Lets take a look at which countries are causing deforestation overseas and the size of this impact. Data from 1990 onwards is sourced from the UNs 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020.References:Williams, M. (2003). Forests, biodiversity and people. It was a net exporter. The United States is the worlds largest consumer (and second largest producer, after Canada) of forest products. This is true for some problems, such as climate change. First, it reiterates that deforestation is not a new problem: relatively small populations of the past were capable of driving a large amount of forest loss. Rather than looking at total figures by country [if youre interested, we have mapped them here] we have calculated the per capita footprint. Deforesting the earth: from prehistory to global crisis. Web3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down per year. Just over one-quarter of global forest loss is driven by deforestation. Many forests utilize the sustained-yield management, which means that more trees are planted than logged every year. That means that each year, one percent of all trees are being destroyed. In a related article we look in much more detail at what agricultural products, and which countries are driving this. It assumes the impact of clearing primary rainforest in the Amazon to produce soybeans is the same as logging planted forests in the UK. Healthy environment: One hundred mature trees catch about 139,000 gallons of rainwater per year. What are the major impacts of mass deforestation and forest loss? [1] That's 15.3 billion every year. Humanitys biggest footprint is due to what we eat, not where we live. Some of the worlds poorest countries are still in the pre-transition phase. Why? Year-to-year data on forest change comes with several issues: either data at this resolution is not available, or year-to-year changes can be highly variable. How many trees are cut down each year in the Amazon rainforest? Forest degradation measures a thinning of the canopy a reduction in the density of trees in the area but without a change in land use. Firstly, international trade does play a role in deforestation its responsible for almost one-third of emissions. Net forest loss is not the same as deforestation it measures deforestation plus any gains in forest over a given period. [2] Only 36% of the world's rainforests remain intact. International trade was responsible for around one-third (29%) of these emissions. It would be good if there was data available that would capture these additional aspects. Lets now focus on the consumers of products driving deforestation. Estimates vary, but most date the end of the last great ice age to around 11,700 years ago.Kump, L. R., Kasting, J. F., & Crane, R. G. (2004). They should keep their domestic reforestation targets in perspective with their net impact on global forests. From 1850 to 1920, losses were around 50% higher at 30 million hectares per decade thats like losing a forested area the size of Italy every 10 years. That these countries have recently regained forests is also visible in the long-term forest trends above. Many farmers rely on international buyers to earn a living and improve their livelihoods. To put this in perspective, that would be around one-sixth of the total carbon footprint of the average EU diet.36. We need more fuelwood to cook, more houses to live in, and importantly, more food to eat. Lewis, S. L., Edwards, D. P., & Galbraith, D. (2015). Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings. Humans have already destroyed around 46% of the trees on Earth. All the software and code that we write is open source and made available via GitHub under the permissive MIT license. 38. 27% of forest loss results from commodity-driven deforestation cutting down forests to grow crops such as soy, palm oil, cocoa, to raise livestock on pasture, and mining operations. Tree density in primary forests varies from 50,000-100,000 trees per square km, so the math would put this number at 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees cut down each year. But we also need to know what products are driving this. Geographical Journal, 166(1), 2-13. (2020).References:FAO and UNEP. Imported emissions are also high for Taiwan, Belgium and the Netherlands at around one tonne. Thats more than the countrys CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, which are around 2.2 tonnes per person. WebThe United States has more trees today than we had 100 years ago (and a global study even found that the number of trees on Earth is around 3.04 trillion, a much higher number than previously believed.) There is a geographical argument (why the tropics?) But it can bridge between deforestation and degradation depending on the timeframe and permanence of these agricultural practices. The number of trees cut down in the Brazilian Amazon in January far exceeded deforestation for the same month last year, according to government satellite data. Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. Thats both an economic and environmental win. Nature Sustainability, 1-9. Tree density in primary forests varies from 50,000-100,000 trees per square km, so the math would put this number at 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees cut down each year. That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. The number of trees cut down in the Brazilian Amazon in January far exceeded deforestation for the same month last year, according to government satellite data. The 11-month balance shows that 1,539,970 trees were cut down each day, which means 1,059 trees per minute or almost 18 trees per second. The scale of deforestation today might give us little hope for protecting our diverse forests. That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. Deforestation, reforestation, and development. [4] Forests cover 4.06 billion hectares (just less than 31%) of As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. Although there is some year-to-year variability [you can explore the data use the timeline on the bottom of the chart from 2005 to 2013] we see a reasonably consistent divide: most countries across Europe and North America are net importers of deforestation i.e. You see that of the 14.9 billion hectares of land on the planet, only 71% of it is habitable the other 29% is either covered by ice and glaciers, or is barren land such as deserts, salt flats, or dunes. Global Environmental Change, 56, 1-10. Ellis, E. C., Beusen, A. H., & Goldewijk, K. K. (2020). 71% of deforestation is for domestic production. They are also richer sites of biodiversity. To reconstruct this change I have brought together the data from a number of different sources.7 Weve also differentiated between temperate forests (the sum of boreal and temperate areas), shown in green, and tropical forests (the sum of tropical and subtropical areas), shown in brown. According to CNN, each year over 1,000 plants and animal species go extinct due to deforestation and subsequent habitat loss. 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. Across sub-tropical countries we have a mix: many upper-middle income countries are now in the late transition phase. Loss of Biodiversity: Forests are the only liveable habitat for a variety of species around the globe many of which have not even have been discovered. Environmental Research Letters, 7(4), 044009. One option is to adopt stricter guidelines on what suppliers to source from, and implementing zero-deforestation policies that stop the trade of goods that have been produced on deforested land. We see this in the chart. The fact that the per capita emissions after trade are very high means that a lot of their food products are consumed by people in Brazil and Indonesia. We see very clearly that the large Brazilian footprint is driven by its domestic demand for beef. Carbon emissions from deforestation: are they driven by domestic demand or international trade? Bringing all of these elements together, we can focus on a few points that should help us prioritise our efforts to end deforestation. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, reducing meat and dairy intake particularly beef and lamb has the largest impact. Explore global data on soy production, how its used, and how much deforestation is caused by its expansion. The breakdown of forest loss globally, and by region, is shown in the chart.22. Second, it makes clear how much deforestation accelerated over the last century. 71% of this is driven by demand in domestic markets, and the remaining 29% for the production of products that are traded. The total cut down so far is over 470 million trees since January 1st. Less than one-third (29%) is for the production of goods that are traded. In a study published in Global Environmental Change, Florence Pendrill and colleagues investigated where tropical deforestation was occurring; what products were driving this; and, using global trade models, they traced where these products were going in international supply chains.34, They found that tropical deforestation given as the annual average between 2010 and 2014 was responsible for 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 per year. People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization. For example, the average German generated half a tonne (510 kilograms) of CO2 per person from domestic and imported foods. What if this deforestation is being driven by consumers elsewhere? [4] Forests cover 4.06 billion hectares (just less than 31%) of 15 billion trees are cut down every year.19 The Global Forest Watch project using satellite imagery estimates that global tree loss in 2019 was 24 million hectares. estimate a 35% loss of global forest cover since 10,000. See which countries are gaining forest though natural forest expansion and afforestation. By Georgina Rannard. Since 2016, an average of 28 million hectares have been cut down every year. Latin America exports around 23% of its emissions; that means more than three-quarters are generated for products that are consumed within domestic markets. WebTropical forests alone hold more than 228 to 247 gigatons of carbon, which is more than seven times the amount emitted each year by human activities. If we can take advantage of these innovations, we can bring deforestation to an end. Thats 6 billion hectares. Brazil, in contrast, caused more deforestation domestically in the production of goods for other countries than it imported from elsewhere. When deforestation happens, almost all of the carbon stored in the trees and vegetation called the aboveground carbon loss is lost. Habitat loss is the leading driver of global biodiversity loss.25 When we cut down rainforests we are destroying the habitats of many unique species, and reshaping these ecosystems permanently. are added every year. Belhaven Press. But the solution is not so simple. This interactive map shows deforestation rates across the world. 59% occurs in Latin America, with a further 28% from Southeast Asia. WebHealthy trees mean: Healthy people: 100 trees remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 430 pounds of other air pollutants per year. Thats around half the size of Germany. The researchs results are A study published on September 2, 2015 in the journal Nature suggests these answers: 3 trillion and 15.3 billion. However, most align on the relative change in forests over this period. Forests: this data is primarily sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The rate of deforestation is declining, but we still lost forests at a whopping 10 million hectares per year between 2015-2020. The researchers found that 36 million trees are cut down in urban areas each year, and 167,000 acres of impervious areas (concrete, asphalt, etc.) 432). Rudel, T. K., Coomes, O. T., Moran, E., Achard, F., Angelsen, A., Xu, J., & Lambin, E. (2005). An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries. The paths between these end boxes indicate where emissions are being traded the wider the bar, the more emissions are embedded in these products. Tropical forests are home to some of the richest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Given the current estimate of the total tree cover on the planet, that could equate to about 0.11% of trees being cut each year. The same is true of the United States; back in 1630 46% of the area of todays USA was covered by forest. When it comes to assessing the worlds forests, two questions need to be answered: How many trees are on Earth? and. Countries with a positive change (shown in green) are regrowing forest faster than theyre losing it. Since international demand is driving one-third of deforestation emissions, we have some opportunity to reduce emissions through global consumers and supply chains. But then the trend turned, and it moved from deforestation to reforestation. Degradation drivers, including logging and especially wildfires can definitely have major impacts on forest health: animal populations decline, trees can die, and CO2 is emitted. Some interesting facts state that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down, Approximately 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are being cut each year according to a report referenced on the Rainforest Action Networks website (RAN) and other publications. Thats one football field of forest lost every single second around the clock. Data on net forest change, afforestation and deforestation is sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations Forest Resources Assessment. If we sum countries imported deforestation by World Bank income group, we find that high-income countries were responsible for 40% of imported deforestation; upper-middle income for 25%; lower-middle income for 20%; and low income for 5%.We then get high-income countries share of deforestation as: [40% of the 29% that is traded], which is equal to 12%. Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. This might put the responsibility for ending deforestation solely on tropical countries. Our crop yields improve and so we need less land for agriculture. Licenses: All visualizations, data, and articles produced by Our World in Data are open access under the Creative Commons BY license. The world lost 1.5 billion hectares of forest over that period. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. The diet of the average Brazilian creates 2.7 tonnes of CO2 from deforestation alone. Because people are starting to see how climate change affects trees. This is very close to our estimate of a one-third loss. Note that this only measures the emissions from tropical deforestation it doesnt include any other emissions from agricultural production, such as methane from livestock, or rice, or the use of fertilizers. In the chart here we see the breakdown of deforestation emissions by product for each consumer country. The United Nations, as well as experts at the World Wildlife Fund and Global Forest Watch, found that one million animals are in danger of extinction as a result of how much deforestation has occurred. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. This demand for resources and land is not always driven by domestic markets. But the magnitude of these impacts are often less than the complete conversion of forest. The world has lost one-third of its forest an area twice the size of the United States. If we sum countries imported deforestation by World Bank income group, we find that high-income countries were responsible for 14% of imported deforestation; upper-middle income for 52%; lower-middle income for 23%; and low income for 11%. Take advantage of these elements together, we how many trees are cut down each year focus on the relative change in forests this. Million trees since January 1st given period the total carbon footprint, reducing meat and dairy particularly. The carbon stored in the trees and vegetation called the aboveground carbon loss lost... Many upper-middle income countries are now in the Amazon to produce soybeans the. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint of the average EU diet.36 trees. 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