The planet continues to lose forests in areas of great importance for biological diversity and climate stability. In 2023, specifically, the total loss of tropical primary forests in 2023 reached a total of 3.7 million hectares, which is equivalent to losing almost 10 football fields of forest per minute, according to the balance sheet published (March 4) by the Global Forest Observatory of the World Resources Institute (WRI, a prestigious non-profit entity based in Washington dedicated to the study and protection of the environment).
The new report indicates that the losses recorded in 2023 are 9% lower than those of 2022, but practically the same as those of 2019 and 2021, so they do not mean any progress. In addition to the damage to ecosystems and biological diversity, the new WRI balance – based on data from the GLAD laboratory at the University of Maryland – United States – recalls that the loss of forests in 2023 produced 2.4 gigatons (Gt) of emissions carbon dioxide (which increases climate change); “a figure equivalent to almost half of the United States’ annual fossil fuel emissions.”
In the best section, the new report highlights that between 2022 and 2023, Brazil managed to reduce forest loss by 36%, which represented the lowest level since 2015. This reduction translates into a significant decrease in the percentage of total loss of Brazil’s primary tropical forests: from 43% of the total tropical forest in 2022 to only 30% of the total in 2023. The reduction in forest loss coincides with the transition of government leadership from President Jair Bolsonaro to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in early 2023. During Bolsonaro’s presidency, his government reduced environmental protections and destroyed enforcement agencies. Instead, Lula has pledged to end deforestation in the Amazon and other biomes by 2030, and already had a proven track record of reducing deforestation under his previous government.
On the other hand, also thanks to the political decision in this matter, in Colombia the loss of primary tropical forests was reduced last year by 49% compared to the previous year. “Like Brazil, Colombia also recently experienced a change in leadership, with President Gustavo Petro Urrego in August 2022; his administration has also made the environment a priority,” notes a new WRI report.
The WRI notes that the new annual report indicates that “some countries demonstrate political will to reduce forest loss and others do not, so the boundaries around these losses are changing: considerable reductions in Brazil and Colombia were offset by increases of forest loss in Bolivia, Laos and Nicaragua, and with more moderate increases in other countries.
“There are only six years until 2030, the year by which leaders from 145 countries have pledged to halt and reverse forest loss. While declines in forest loss in Brazil and Colombia hold promise for achieving that commitment, it is clear that the world is not meeting its goals,” laments the WRI.
Not all tropical countries saw reductions in primary forest loss, such as Brazil and Colombia. Bolivia, Laos and Nicaragua experienced rapid increases in forest loss in 2023, mainly from fires (in the case of Bolivia) and agricultural land expansion.
Fires continue to play an important role in the loss of tropical forests in countries such as Bolivia, where they “are often set by people for agricultural purposes, such as regenerating grasslands for grazing and clearing for cropland, or to reclaim land.” . Due to the hot, dry climate, these fires can spread uncontrollably into forested areas. Bolivia experienced a record heat wave in 2023 due to the combination of human-caused climate change and the natural phenomenon, El Niño.
Laos also experienced its highest recorded rate (since 2001) of primary forest loss in 2023, up 47% from 2022, which was already at record levels. In 2023 alone, 1.9% of Laos’ remaining primary forests were lost, a rate of loss that is 5 times faster than Brazil’s in proportion to its forest area. The loss of primary forests in Laos is mainly due to agricultural expansion. This expansion is driven in part by Chinese demand and investment in Laos’ agricultural sector. China is the largest importer of Lao agricultural products.
Nicaragua also recorded an increase in primary forest loss in 2023 and in recent years, with 60,000 hectares lost in 2023. While the country’s area of ??primary forest loss was the eleventh highest in the tropics in 2023, it had the highest rate of primary forest loss relative to its size, as it lost 4.2% of its remaining primary forest in a single year. The expansion of agriculture and livestock is the main cause of forest loss in Nicaragua. Gold mining is also a driver: the area of ??mining concessions has almost doubled since 2021 and covers around 15% of the country.
The WRI report also shows special concern about the loss of primary forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “The Congo Basin is the last major tropical forest that remains a carbon sink (the forest absorbs more carbon than it emits) and more than half of the Congo Basin forest is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is losing half a million hectares of primary rainforest every year.
The causes of loss in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are primarily shifting cultivation (land is slashed and burned for short-term cultivation and left fallow to regenerate forest and soil nutrients) and the production of charcoal, the predominant form of energy in the country (it is generated by cutting and burning wood). Poverty is rife and access to electricity is limited (approximately 62% of the population lives on around $2 a day and 81% have no access to electricity), so local populations depend on forests to cover their livelihoods. demands for food and energy.
Away from the tropics, the WRI report highlights that major droughts and rising temperatures caused by climate change spread fires and forest loss in areas such as Canada, with the worst fire season in history. “While fires can be a natural part of the ecosystem in northern forests and forests can often regrow, more intense and frequent fires can cause permanent changes to forests. The consequences of the Canada fires in 2023 “They go beyond forests. It caused the destruction of homes, deaths and, albeit temporarily, some of the worst air quality in the world in some of the most populated parts of Canada and the United States,” the WRI report concludes.