New Zealand's Deforestation and Water Resources Situation

The New Zealand Forest Situation
New Zealand is famous for it's agriculture industry, and obviously, to be able to have a successful farming business, you can't have land filled with forest, so it is cleared. In fact, since the first settlers arrived in New Zealand around 800 – 1300 AD, forest cover has been reduced from almost 100% to around 29% today. In the last five years the logging of plantation forests has also sped up dramatically to meet demand for timber and other resources. However, on a global scale, New Zealand's forest cover and deforestation rate are things Kiwis can be proud of.

The Forest and Water Link in New Zealand
As explained in The Big Link (see Earth's Water Resources in Relation to Deforestation) forests have a major role in the supply and quality of water, so it is unsurprising that New Zealand's freshwater is clean and plentiful compared to countries all over the world.
The demand for water is increasing, and so it is inevitable that supplies are drained faster. However, just like the rest of the world, supplies are not the only thing that are dropping. The vast stretches of farmland throughout New Zealand are continuously polluting our rivers and streams with run-off from land and animals. Due to the extra water required to run a farm, the patterns of farmland, water deficit and water quality in New Zealand are like vast blueprints of each other.

What Kiwis Can Do
The best way for New Zealand to improve it's water situation while retaining our agriculture industry is simple; farmers must begin to take far more care with the amount of water that they use, and what they do with their waste. That, combined with all Kiwis taking notice of these issues and being more careful with the water they use will make all the difference towards New Zealand still having plenty of clean, fresh water for generations to come.

Earth's Water Resources in Relation to Deforestation

Earth’s Forests and Water Resources

Water resources and deforestation are both environmental issues that are becoming increasingly serious. The two problems are interlinked in many ways, with both affecting each other drastically.

If we are to curb the dire water situation, the forests need to be saved, and vice versa.

This article explains the links between forests and water worldwide and also takes a look at how these issues affect New Zealand.

The Big Link

In order for there to always be fresh water available on Earth the water cycle has to be fully functional. This means that rain has to be consistently falling, serving its purpose and evaporating back up into the atmosphere. Without forest cover, falling rain goes straight to the ground and runs off the land. This causes erosion which pollutes and clogs waterways, reducing the Earths supply of clean water. However, when the rain falls onto plants it can be evaporated back into the atmosphere or taken in by the leaves and roots where it is stored. Trees also draw ground water up and store it, from there it is released into the air and rises up again. An example of the water-storing powers of Amazon, despite the presence of the world’s largest river, over half the water is stored in plants. The more forest that is damaged, the drier the climate will be all around the world.

Desertification

As the forest recedes due to the mass logging for timber and farmland, it is replaced by increasingly dry land. These deserts then begin to take control, “eating” away at the forest by stripping moisture away from the forests, killing the precious trees and increasing the amount of dry, useless desert. This is desertification and it means less and less forest that can hold water.