Story Spark: Deforestation
In 2024, nearly 8.1 million hectares of forest were permanently lost around the world — an area roughly half the size of England. Though annual deforestation rates have almost halved since 1990, experts say the world is far off track to meet a target pledged four years ago during COP26 to halt and reverse global deforestation by 2030.
Deforestation is both a global story and a local one — while 95% of deforestation occurs in the tropics, everyday products, such as beef, avocados, coffee, palm oil, paper, and even beauty products like collagen are produced on deforested land. Investigating these links helps your audience see the impacts in their daily lives, and brings a story that originates thousands of miles away closer to home.
Historically, agriculture has been the primary driver of deforestation, accounting for about 86% of global deforestation over the past decade. The climate impacts of this land-use change are vast: Removing forests both releases their stored carbon into the atmosphere and eliminates their capacity to store carbon in the future. While some reforestation programs have been successful, with many countries now gaining more forest than they’ve lost in the past decade, scientists say that halting deforestation of old-growth forests, which are even more productive than younger forests at storing carbon, is critical.
In addition to land-use changes, which account for 12–20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the world’s forests are increasingly at risk of other climate change–driven risks, including wildfires, extreme weather, and pests. Last year, a surge of fires, which were made more likely and intense due to climate change, caused extensive devastation to forests around the world, and made fire the leading driver of tropical forest loss for the first time. Warming temperatures have also fueled the expansion of pine and spruce beetles with unprecedented deaths of trees in forests across the Northern Hemisphere.
Stories We Like
- Recent US tariffs on China may “turbocharge deforestation” in the Amazon by driving up soybean production in Brazil, The Atlantic reports.
- Climate change threatens more than just tropical rainforests, as pests, wildfires, and changing precipitation patterns put the world’s boreal forests at risk. Canada’s CBC News reports.
- Nearly one-third of avocados consumed worldwide are grown in Michoacán, Mexico. Grist highlights how global culinary demands are driving deforestation in the country’s “Avocado Belt” and explores ways some producers are growing more ethical, eco-friendly fruits.
- Wildfires are a growing threat to the world’s forests; in 2024, fire was the principal driver of tropical forest loss for the first time. DW reports how climate change fueled last year’s “fire pandemic” in Brazil.
- In Colombia, ranchers are testing out “cow hotels” to reduce deforestation in South America, reports NPR. Clearing land for cattle is the single biggest driver of rainforest loss in the Amazon.
- Blue Dot Living highlights how Indigenous groups are fighting to protect Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, one of the world’s largest temperate rainforests — and most significant carbon sinks.
Resources
- Read the UN’s latest global forest report to understand the past, present, and future of the world’s forests.
- Dive into the 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment, which explains how “we are off track on halting and reversing deforestation by 2030.”
- Explore forest data, sign up for deforestation alerts, and analyze local and global trends on Global Forest Watch’s website.
- Use Google Earth Timeline to visualize forest and land use changes through decades of satellite imagery.
Experts
- Mary Gagen, geography professor, Swansea University
- Erin Matson, lead consultant, Climate Focus
- Matthew Hansen, remote sensing scientist, University of Maryland
- Lisa Rausch, associate professor, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Before We Go…
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