Destruction Of Global Rainforest Runs At 10 Football Pitches Per Minute, Experts Say

(Photo : Getty Images/MICHAEL DANTAS)

A new study shows that the destruction of the world's most pristine rainforests remained unabated in 2023.

Loss Of 37,000 Square Kilometers

In the tropics, the loss of primary forests, often known as old-growth forests, decreased by 9% last year compared with 2022.

However, Global Forest Watch researchers reported that the damage rate remains stubbornly high. Last year, the world lost almost 37,000 square kilometers (14,000 square miles) of tropical primary forest, an area nearly the size of Switzerland and larger than the U.S. state of Maryland.

Global Forest Watch is a project of the Washington-based nonprofit research organization World Resources Institute, using satellite imagery. The majority of the data is compiled by University of Maryland scholars.

Brazil and Colombia experienced significant reductions in forest loss of 36% and 49%, respectively, as a result of presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro's environmental programs.

Brazil has greatly reduced its pace of forest loss, but it remains one of the top three countries losing primary rainforest, along with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bolivia. Together, they were responsible for more than half of all global catastrophes.

Bolivia experienced a significant increase in forest loss for the third consecutive year, while having less than half the forest of other major rainforest countries such as the DRC and Indonesia, owing mostly to the rise of soya farming.

In 2023, Laos and Nicaragua lost significant amounts of their remaining unspoiled rainforest, removing 1.9% and 4.2%, respectively, according to experts. This is because extremely fragmented forests in countries that have already been severely removed can typically be wiped out more quickly.

In Laos, agricultural expansion is being driven by Chinese demand for commodities, whereas in Nicaragua, cattle ranching and growing agriculture are to blame.

Canada also saw a record-breaking loss of forest due to fire, destroying more than 8 million hectares (20 million acres).

"The world took two steps forward, two steps back when it comes to this past year's forest loss," said Mikaela Weisse, director of Global Forest Watch at the WRI.

Changes in land use, including deforestation, are the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and a major cause of biodiversity loss.

Preserving Forest

According to scholars, preserving rainforests is critical to keeping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels.

Experts have cautioned that continued deforestation puts governments at risk of falling behind on their climate and biodiversity targets.

At the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, governments agreed on the need to halt and reverse forest loss and degradation by 2030, following world leaders' pledge at COP26 in Glasgow to terminate their destruction this decade.

However, the new numbers demonstrate that the world is still a long way from attaining this target, with no improvement in global forest loss over the last few years.

Despite the lack of general progress in the 2023 figures, experts suggested the globe may learn from Brazil and Colombia's efforts to reach deforestation targets.

Last year's tropical primary forest loss created greenhouse gas emissions comparable to half of U.S. emissions caused by the combustion of fossil fuels yearly.