Rainforests around the world are being threatened on an unprecedented scale, and if things continue, experts predict they could disappear altogether in 100 years.
Tropical forests are among the most important ecosystems on the planet, being home to much of the world’s biodiversity.
Yet global deforestation continues, and it’s not in everyone’s interest to end it. This can currently be seen in Brazil, where populist leader Jair Bolsonaro turns a blind eye while the Amazon burns.
But how much of the world’s rainforests are left, and what are the reasons for its destruction?
Rainforests are among the most important ecosystems on the planet, performing a vital role in mitigating climate change and home to much of the world’s biodiversity
How much rainforest is left?
Rainforests once covered 14 per cent of the Earth’s land, but nearly half has now vanished, leaving just eight per cent remaining.
The main reason for this is deforestation, the process by which forests are permanently destroyed to make land available for other uses.
Last year, 12 million hectares of tropical rainforest was lost through deforestation. To put that into context, that’s equivalent to around 30 football pitches cleared every minute.
Most worryingly, if this rate of deforestation continues, experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be destroyed in as little as 100 years.
Last year, 12 million hectares of tropical rainforest was lost through deforestation. To put that into context, that’s equivalent to around 30 football pitches cleared every minute
Why are rainforests being threatened?
In short, humans are the main threat to rainforests and the main cause of deforestation.
There are a number of reasons for this destruction; grazing land for cattle, expansion of soy farming, increasing demand for rubber and palm oil, agriculture for farms, road construction and extraction of minerals and energy through mining.
In the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, deforestation is mostly due to forest conversion for cattle ranching.
According to a WWF study, about 17 per cent of the Amazonian rainforest has been lost in the last 50 years – a shocking figure which is on the rise, not least because of the destructive policies of far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro.
Critics blame the Brazilian government for the current destruction of one of the most important ecosystems on the planet.
They say that Bolsonaro is encouraging people to clear the land for farming, logging and mining, to bring ‘development’ to the rainforest, while the economy stagnates.
In the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, deforestation is mostly due to forest conversion for cattle ranching. 17 per cent of the Amazonian rainforest has been lost in the last 50 years
Increased logging in some remote areas of the Amazon is also due to the presence of mahogany, oil – and valuable gold.
As Miles Silman, cofounder of Wake Forest University’s Center for Amazonian Scientific Innovation (CINCIA) says: ‘There’s no way to get the gold out without destroying the forest. The more acres you cut down, the more gold you get.’
Deforestation in unexpected places
It’s not just typical rainforest hotspots in Brazil and Indonesia which are experiencing huge losses in tree cover.
Expansion of soy farming and increasing demand for rubber and palm oil are also driving deforestation in unexpected places such as the Mekong River Basin, West Africa and Madagascar.
‘In many of these countries, we’re seeing accelerating clearing associated with commodities such as rubber, beef and soy, along with palm oil,’ said Dr. Nigel Sizer, global director of the Forests Program, World Resources Institute (WRI).
Expansion of soy farming and demand for rubber and palm oil are also driving deforestation in unexpected places such as the Mekong River Basin, West Africa and Madagascar
How does deforestation affect climate change?
Cutting down the planet’s rainforests massively reduces the chance of slowing or reversing climate change.
We need trees because they absorb both the carbon dioxide we exhale and the greenhouse gases that human activities emit.
The destruction of tropical forests causes these gases to remain in the atmosphere and trap solar radiation. This then raises global temperatures and affects weather patterns across the world.
Climate scientists agree that about 12 per cent of all man-made climate emissions now come from deforestation, mostly in tropical areas.
This means, as climate change ecologist Tom Crowther has stated, that forest restoration ‘isn’t just one of our top climate change solutions, it is overwhelmingly the top one’.
Climate change ecologist Tom Crowther has stated that forest restoration ‘isn’t just one of our top climate change solutions, it is overwhelmingly the top one’
Unless we drastically alter our habits, and countries around the world stick to their pledges to reduce deforestation and let tropical forests recover, the planet’s rainforests may completely disappear in just a few decades.
This would have catastrophic consequences for the world’s climate, the planet’s biodiversity and the survival of many species.
You can help by making a donation to WWF, who are fighting to save the world’s rainforests before it’s too late.
