The state of forests and forestry
Climate change and it’s escalation indicate that deforestation remains as one of the key factors contributing to what is regarded as one of the biggest ongoing crises humanity has been facing for decades now.
The scale of awareness and environmental action has increased in recent years, both of those being phenomena which have led to a slight decrease in deforestation. However there is still way more that can be done in this direction.
Lawnstarter has compiled a list of useful facts on the current state of deforestation, main contributing factors, its various effects on the environment and much more.
Key Takeaways
◉ Forests cover 31% of the world’s land area
◉ The world has lost 33% of its forest cover in the last 10,000 years
◉ About 15 billion trees are cut down by people annually
◉ About 50,000 of species are lost due to deforestation every year
◉ Around 1.6 billion people globally are impacted by deforestation
◉ Around 90% of deforestation worldwide is caused by agriculture
◉ Trends indicate that only 10% of rainforests will be left by 2030
About 30% Of Global Tropical Deforestation Occurs In Brazil
- The Amazonian rainforest, often referred to as “the lungs of the planet”, has lost around 20% of its forest area due to deforestation.
- Between the summer of 2020 and the summer of 2021 data shows that 13,235 square kilometers (5,110 sq.mi) of the Amazonian rainforest was destroyed.
- If the current pace of deforestation continues in a rainforest as crucial as the Amazon, it’s estimated that by 2030 the rate of said forest loss will go up to 27%.
Where the Future is Headed?
Even though there’s been a decrease in the rate of deforestation since the 90s, the data shows that the pace of this progress has significantly slowed down in the last decade especially in Europe and Asia. As of right now this forest area worldwide continues to decrease by an average of 4.7 million hectares per year. If this trend continues the goal of increasing the forest area globally by 3% is unlikely to be achieved by 2030.
Restoring forests could be one of the first steps towards ensuring a better, more sustainable future. There’s about 51.6 million hectares of land that used to be forested that could be restored in the United States alone. This restored land could potentially capture 314 million tons of CO2 which would be the same as removing 67 million vehicles from the road every year. This could be a tremendous step in the right direction!
What Can You Do to Help?
Sometimes it may seem like there is not much that can be done on an individual level and that only major international intervention can lead to substantial change. But there is a part everyone can play in order to help halt deforestation little by little.
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source: https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/statistics/deforestation-statistics/
