New research has highlighted damning figures as it revealed that an area equivalent to the size of Switzerland was cleared from Earth's rainforests in 2022. The report comes after a number of pledges globally to take definitive steps to end deforestation by 2030.&nbsp;

The report by the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Global Forest Watch said that a massive chunk of the tropical forest disappeared as forest destruction rose by 10 per cent&nbsp;compared to the previous year.&nbsp;

The report also stated that the rate of loss was equivalent to losing 11 soccer fields of forest per minute, as swaths of tropical forest were cleared for farming, mining and other commercial activities.

The report mentioned that tropical primary forest loss in 2022 totalled 4.1 million hectares. It further added that all this forest loss produced 2.7 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide emissions, which is equivalent to India's annual fossil fuel emissions.&nbsp;

According to the report, Brazil and the Dominican Republic of Congo are the top countries for primary forest loss by area in 2022, and in nations like Ghana and Bolivia, it rapidly increased. On the other hand, countries like Indonesia and Malaysia have managed to keep rates of primary forest loss near record-low levels.&nbsp;

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<h2>Dire status of the Brazilian Amazon&nbsp;</h2>

According to the report, the rate of primary forest loss increased by 15 per cent&nbsp;from 2021 to 2022 in Brazil and the vast majority of primary forest loss happened in the Amazon.&nbsp;

The report mentioned that non-fire-related losses reached the highest level since 2005. Such instances in the Brazilian Amazon are most often due to clear-cut deforestation.&nbsp;

During the last year of Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro's administration, a high rate of primary forest loss occurred, which was an important agenda for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) during the election.&nbsp;

After winning the election, he even laid out a plan to end illegal deforestation in the Amazon, which was a major campaign pledge that is a critical step in addressing the country's significant carbon emissions from the region.

Just a few days after the election result, Lula and his Environment Minister Marina Silva unveiled the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon.&nbsp;

Some scientists have issued a warning that the Amazon is approaching a critical tipping point that could see the rainforest transform into a grassy savannah. In case it happened, this would cause a massive impact on the world's ability to tackle the climate crisis.&nbsp;

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<h2>All pledges in vain?&nbsp;</h2>

At various gatherings of world leaders, such as The Group of Seven (G7), COP26, and more, governments and companies promise to take necessary to put an end to deforestation. Governments have pledged to restore forests, halt deforestation and reverse land degradation numerous times.&nbsp;

The report stated that these ambitious pledges are not backed by the information needed to monitor and deliver on these promises, which limits accountability.&nbsp;

"Information is lacking, including basic maps on exactly where restoration is happening. And in the years since these pledges were made, their impact has not been adequately monitored, leaving a lingering question of how much progress is being made," it further added.&nbsp;

In a statement, Rod Taylor, global director of WRI’s Forest Program, said: “We have seen governments and companies make time-bound commitments to end deforestation, restore degraded forest landscapes, and achieve sustainable forest management." &nbsp;

"But rapid deforestation and forest degradation have continued, driven primarily by growing global demand for food, fuel, and fibre. Climate change impacts, including severe fires and new vectors and outbreaks of forest pests and diseases, exacerbate the decline," he added.&nbsp;

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New research has highlighted damning figures as it revealed that an area equivalent to the size of Switzerland was cleared from Earth's rainforests in 2022. The report comes after a number of pledges globally to take definitive steps to end deforestation by 2030.

New research has highlighted damning figures as it revealed that an area equivalent to the size of Switzerland was cleared from Earth's rainforests in 2022. The report comes after a number of pledges globally to take definitive steps to end deforestation by 2030. The report by the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Global Forest Watch said that a massive chunk of the tropical forest disappeared as forest destruction rose by 10 per cent compared to the previous year. The report also stated that the rate of loss was equivalent to losing 11 soccer fields of forest per minute, as swaths of tropical forest were cleared for farming, mining and other commercial activities. The report mentioned that tropical primary forest loss in 2022 totalled 4.1 million hectares. It further added that all this forest loss produced 2.7 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide emissions, which is equivalent to India's annual fossil fuel emissions. According to the report, Brazil and the Dominican Republic of Congo are the top countries for primary forest loss by area in 2022, and in nations like Ghana and Bolivia, it rapidly increased. On the other hand, countries like Indonesia and Malaysia have managed to keep rates of primary forest loss near record-low levels. Also read: Dolphins pamper their little ones with ‘baby talk’, a study tells how Dire status of the Brazilian Amazon According to the report, the rate of primary forest loss increased by 15 per cent from 2021 to 2022 in Brazil and the vast majority of primary forest loss happened in the Amazon. The report mentioned that non-fire-related losses reached the highest level since 2005. Such instances in the Brazilian Amazon are most often due to clear-cut deforestation. During the last year of Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro's administration, a high rate of primary forest loss occurred, which was an important agenda for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) during the election. After winning the election, he even laid out a plan to end illegal deforestation in the Amazon, which was a major campaign pledge that is a critical step in addressing the country's significant carbon emissions from the region. Just a few days after the election result, Lula and his Environment Minister Marina Silva unveiled the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon. Some scientists have issued a warning that the Amazon is approaching a critical tipping point that could see the rainforest transform into a grassy savannah. In case it happened, this would cause a massive impact on the world's ability to tackle the climate crisis. Also read: Ancient galactic clash unleashes stellar gamma-ray burst: Astronomers witness collision Watch: Why did Sri Lanka halt monkey exports to China? × All pledges in vain? At various gatherings of world leaders, such as The Group of Seven (G7), COP26, and more, governments and companies promise to take necessary to put an end to deforestation. Governments have pledged to restore forests, halt deforestation and reverse land degradation numerous times. The report stated that these ambitious pledges are not backed by the information needed to monitor and deliver on these promises, which limits accountability. "Information is lacking, including basic maps on exactly where restoration is happening. And in the years since these pledges were made, their impact has not been adequately monitored, leaving a lingering question of how much progress is being made," it further added. In a statement, Rod Taylor, global director of WRI’s Forest Program, said: “We have seen governments and companies make time-bound commitments to end deforestation, restore degraded forest landscapes, and achieve sustainable forest management." "But rapid deforestation and forest degradation have continued, driven primarily by growing global demand for food, fuel, and fibre. Climate change impacts, including severe fires and new vectors and outbreaks of forest pests and diseases, exacerbate the decline," he added. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Tropical forest the size of Switzerland was lost in 2022 as deforestation remains a major issue to tackle

Tropical forests around the world were destroyed at an increasing rate in 2020 compared with the year before, despite the global economic downturn caused by the pandemic, which reduced demand for some commodities that have spurred deforestation in the past.

Worldwide, loss of primary old-growth tropical forest, which plays a critical role in keeping carbon out of the atmosphere and in maintaining biodiversity, increased by 12% in 2020 from 2019, according to the World Resources Institute, a research group based in Washington that reports annually on the subject.

Overall, more than 10 million acres of primary tropical forest was lost in 2020, an area roughly the size of Switzerland. The institute’s analysis said loss of that much forest added more than 2 1/2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, or about twice as much as is spewed into the air by cars in the United States every year.

“We’re still losing primary forest at an unacceptable rate,” said Rod Taylor, global director of the institute’s forest program. “A 12% increase year over year is too much when the trend should be going down.”

Brazil once again led the world in forest loss by a wide margin, as the pro-development policies of the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, led to continued widespread clear-cutting. Surging forest losses were also reported in Cameroon in West Africa. And in Colombia, losses soared again last year after a promising drop in 2019.

Indonesia and Malaysia were rare bright spots, with forest loss declining from 2019. For Indonesia, 2020 marked the fourth year in a row of declines, a sign the government was having success in its efforts to halt deforestation following a horrific fire season in 2015.

As in previous years, the institute said, most forest loss in the tropics was driven by agriculture, either the production of commodities like palm oil and cocoa or subsistence efforts by small farmers. In either case, forests are usually clear-cut and the resulting debris is burned to prepare the fields. Often these fires can grow out of control, resulting in greater forest loss, and the warming and drying brought on by climate change can make the situation even worse.

Most of the forest loss in Brazil occurred in the Amazon rainforest, as it has for years. But this year the Pantanal, the enormous wetlands region in the southern part of the country, which also covers parts of Bolivia and Paraguay, contributed greatly to the losses. The region experienced a historic drought, made worse by climate change, that led to a severe fire season, with 16 times more forest loss in 2020 than the year before.

Frances Seymour, a senior fellow at the institute, said that what happened in the Pantanal was just one example of global warming’s increasing role in forest loss. “The most ominous signal from the 2020 data is the number of instances where forests themselves have fallen victim to climate change,” she said. “Nature has been whispering this risk to us for a long time, but now she is shouting.”

Last year, anecdotal reports from Brazil and other countries suggested that deforestation was rising because of the pandemic, as the health crisis hampered governments’ efforts to enforce bans on clear-cutting, and as workers who lost their jobs because of the downturn migrated out of cities to rural areas to farm. But Taylor said the analysis showed “no obvious systemic shift” in forest loss as a result of the pandemic.

If anything, the crisis and the resulting global economic downturn should have led to less overall forest loss, as demand, and prices, for palm oil and other commodities fell. While falling demand may have helped improve the situation in Indonesia and a few other countries, Seymour said that globally it was “astonishing that in a year that the global economy contracted somewhere between 3 and 4%, primary forest loss increased by 12%.”

She said the world has yet to see the greatest impact on forests from the pandemic, “which will probably come into play as economies start to recover.”

The concern is that governments, facing deficits, “will be tempted to cut the budgets of enforcement agencies and license new investment projects that could lead to more forest loss,” she said. “Unless we offer alternatives, it is likely that government will try to restart their economies on the backs of forests.”

The data for the report was provided by scientists at the Global Land Analysis and Discovery laboratory at the University of Maryland, who have devised methods for analysing satellite imagery to determine forest cover. The World Resources Institute refers to their findings as “forest cover loss” rather than “deforestation” because the analysis includes trees lost from plantations and does not distinguish between trees lost to human activities and those lost to natural causes.

Tropical forests around the world were destroyed at an increasing rate in 2020 compared with the year before, despite the global economic downturn caused by the pandemic, which reduced demand for some commodities that have spurred deforestation in the past.

Tropical forests around the world were destroyed at an increasing rate in 2020 compared with the year before, despite the global economic downturn caused by the pandemic, which reduced demand for some commodities that have spurred deforestation in the past. Worldwide, loss of primary old-growth tropical forest, which plays a critical role in keeping carbon out of the atmosphere and in maintaining biodiversity, increased by 12% in 2020 from 2019, according to the World Resources Institute, a research group based in Washington that reports annually on the subject. Overall, more than 10 million acres of primary tropical forest was lost in 2020, an area roughly the size of Switzerland. The institute’s analysis said loss of that much forest added more than 2 1/2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, or about twice as much as is spewed into the air by cars in the United States every year. “We’re still losing primary forest at an unacceptable rate,” said Rod Taylor, global director of the institute’s forest program. “A 12% increase year over year is too much when the trend should be going down.” Brazil once again led the world in forest loss by a wide margin, as the pro-development policies of the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, led to continued widespread clear-cutting. Surging forest losses were also reported in Cameroon in West Africa. And in Colombia, losses soared again last year after a promising drop in 2019. Indonesia and Malaysia were rare bright spots, with forest loss declining from 2019. For Indonesia, 2020 marked the fourth year in a row of declines, a sign the government was having success in its efforts to halt deforestation following a horrific fire season in 2015. As in previous years, the institute said, most forest loss in the tropics was driven by agriculture, either the production of commodities like palm oil and cocoa or subsistence efforts by small farmers. In either case, forests are usually clear-cut and the resulting debris is burned to prepare the fields. Often these fires can grow out of control, resulting in greater forest loss, and the warming and drying brought on by climate change can make the situation even worse. Most of the forest loss in Brazil occurred in the Amazon rainforest, as it has for years. But this year the Pantanal, the enormous wetlands region in the southern part of the country, which also covers parts of Bolivia and Paraguay, contributed greatly to the losses. The region experienced a historic drought, made worse by climate change, that led to a severe fire season, with 16 times more forest loss in 2020 than the year before. Frances Seymour, a senior fellow at the institute, said that what happened in the Pantanal was just one example of global warming’s increasing role in forest loss. “The most ominous signal from the 2020 data is the number of instances where forests themselves have fallen victim to climate change,” she said. “Nature has been whispering this risk to us for a long time, but now she is shouting.” Last year, anecdotal reports from Brazil and other countries suggested that deforestation was rising because of the pandemic, as the health crisis hampered governments’ efforts to enforce bans on clear-cutting, and as workers who lost their jobs because of the downturn migrated out of cities to rural areas to farm. But Taylor said the analysis showed “no obvious systemic shift” in forest loss as a result of the pandemic. If anything, the crisis and the resulting global economic downturn should have led to less overall forest loss, as demand, and prices, for palm oil and other commodities fell. While falling demand may have helped improve the situation in Indonesia and a few other countries, Seymour said that globally it was “astonishing that in a year that the global economy contracted somewhere between 3 and 4%, primary forest loss increased by 12%.” She said the world has yet to see the greatest impact on forests from the pandemic, “which will probably come into play as economies start to recover.” The concern is that governments, facing deficits, “will be tempted to cut the budgets of enforcement agencies and license new investment projects that could lead to more forest loss,” she said. “Unless we offer alternatives, it is likely that government will try to restart their economies on the backs of forests.” The data for the report was provided by scientists at the Global Land Analysis and Discovery laboratory at the University of Maryland, who have devised methods for analysing satellite imagery to determine forest cover. The World Resources Institute refers to their findings as “forest cover loss” rather than “deforestation” because the analysis includes trees lost from plantations and does not distinguish between trees lost to human activities and those lost to natural causes.

Tropical forest destruction accelerated in 2020

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