According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (U.N. FAO), 62.2% of Puerto Rico is forested. Although Puerto Rico is a small island mainly forested, it's actually a very modern country, especially in the metropolitan area. Many of the buildings in today's metropolitan area were not there in the past. Many of the forest have been eliminated throughout the years to make commercial buildings and homes. This problem of industrialization, due to globalization, is very common in Puerto Rico as in other parts of the world.
Industrialization is part of the everyday world. I have the perfect example from were I live in Guaynabo. In 2010 a contractor came to our area with the idea of constructing a new building. People protested against the construction because they were eliminating a pasture that contained trees and animal life. The neighborhood met with the objective of avoiding the construction of the building, but ended in nothing because there was not much crowd to win the protest against the contractor. People of the neighborhood saw how the construction workers demolished the forest, and two years after, the building was finished. To sum up, right after the building was finished another contractor came with the idea of making a Walgreens in the corner of the street facing the avenue. The reaction of the neighborhood was of surprise. The people didn't that a business local would be constructed there because it was a residential area, not a place to develop a commercial project. The Walgreens was going to be constructed right next to the building, and also on a pasture that contained plant and animal life. This elimination of the pasture left many animals without a habitat, and is another example of the deforestation of plant life. Both projects are now finished so there is no solution to the deforestation they caused. For future projects on our area I hope the whole community gathers to avoid the deforestation of plant life.
For me, deforestation is the worst action that mankind could do to nature. Nature is not supposed to be eliminated so that the people can benefit from its space, on the contrary, it’s there to
help humans mainly with oxygen. Why eliminate forests when they help us? Why eliminate them when it is essential for our bodies? We are affecting ourselves and the animals that live in those areas. We are being cruel human beings if we promote deforestation.
References:
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/Puerto_Rico.htm
