Thus we have lost four-fifths of the planet's original natural forests. It might seem so. These processes sustain life by renewing air and water supplies, providing a stable climate, regulating sunlight, etc. Forests play a major role in many of these processes. S igns of breakdown in the delivery of forest benefits to the biosphere are increasingly frequent.
Some examples follow.
Floods of a severity historically occurring only once every 100 years now seem commonplace. L oss of forest cover also intensifies flooding in another way. Watersheds without forests lack this moderating effect. We see the results in the catastrophic flooding occurring in India and other deforested areas. D eforestation also intensifies droughts.