Deforestation: Why Protecting Rainforests Matters

Deforestation is the largely human-driven loss of forest cover to a degree that harms the climate, natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Most of it happens to clear land for activities that carry short-term economic value, though natural disasters such as wildfires also play a part. Around 95% of global deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests — the very places that hold most of the world’s land-based biodiversity.

The scale is hard to overstate. An estimated 17% of the Amazon has been lost over the past 50 years, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) puts average annual forest loss at roughly 10 million hectares. As Bloomberg reported, the world lost tropical forest at a rate of about ten football pitches a minute in 2021.

Why forests matter

Forests cover close to 30% of the Earth’s land surface, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). They release oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide, shelter more than three-quarters of life on land and support the livelihoods of upwards of 54 million people. Above all they function as an enormous carbon store.

That last point is the crux of the climate problem. When trees are felled or burned, the carbon they held is released back into the atmosphere, accelerating warming. The FAO ranks deforestation as the second-largest driver of climate change after the burning of fossil fuels — responsible for almost 20% of greenhouse-gas emissions. Understanding how those emissions are counted is its own subject; the distinction between offsetting and genuine reduction is covered in the explainer on carbon neutral versus net zero.

The main drivers

The dominant cause is expanding industrial agriculture, itself driven by a growing population and shifting diets. Large-scale commercial farming accounts for roughly 40% of tropical deforestation, with cleared land turned over to cattle ranching and the production of a handful of high-demand commodities.

• Soy — production has risen more than 50% in two decades. Most soy is not eaten directly; over 80% is grown to feed livestock, and soy oil turns up in everything from chocolate to cosmetics.
• Palm oil — the most widely used oil in the food industry because it is cheaper than alternatives, and also common in detergents, cosmetics and biofuel.
• Timber — demand that cannot be met sustainably feeds a multi-billion-dollar illegal-logging trade that drives a significant share of tropical forest loss.

What is lost

The consequences reach well beyond the tree line:

• Ecosystems and biodiversity. Continued clearance pushes rainforest species toward extinction and leaves many plants endangered.
• Human health. As habitats are destroyed, animals migrate into human territory, increasing the unnatural contact that can spread zoonotic diseases.
• Climate. Forests are carbon sinks; the WWF attributes roughly 15% of greenhouse-gas emissions to forest degradation. A felled forest stops absorbing carbon and starts emitting it.
• Homelands. The WWF estimates that 1.25 billion people rely on forests for shelter, water, fuel, food and income.
• Soil and water. Without trees to hold nutrients and topsoil, land dries out, erodes and becomes unsuitable for crops, raising flood risk.

How the trend can be reversed

Individual choices help, but deforestation is a global problem that ultimately needs to be tackled at the level of nations and policy — through regulation that enforces sustainable farming and the adoption of better crops and techniques. There is room for cautious optimism: research published via Mongabay suggests tropical forests are more resilient than once assumed and can regenerate naturally within a few decades if given the chance.

At the level of everyday consumption, a few habits reduce the financial pull behind forest clearance:

• Choose verified, sustainably harvested wood products.
• Moderate consumption of meat, dairy and products containing palm oil.
• Support reforestation and the protection of standing forest.
• Raise awareness and back evidence-based policy.

The throughline is simple enough: forests are foundational to life on Earth, and slowing their loss — while restoring what has already gone — is among the most direct levers available against climate change.

Sources

• World Wildlife Fund — Deforestation and Forest Degradation
• UN Food and Agriculture Organization — forest-loss estimates
• Bloomberg — World Tropical Forest Loss Was 10 Soccer Fields a Minute in 2021
• Mongabay — Study suggests tropical forests can regenerate naturally
• Live Science — Deforestation: Facts, causes & effects

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions readers ask most about deforestation and rainforest loss.