Deforestation And The Death Toll : The Intersection

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Chris Mooney is a visiting associate in the Center for Collaborative History at Princeton University and the author of three books, The Republican War on Science, Storm World, and Unscientific America.

Sheril Kirshenbaum is a marine biologist and author at Duke University. Sometimes she's a classicist, radio jock, or congressional staffer. Never sure what's next, she continues to enjoy the journey. For more information, visit her website.

Deforestation And The Death Toll

Category: Hurricanes
Posted on: May 7, 2008 9:32 AM, by Sheril R. Kirshenbaum

Myanmar ranks #4 in the world for annual forest area lost per year. Between 2000 and 2005, the country lost, on average, 466,000 hectares per year which puts their annual deforestation rate at 1.45% based on FAO statistics.

Given deforestation results in higher flooding and erosion rates and mangroves serve as important buffers against storm surges, I'm wondering to what degree Myanmar's serious deforestation played a role in the tremendous loss of life from Cyclone Nargis...

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Comments

Miss Sheril,
I think the loss of life in Burma is as related to deforrestation of the coasts as the destruction of New Orleans in Katrina is related to the loss of wetlands. If you just look at this picture of the Lousisana coast, you can clearly see the pnkish outlinf of New Orleans, with little green around it to offer protection from storm surge. One would hope that national level emergency managers would actually think about this stuff, and be as active in calling for change as the environmental community has. Sadly, one would be wrong.

http://www.esl.lsu.edu/demos/modis/modis-diversions-highres.jpg

Posted by: Philip H. | May 7, 2008 1:03 PM

Mangroves and cyclones:
http://layscience.net/?q=node/119

Posted by: Ashutosh | May 7, 2008 6:24 PM