Destruction of tropical forests around the world has decreased slightly - study
Kyiv • UNN
In 2023, about 3.7 million hectares of rainforest were destroyed, down 9% from 2022, but the rate of deforestation remains alarmingly high.
In 2023, about 3.7 million hectares (37,000 square kilometers) of tropical jungle were destroyed, which is about 400,000 hectares less than in 2022. This is according to an analysis published on Thursday, March 4, by the Global Forest Watch monitoring project, UNN reports .
Details
The loss of primary forests - those that have not been touched by humans and are sometimes known as old-growth forests - in the tropics decreased by 9% last year compared to 2022. However, Global Forest Watch researchers said that destruction remains stubbornly high. Last year, the world lost about 37,000 square kilometers (14,000 square miles) of primary tropical forest. This is almost the same area as Switzerland and larger than the US state of Maryland.
Brazil remains the country with the largest forest loss, the report says. Although these losses decreased significantly in 2023. In Colombia, forest loss was almost halved compared to the previous year. According to the report, forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bolivia and Indonesia have suffered particularly severe losses.
Strong reductions in Brazil's Amazon region and Colombia show that progress is possible. But increasing deforestation in other regions is largely offsetting this progress
According to the report, deforestation globally increased by 3.2% in 2023.
Forest loss includes natural destruction of forests, such as wildfires, pests and storms, which can grow back. Deforestation means the permanent conversion of forests to other uses, such as agriculture, and is more difficult to measure.
Rod Taylor, Director of Forests at the World Resources Institute, recalled that more than 140 countries have committed to ending deforestation by the end of the decade in 2021, a goal that requires a significant reduction in destruction each year.
We are far off track and moving in the wrong direction when it comes to reducing global deforestation
Recall
According to a new study published in the journal Functional Ecology, European forests with a large diversity of tree species are more resilient to storms.
After a massive enemy missile strike on Zaporizhzhia and, in particular, on the Dnipro hydroelectric power plant, oil products leaked into the Dnipro River. Ecologists immediately arrived at the site , and specialists took steps to absorb the oil leak and treated the spots that had washed up on the shore.
