Forests play an enormous role in the health, climate, and biodiversity of earth. Trees provide habitats for wildlife, allowing biodiversity to increase. Trees also help with cooling the environment, through regulated water flow, canopy shade, and reduction of carbon emissions through the air. These examples are just a small amount of how forests provide for communities.
Deforestation is the permanent clearing and burning of trees. 80% of deforestation occurs due to cattle ranching, development, and materials/resources. Every year, society clears around 100 million hectares of forests. Deforestation's environmental impact is huge and is one of the largest contributors to climate change. Trees are important not just for the resources and oxygen they provide but also for their carbon storage abilities. Via photosynthesis, carbon is stored in their roots, leaves, and trunks. When cut or burned, trees release that stored carbon back into the air as carbon dioxide, trapped in the earth's surface increasing the heat.
The communities that face the most impacts are the Indigenous. Just as everyone else, Indigenous communities survive off forest habitats. The difference is these communities actually call these forests home, not just resources for survival. They protect and serve the forests as "guardians of biodiversity" (Kunungo, 2023). For many Indigenous people, their cultural identity is tied to the land. When these forests are cut, sacred sites, rituals, and connections to nature are permanently destroyed. As deforestation robs more of these communities of their way of life, Indigeneity itself is at threat of erasure.
Environmental Justice is the concept that all people have a right to a healthy environment and equal access to environmental resources. Through the fair involvement of all people regardless of any characteristics, are to be included in environmental decision making. This encompasses the idea that environmental consequences should not overburden certain communities. For deforestation, the Indigenous communities around the world are the ones whose voices deserve to be heard. The issue is they are left out of the planning when the forests are destroyed. Often done without consent, governments neglect tribal sovereignty and push their agenda.
Involving Indigenous communities in discussions about forestry management will bring a sustainable future. Respecting the legal sovereignty of Native land and understanding Indigenous people's parts in future development will prove beneficial for the environment and society.