In the view of the 20th century, majority nations have attained huge economic gains emanating from industrial and agricultural activities carried out through advanced technologies. In this case, people use heavy machinery as well as improved innovations to cut down trees as a source of raw materials and for the sake of clearing farming land. Although the above technologies were meant to bring about advancement in human life, some individuals take advantage of the invention to make their personal gains. Some of the countries indicating the higher rate of deforestation include Vietnam, Russia, Brazil, and Mexico. Indeed, the aspect of cutting down trees have contributed to the destruction of vegetation, a thing that, in turn, leads to an imbalance between carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere (Rowe, 2012). Moreover, deforestation activities are also destroying the homes for many animal and birds living in the forests. To be specific, a country like Brazil has been carrying deforestation practices in higher rate irrespective of the government having enacting rules for preventing deforestation activities. Fortunately, Garrett Hardin in his editorial ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’ has provided a comprehensive understanding regarding the impacts of people’ attitudes toward the surrounding (Hardin, 2014). Moreover, this author has offered varied ideas and solutions that can aid persons to do embrace actions that promote environmental conservation. Indeed, Garrett plays a vital role in facilitating interpretation of issues relating to deforestation as well as offering remedies for minimizing the destruction of the forest.
To illustrate, Hardin aids people to come up with suitable solutions that will help them to cope up with over-population challenges. Prior to explaining the population-based issue, this author starts by introducing the tick-tack-tow inclination to give the message that there will never be a technical winning solution until the human morality is changed to make people embrace the winning activities. In this case, the procedural elucidation signifies something that does not need to be changed as far as human morality and values are concerned (Feeny et al., 1990). Based on the above information, Hardin demonstrates that over-population is categorized as a group of non-official remedies. Indeed, this writer offers a discussion about the common world where the resources are available and shared among the entire society or persons, hence, it is publicly owned. On the other hand, Hardin denotes ‘Tragedy’ as an ending increase in the population in a finite environment (Buffum, 2012). In connection with the above concept, people should, therefore, avoid worldly misfortunes by unsuitable ways of living and also by adopting necessary ethical values.
To be specific, Garrett highlights that the population growth is an unending process but space and resources available for people are limited. Based on the above information it is clear that the fixed reserves cannot support an extremely growing population. On the other hand, Hardin argues that rational or self-interested persons are identified through their attempts to abuse the commons for their own benefits but they, in turn, affect the environment or the public in a negative manner. In connection with Garrett’s article, the exploiters will cause a calamity that degrades and bring destruction into the commons (Hardin, 2014). Also, when all the self-interested individuals are optimizing their benefits, the collective results will eventually harm the majority in a given community. Because of the above reason, a given entity sharing similar things and they affect the public or environment in a negative way, then these organizations may be referred to as collective interest. According to Garrett, the above problem can be solved by coming up with advanced systems that will enable the community to govern itself in an effective way. To add, the society should join hands to attain a shared goal for solving the existing problem (Rowe, 2012). As a matter of fact, the author holds that coercion is the only mutual method that is agreed upon by a big number of the affected persons.
In a like manner, deforestation is a problem similar to over-population since it impacts the majority of persons, hence, it needs to be solved. Indeed, the deforestation is a tragedy since it leads to the destruction of trees, hence, affecting the environmental ecosystem in a negative way. The activity of cutting down trees is done by the loggers and their interest is making money but their acts normally cause adverse changes in seasons as well as on the weather conditions. Moreover, the companies involved in wood works cut many trees using the advanced technology but they do not care about the impact of deforestation on forests, the common (Feeny et al., 1990). Irrespective of the fact that farmers, wood companies, and loggers focus at gaining profits, their action will eventually lead to the destruction of inhabitants in the forests. It is essential for people to understand that there is not a technical remedy for deforestation other than adapting and embracing practices that facilitate conservation of rainforest (Burke, 2001). The aspect challenging achievement of the technical solution is that trees take a long time before growing back. In this case, the forest is finite and the deforestation act can cause trees to end in some decades to come.
In contrast, the nontechnical remedy for deforestation is educating the community about the danger associated with cutting down trees in a large number. For instance, it is important for people to be helped to understand the harm deforestation cause to the human living. The other nontechnical method is to establish a series of laws for preserving the vegetation. The national regime is supposed to come up with strict rules for controlling the trees cutting process, thereby, preventing loggers from destroying the surrounding (Buffum, 2012). Moreover, all farmers are required to work collaboratively to ensure that a certain number of trees have been planted within a specified duration. Similarly, the consumers should together boycott the products made from the materials harnessed through deforestation (Rowe, 2012). Certainly, the above practices will help much to conserve the environment and promote lives of the commons.
Moreover, deforestation leads to the extinction of many living things and plant species that are used for medicinal purpose. For instance, some of the useful plants that are greatly affected by the deforestation are ginger that helps in fighting nausea and garlic, a plant used in boosting body immune as well as for making a component for fighting cancer cases. Also, it is identified that colorful macaws are about to end along the Amazon River because they lack feeds, thereby, ending up consuming detoxifying clay (Hardin, 2014). Based on the above information, it is clear that deforestation is causing harm to environment and majority organisms residing in a certain environment. Besides, tree cutting has contributed much to the destruction of the ozone layer. Furthermore, deforestation is also leading to changes concerning air circulation patterns where rainfall has greatly reduced in Brazilian deforested areas (Burke, 2001). Likewise, deforestation is also causing flooding problems as well as affecting the quality of water in a negative manner. To illustrate, the trees serve a role of absorbing the flooding water that is later lost from the plants through leaves, hence, minimizing the volume of water on the ground (Buffum, 2012). In connection to the above information, the aspect of cutting down trees does not only lead to flooding but it causes soil erosion since the ground is exposed to agents of erosion including wind and water among other factors.
The technical solution for ascertaining ethical continuation of timberworks is by avoiding to cut natural vegetation but instead plant an extra tree for the sake of wood industries. However, the man-made forest should bigger enough to sustain the loggers in order for people to conserve the environment (Feeny et al., 1990). Because there are many trees used on paper production, building houses and as a source of energy, it is clear that the aspect of protecting forests will help the commons to live a good life in the future (Burke, 2001). The forest sustenance process was in one time practiced in 1902 in the United States where lots of trees were planted in Nebraska, hence, making this region to emerge the biggest man-made forest in North America.
The Brazilian government has tried its level best to ensure the commons’ interest are protected through conserving the forests. To be specific, this administration has largely invested on The Nature Conservancy activities including utilization of electronic gadgets like Global Positioning System (GPS) to monitor the environment, hence, it is capable of identifying illegal loggers (Rowe, 2012). When people are caught unlawfully cutting trees or found in protected regions, they are arrested and the regime takes the disciplinary actions against them because of destroying the environment (Burke, 2001). Irrespective of the fact that GPS cannot be able to control all the logging activities, this technology plays a crucial role in minimizing logging practices.
Also, the non-technical remedies for fighting against deforestation is to conserve the natural forests as well as investing in activities that promote the growth of additional trees. Indeed, there are many entities that work hard to ascertain that forests are preserved to enhance the welfare of the future generation, the commons. For instance, in Brazil, there have been instigated a ‘Forest Compensation Fund’ with an aim of buying a land for planting trees (Buffum, 2012). Also, the conservation international (CI) has also accumulated a huge sum of money for purchasing almost 99 million acres of land as a process of ensuring the society is protected through environmental conservation (Burke, 2001). However, the community members are also supposed to join hand with the organizations focusing on promoting forest prevention since they are the end beneficiaries of the conserved environment.
Convincingly, it is challenging for people to stop logging practices but deforestation can be reduced in a moderate manner by allowing woodwork industries to only cut trees on specified regions. Additionally, it is also important to determine the suitable time to start and stop cutting down trees in order to enable the forests to rebuild again (Feeny et al., 1990). Furthermore, it is essential to permit the establishment of small roads to be used by loggers such that when they cease harvesting woods, the forest will regain its normal state. The above practice ensures that unlawful loggers will not find entry into forests and steal woods. More importantly, it is important for the loggers to utilize effective methods to ensure that other plants are not destroyed by falling trees (Rowe, 2012). As matter of fact, the above exercise will ensure that all people have mutually benefited from trees.
To add, it is good to change the way of living and come up with a common agreement regarding forest conservation. In the illustration, people should work collaboratively on encouraging loggers to find other ways of earning their livings apart from deforestation (Hardin, 2014). Moreover, community members must also agree to abide by rules restricting deforestation acts in specified areas. On the other hand, the government is required to take the legal measures against individuals who break environmental conservation laws by either jailing or fining them (Feeny et al., 1990). Indeed, the cooperation between society and the government will lead to fruitful results in the fight against deforestation.
To conclude, the aspect that people have concentrated on agricultural and industrial practices have affected the natural resources such as forest in an adverse manner. For instance, the farmers clear land in order to cultivate various crops as well as rearing animals, but they forget they are doing harm to the environment. Similarly, the woodwork industries have a tendency of using heavy machinery and improved technology in order to cut the largest possible quantity of trees. The above activity leads to the extinction of some species of trees and various organisms as well as causing the destruction of the inhabitants of animals living in the forests. According to Garrett, the above activities can be liked with the tragedies that affect the commons ‘the entire community’. Otherwise, it is important to mind others in order to venture into activities that mutually benefit the entire community rather than destroying the environment for personal gains.
- Buffum, B. (2012). Why is there no tragedy in these commons? An analysis of forest user groups and forest policy in Bhutan. Sustainability, 4(7), 1448-1465.
- Burke, B. E. (2001). Hardin revisited: A critical look at perception and the logic of the commons. Human Ecology, 29(4), 449-476.
- Feeny, D., Berkes, F., McCay, B. J., & Acheson, J. M. (1990). The tragedy of the commons: twenty-two years later. Human ecology, 18(1), 1-19.
- Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Reviewed Works, 162 (3859), 1243- 1248.
- Rowe, J. (2012). The parallel economy of the commons. In State of the World 2008, 166-178, New York, Routledge.