Another major cause of mass rainforest destruction is colonization. Roads left behind by loggers make the rainforest accessible to farmers looking for a place to live and grow crops. These families clear more land than they need to show others that they own it and have developed it. These colonists are forced to move to the rainforest because there is no room anywhere else for them to live. Most of the land is owned by companies, so families feel lucky if they are fortunate enough to have their own land in the rainforest.
Population growth forces the people to move to the rainforest.
Central America s population has tripled in the last 50 years, and is now twenty five million people. Even if farm families can get their own plot of rainforest land, it is not long before they have to move again and clear out more rainforest. Rainforest land loses nutrients quickly after it has been cleared, and it soon becomes eroded and infertile. Since crops won t grow after this happens, farm families willingly sell the bad land to companies. The final major cause of mass rainforest destruction is cattle ranching.