Without the forest, local rainfall and moisture are lost and the land cannot sustain human activities for long.  The soil, which only has nutrients while the forest grows to sustain the land, soon becomes very dry and can not sustain crops.  This forces the "slash and burn" farmers to move on and destroy new areas of forest land so that they can continue to feed their cattle and grow crops.

Logging
The second largest cause of deforestation is logging. Timber companies cut down huge trees such as mahogany and teak for sale to make furniture. Smaller trees are often used for the production of charcoal. Vast areas of land are felled and destroyed in one fell swoop and the roads created in order to cut and remove these trees cause further destruction. Countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and Ecuador are prime culprits for logging in vast quantities and this destructive activity is also encouraged by large international companies based in Europe, the USA and elsewhere who benefit from the destruction. 

Brand Stand chose to protect tropical forests in Ecuador because only 10-15% of the original forest lands remain!  We plan to make a difference. With the World Land Trust working hard to save endangered lands across the globe, there seems to be no shortage of tropical forests that need to be saved before destruction erases them from the map, forever.

Agriculture
Agriculture is another major force behind deforestation.  Where tropical rainforests once thrived, fruit, cereal and pulses now grow as the Agriculture industry contributes to the destruction of rainforests daily.
Bananas, palm oil, pineapple, sugar cane, tea and coffee are all grown on old forest plantations.  Just like the cattle ranching the soil dries out and they soon have to move on to destroy more fertile land. It's a sin if you think that forests that have thrived for millions of years are wasted for 2-4 simple years of agriculture.

Mining, Oil and Dams
Metals and gems such as diamonds, aluminum and gold are often found in the ground below rainforests and developing nations are very demanding of such precious metals.  Hence, mining is a huge contributor to the demise of the rainforest as governments and corporations seek to extract these elements.  Not only does this type of deforestation affect wildlife habitats directly but the pollution it causes into nearby rivers and water supplies is immense due to the chemical extraction processes used to separate the metals and other precious substances form the rock that has held them for millennia.

The same goes for oil.  Again deposits are found underneath forest land and the extraction causes enough damage without further destruction caused by the settlers who move there and add to the slash and burn farming.

Electricity companies who are responsible for the formation of dams are also a contributor to deforestation and due to these dams many rainforests get flooded and thus die as they gradually rot under the rising flood.

We are looking at an irreversible situation unless these processes are stopped, slowed, countered.