interior design of buildings. It is not easy to convince architects, decorators, and consumers to substitute wood for other materials such as iron, bronze and other metals, plastics, granite stones or marble.

In the case of the construction industry, specifically in the manufacture of the structure of houses, partly pine wood from recyclable forests is used. Yet despite this, in rain forests and forests trees are being cut down in a hostile and uncontrollable way.

For all this, deforestation is emerging as the most difficult contributor to climate change to combat since there is no plan to replace wood with other materials. There is also no known effective action to reduce and control logging and illegal timber trading, nor is there a schedule to reduce forest marketing, as there are for the replacement of fossil fuels with clean energies.

In many countries, programs to withdraw internal combustion vehicles from circulation are already in progress. Almost all manufacturers are producing plug-in cars, which are in the direction of the Paris Agreement. Likewise, progress has been made in the production of photovoltaic solar panels, windmills, and lithium batteries for electric cars.

On the other hand, there is no agreement or similar program to stop the destruction of forests. That is why we think that deforestation is the number one problem that must be addressed.

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