The Problem

The world has lost nearly 3 trillion trees as a result of our global actions. Roughly 15 billion trees are cut down each year[1]. This amount of deforestation is threatening about 38% of global tree species with extinction. In fact, the number of threatened tree species on the IUCN red list is now more than double the number of threatened bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species combined[2].

Image Credit: Vincent Botta from Unsplash

These deforestation rates matter as forests have an incalculable value to the planet. As well as being a great source of oxygen, forests suck in CO2 to cool down the world. Global forests have collectively absorbed 15.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year between 2001 and 2019[31].

While covering only 30% of the world’s land area, forests also provide a home for 80% of all terrestrial species of animals, plants, and insects. We lose our forests; we lose 80% of all terrestrial multicellular species[3]. This, needless to say, would be very bad indeed. Forests also have many other roles such as reducing erosion and allowing water to seep into the ground. However, it is hard to talk about global deforestation when there are so many different forests that each comprise their own special ecosystem.

Image Credit: Sebastian Unrau from Unsplash

The Amazon rainforest covers 40% of the entire continent of South America[4] and is the world’s largest rainforest. If you did not know before, the Amazon is positively bursting with species. It is home to 9% of all mammal species, 14% of all bird species, 8% of all amphibian species, 13% of all freshwater fish species, and 22% of all vascular plant species. In fact, some scientists estimate that there are places in the Amazon where 90% of the species are yet to be discovered, so those numbers are likely to be even higher[5]. It has also been estimated that this one rainforest holds over a tenth of all known species on the planet[6].

The amazon is also important because it holds about 200 billion tonnes of carbon[7]. The destruction of this forest therefore would be a huge and severe loss to this world. Unfortunately, 17% of the entire rainforest has been cut down and an additional 17% is currently degraded[8]. When a forest becomes degraded, it still exists but may no longer effectively function as a forest[9].

The level of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is estimated to be at a rate of a football pitch of forest removed each and every minute[10]. With this amount of deforestation, 27% of the Amazon rainforest could be destroyed by 2030[11].

Image Credit: Getty Images from Unsplash

The introduction of livestock is the main cause for deforestation in the Amazon, 80% of which is caused by cattle ranching alone[12]. In fact, Brazil is home to the world’s largest commercial cattle herds[13].

Other forests besides the Amazon are just as important though. The mangrove forests, found in over 100 tropical and subtropical countries, are an extremely important and completely vital ecosystem[14]. Mangrove forests store large amounts of CO2, protect coastlines from storms, provide vital habitat for many organisms, and serve as a protective area for young animals. In fact, mangroves are so good at storing carbon, they can lock away four times as much as a similar area of rainforest[15].

However, the existence of the mangroves is under just as severe a threat as the Amazon rainforest, if not more so. 50% of all mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse by 2050. If that 50% disappears, 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon will be released, a vital ecosystem will be partially destroyed, and protection from storms will be removed from 2.1 million people[16].

Obviously, the Amazon rainforest and the mangroves are not the only forests out there but this article can only talk about so many. Even so, here is a brief rundown of other major forests and their threats:

Indonesian Rainforest

• Since 1990, Indonesia has lost 25% of its old growth forests[17]. On the island of Sumatra (an island within the country of Indonesia) more than half of the forest cover has been removed since 1985, leaving less than 31 million acres of rainforest left[18]. On the island of Borneo (an island partly controlled by Indonesia) a similar level of deforestation has gone on[19].
• Palm oil plantations are responsible for a quarter of the deforestation in Indonesia[20].
• Out of all the land that has been deforested in Indonesia, over half remains vacant for a year and 44% of those empty remained so for at least five years. The large amounts of land that are left vacant exceed the land area used for palm oil plantations[21].

Image Credit: Getty Images from Unsplash

Temperate rainforest

• Up to two thirds of the world’s temperate rainforests could be destroyed as a result of climate change by the year 2100[22].
• If current fossil fuel commitments are followed through, 23% of the world’s temperate rainforests would be lost by 2100. Rapid reduction of fossil fuels would limit global temperate rainforest loss to 9%[22].

Image Credit: Peter Robbins from Unsplash

Congo Basin rainforest

• The Congo basin has lost an area of forest larger than the country of Bangladesh within the years 2000 and 2014[23].
• Following current trends, all of the primary rainforest in the Congo basin could be removed by 2100[23].

Image Credit: Jeremey Stewardson from Unsplash

Atlantic Forest

• Only 7% of the original 1 million square kilometres (386 thousand square miles) of the Atlantic Forest remains, mainly in Brazil[24].
• More than 52% of the tree species and about 92% of the amphibian species found there are endemic[24].
• 160 mammal species and 6,000 plant species are also found nowhere else[24].

Luckily, there is also good news about deforestation and the protection of forests. Currently, more than 50% of the amazon is under some form of protection[25]. This means that the world is well on its way to protect the 70% of the Amazon that must be protected to sustain the ecosystem[26].

As more and more people are becoming aware of the plights of the world’s forests, deforestation rates are dropping from an estimated 16 million hectares per year during the 1990s to 10 million hectares per year today[27]. Protected forested land has increased by almost 200 million hectares to 726 million hectares in total today when being compared to 1990[28]. Losses in mangroves have dropped to 0.04% per year over the past 10 years[29].

So yes, the world’s forests are still in serious trouble but there still is a substantial amount of hope for at least most of the world’s forested ecosystems. As well as that, there are many solutions to deforestation and some of them are rather easy to implement.

Image Credit: Degleex Ganzorig on Unsplash

The Solution

There are many solutions to solving the problem of deforestation. Cattle ranching in the Amazon can end, more trees can be planted, products can move from using palm oil to an algae substitute, and awareness about the plight of the world’s forests can be raised.

Currently the world is not doing very well when it comes to protecting the environment. 1.8 billion trees are being planted each year but their effect is completely negated by the 15 billion trees that are being cut down[1].

So, what can you do about it? The answer is a lot. There are many online sites with lists of ideas on how you can help the environment by changing your lifestyle and other such actions. While reducing your own impact on the environment is definitely helpful and should absolutely be done, your real impact on the world will be negligible if you do just that.

If you truly want to save the world from destroying many of its forests and a majority of its wildlife, you have to go beyond the limited lists of ideas provided by online sources. To truly have an impact, you need to get as many dedicated people as possible to slow down the global rate of deforestation. Then you have to decide what exactly you are going to do. Planting a huge number of trees is certainly an option but keep in mind that a newly planted tree absorbs nowhere near as much carbon dioxide as a fully grown one and does not provide much of an ecosystem by itself when still in the early growing stages.

To strike at the heart of the problem of deforestation, you have to lower the number of trees cut down each year. The main way and probably the most effective way is to change government policies that would directly help lower deforestation rates. After reading that sentence, you might feel discouraged as many world governments have been known to make promises to help the environment and then not do very much at all. However, even a small group of people can make a huge difference. According to BBC News, no peaceful protest consisting of at least 3.5% of the population of a region has ever failed in its objective to drive change, regardless of the form of government[30]. If you encourage enough people to protest on a certain issue, you can change the fate of the world or at the very least the area where you live. You can drive change. However, I suggest that you start doing something now. The clock is ticking.

Further reading: Global Deforestation Rates & Statistics by Country | GFW (globalforestwatch.org)

Sources:

[1] GoTreeQuotes, “Tree Planting Statistics,” n.d, Tree Planting Statistics

[2] IUCN, “More than one in three tree species worldwide faces extinction,” October 28, 2024, More than one in three tree species worldwide faces extinction - IUCN Red List - Press release | IUCN

[3] Natalie Prolman, “Forests Cover 30% of Earth, But Host 80% of Life on Land,” Global Citizen, March 3, 2017, Forests Cover 30% of Earth, But Host 80% of Life on Land

[4] Eric Sanchez, “17 Mind-Blowing Facts About the Amazon Rainforest Ecosystem,” ScientificOrigin, October 30, 2024, 17 Mind-Blowing Facts About The Amazon Rainforest Ecosystem

[5] WWF, “The Amazon in crisis: Forest loss threatens the region and the planet,” November 8, 2022, The Amazon in crisis: Forest loss threatens the region and the planet | Stories | WWF

[6] WWF, “What animals live in the Amazon? And 8 other Amazon facts,” n.d, What animals live in the Amazon? And 8 other Amazon facts | Stories | WWF

[7] Stephen Eisenhammer and Oliver Griffin, “Over 10,000 species risk extinction in Amazon, says landmark report,” Reuters, July 14, 2021, Over 10,000 species risk extinction in Amazon, says landmark report | Reuters

[8] WWF, “The Amazon in Crisis,”

[9] Gyde Lund, “What is a degraded forest,” ResearchGate, August, 2015, (PDF) What is a degraded forest?

[10] David Shukman, “’Football pitch’ of Amazon forest lost every minute,” BBC News, July 1, 2019, 'Football pitch' of Amazon forest lost every minute

[11] WWF, “What animals live in the Amazon? And 8 other Amazon facts,” n.d, What animals live in the Amazon? And 8 other Amazon facts | Stories | WWF

[12] Marin Skidmore et al. “Cattle Ranchers and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Production, location, and policies,” Science Direct, May 2021, Cattle ranchers and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Production, location, and policies - ScienceDirect

[13] Oliver Flake, “The Brazilian Bovine Genetics Market and US Exports,” USDA, March 3, 2021, The-Brazilian-Bovine-Genetics-Market-and-US-ExportsBrasiliaBrazil03-01-2021-1.pdf

<a href="#ftnref14">[14] Conservation International, “Mangrove Facts,” n.d, Mangroves - 11 facts you need to know

[15] Emma Barnes, “Mangroves As A Solution To The Climate Crisis,” WWF, January 4, 2022, Mangroves as a solution to the climate crisis | Stories | WWF

[16] IUCN, “The first-ever global assessment for the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems reveals that more than half of the world’s mangroves are at risk of collapse by 2050,” May 31, 2024, The first-ever global assessment for the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems reveals that more than half of the world's mangroves are at risk of collapse by 2050 - Story | IUCN

[17] Phys.org, “Study finds one-third of Indonesia’s deforested land left idle,” July 1, 2024, Study finds one-third of Indonesia's deforested land left idle

[18] WWF, “Don’t Flush Tiger Forests,” 2012, https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/2k42c43vb1DontFlushTigerForestsReport.pdf

[19] UN environment programme, “Deforestation in Borneo is slowing, but regulation remains key,” n.d, Deforestation in Borneo is slowing, but regulation remains key

[20] Rhett Butler, “Palm oil now biggest cause of deforestation in Indonesia,” Mongabay, September 3, 2013, Palm oil now biggest cause of deforestation in Indonesia

[21] Phys.org, “Study finds one-third of Indonesia’s deforested land left idle,” July 1, 2024, Study finds one-third of Indonesia's deforested land left idle

[22] Phys.org, “Worldwide assessment shows climate change threatens rare temperate rainforests,” November 12, 2024, Worldwide assessment shows climate change threatens rare temperate rainforests

[23] Morgan Erickson-Davis, “Congo Basin Rainforest may be gone 2100, study finds,” Mongabay, November 7, 2018, Congo Basin rainforest may be gone by 2100, study finds

[24] WWF, “Second only to the Amazon,” n.d, Atlantic Forests, South America | WWF

[25] National Geographic, “Ask an Amazon Expert: Why We Can’t Afford to Lose the Rainforest,” n.d, Ask an Amazon Expert: Why We Can't Afford to Lose the Rainforest

[26] WWF, “The Amazon Region Protected Areas program is the single largest tropical conservation program in history,” 2014, The Amazon Region Protected Areas program is the single largest tropical forest conservation program in history | Magazine Articles | WWF

[27] Mark Kinver, “Then and now: Why Deforestation is such a hot topic,” BBC, September 3, 2021, Then and now: Why deforestation is such a hot topic

[28] UN, “Deforestation has slowed down but still remains a concern, new UN report reveals,” July 20, 2020, Deforestation has slowed down but still remains a concern, new UN report reveals | UN News

[29] Global Mangrove Alliance, “The State of The World’s Mangroves 2022,” September 21, 2022, The Mangrove Alliance

[30] David Robson, “The 3.5% rule’: How a small minority can change the world,” BBC News, May 13, 2019, The '3.5% rule': How a small minority can change the world

[31] Lara Streiff, "Quantifying Forest's Impacts in Global Carbon Budget with Satellites," NASA, February 3, 2021, Quantifying Forests’ Impacts on Global Carbon Budget with Satellites | Landsat Science