Record breaking loss of forest in 2016

In 2016, a record of 29.7 million hectares of forest disappeared. That’s 290,000 square kilometers or an area almost the size of Italy or the state of Nevada. The following years have seen a slight decline in the rate of tree cover loss. But we don’t need a decline in the rate at which we are losing the world’s forests. We need the loss to stop and start growing forest areas.

1 BILLION hectares cut down in 40 years

In just 40 years, a forest area the size of Europe has gone.

Half of the world’s rainforest has been destroyed in just one century.

If we don’t act and the current rates of deforestation continue, the world’s rainforests will be gone in 100 years.

Forests the size of India gone

From 2001 to 2018, a total of 3,610,000 square kilometers of tree cover were lost globally. That’s an area larger than India and equivalent to a 9.0 percent decrease in tree cover since 2000.

Brazil is home to most of the Amazon rainforest and by far the country with the highest loss of forests. Over 1.3 million is lost a year.

The countries with the highest loses of primary rainforest (2018)

• Brazil: 1.35 million hectares
• DR Congo: 0.481 million hectares
• Indonesia: 0.340 million hectares
• Columbia: 0.177 million hectares
• Bolivia: 0.155 million hectares

Consequences of deforestation

The loss of tree cover has a number of negative effects on the planet.

Destruction of natural habitat and loss of species

Seventy percent of the world's plants and animals live in forests. When habitats are lost because of deforestation, it puts pressure on a large number of species and is the direct cause of extinctions.

“Deforestation destroys wildlife habitat and is a key reason for populations of wildlife having plunged by half in the last 40 years, starting a sixth mass extinction”.

- The Guardian, 27 June 2018

Deforestation major factor in global warming

The clearing of forests is a big contributor to global climate change. About 20 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions come from the clearing of tropical forests. Since 2000, the loss of tree cover has added 98.7Gt to global CO2-emissions.

In 2017, deforestation added about 7.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere - almost 50 percent more than the all energy-related CO2-emissions from the entire US.

We could be approaching a tipping point

In the Amazon, the loss of a critical mass of rain forest could trick further dieback moving the forest into a vicious circle of self reinforcing destruction. Not great.

Deforestation mess up the water cycle

Trees are essential to the water cycle. In the rainforest ecosystem, over half the water is held within plants as absorbed rainfall and three quarters of the world’s freshwater is supplied by forest catchments.

So when trees are cut down, the water cycle is destroyed as well.

Deforestation causes soil erosion

Without the roots of trees to anchor the soil, it washes away including the nutrients contained in the soil.

... and desertification

If soil erosion is not stopped it can ultimately turn the land into desert. The United Nations has labelled desertification as potentially the world’s most threatening ecosystem change.

Wildfires and deforestation

Wildfires add to deforestation as well. This is inevitable as many fires are caused by lightning.. But in 2019, there was a huge increase in the number of fires in the Amazon rainforest. In August of 2019, over 30.000 individual fires in the Amazon. Three times the usual number. The main reasons are believed to be farmers and loggers clearing land for crops or grazing.

The reason for deforestation: everyday products

The main reasons for the loss of forests is production of timber, and making room for growing cattle, soy, and palm oil. Clearing forests for palm oil plantations is a growing problem. Palm oil is used to produce bio-fuels and cosmetics.

“The main reason tropical forests are disappearing is not a mystery – vast areas continue to be cleared for soy, beef, palm oil, timber, and other globally traded commodities.''

- Frances Seymour, the World Resources Institute.

What to do about deforestation?

It is possible to buy forest-friendly products, but it's not always easy to tell them apart from those that are not. The Forest Disclosure and the Forest Stewardship Council are working to make it easier. Look for products with their labels!

Something really needs to change. The world population is growing by the minute and so is the global consumer class.