Global deforestation cut enough trees last year to cover Belgium
The world’s old-growth rainforests are shrinking at an alarming rate, with enough trees lost last year to cover all of Belgium or two Connecticuts, a new report shows.
Tropical rainforests are found mainly in equatorial countries, but they store vast amounts of carbon dioxide, so keeping them intact is crucial to fighting global climate change. In addition, they are home to a broad range of species, including orangutans, mountain gorillas and tigers.
Once cut down, such forests may never return to their original state, according to a new study published by Global Forest Watch.
Using data from the University of Maryland, the group found that some 3.6-million hectares (8.9-million acres) of primary tropical forest disappeared last year. While that was below the peaks in 2016 and 2017, when fires helped push forest loss to record levels, it was still the third-highest annual loss since records began in 2001. Also, the moving three-year average for last year was the highest ever recorded.
“Old growth, or ‘primary’ tropical rainforests, is a crucially important forest ecosystem, containing trees that can be hundreds or even thousand of years old,” Global Forest Watch said. “They store more carbon than other forests and are irreplaceable when it comes to sustaining biodiversity.”
The biggest loss of primary rainforest land last year was seen in Brazil, where some 1.35-million hectares disappeared, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Colombia and Bolivia.
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