Deforestation causes extinction and turns greenhouse
Dominik Goldstein 16, “Eliminating deforestation and forest degradation in order to prevent species from extinction, especially with regard to areas in Asia, Africa and South America,” http://www.balmun.de/fileadmin/2016/Research_Reports/RR_EC_I_Deforestation.pdf
Deforestation and forest degradation are undoubtedly part of the largest environmental problems our world is facing today. Of the 16 million square kilometers of forest that once covered the earth’s surface, only 6.2 million remain up to date. 2.3 million have been destroyed between 2000 and 2012 alone. Not only does this threaten the balance of local important environmental factors such as water cycles and greenhouse gas decomposition and harm the economy and society of affected areas, but it also endangers many different species, as 80% of all biodiversity is found in forests. The entire planet and its population rely on the fate of forests, it is vital that the issues of deforestation and forest degradation are tackled thoroughly, however, it can only be achieved through close cooperation amongst all UN member nations.
***note when prepping file --- the evidence, especially bottom part, could be useful for the aff IF the plan spurs or includes regulations to ensure sustainable REE extraction and development but teams might be reluctant to defend that (because it would make clean energy costlier and it is likely not topical).