The forest coverage globally is considered to be decreasing at an alarming rate. According to Prevedello et al. (2019), the original 40% forest coverage of the Earth's surface has significantly shrunk over the past 300 years due to deforestation, and the trend is expected to continue if proper action is not taken. Currently, according to the UN (2020), the forest covers around 25% of the total Earth's surface- that is roughly 6.06 billion hectares of land. Deforestation is the cutting down, clearing, and removal of trees from the forested area to convert the land to a non-forest use.

Millions of trees are cut down annually. Betrand (2020) notes that between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forested areas are destroyed annually. Bertrand further explains that every minute, around 2400 trees are cut down. Research shows that deforestation majorly occurs in subtropical and temperate regions (Chakravarty et al., 2012). The definitions of deforestation vary across various academic fields. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation describes deforestation as the process of converting a forested area to another land use by clearing down all the trees. The main deforestation driving factor is agricultural expansion. Additionally, settlement and building construction are also other key contributors to deforestation. Deforestation has adverse effects and impacts on the environment. Among the major effects of deforestation is climate change, which has been a global debate for the past decades.

Figure 1. Tropical forest deforestation by region in thousands of ha. Per year, 1990-2000 & 2000-2005. Source: FAO, 2009.

 

Figure 2. Global tree cover loss per year in millions of hectares, 2000-2018

Source: Inside climate, 2015.

 

The rate of deforestation differs across the globe, with Africa leading in terms of forest areas cleared per year. According to data released by the United Nations Environmental Program, the rate of deforestation in Africa is twice the global rate, with about 90% of West Africa’s tropical forest already cleared (Independent, 2011). Furthermore, FAO data also show that from the 1980s to the early 2000s African continent lost the highest percentage of tropical forest compared to other continents, with Nigeria clearing 81% of its natural forest by 2005 (Butler, 2000). The data further highlight that about 28% of the tropical forest is left in Africa.

Figure 3. Natural forest area scenario for tropical Africa. The lines indicate low and high end scenarios. Source: FAO, 2003.

 

 The highest rate of deforestation in Africa is due to the fact that about 90% of families in Africa still depend on wood as the primary fuel. However, other factors have contributed to deforestation in Africa. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo still has the highest forest coverage in African, but the deforestation rate is high partly due to unregulated illegal logging and mining. In Ethiopia, the major cause of deforestation is agricultural expansion and livestock production. In other countries, like Kenya, for instance, there is no clear cause for deforestation, but currently (2020), 1.7% of the total land is forest compared to 10% in 1963 (Masinde & Karanja, 2019).

In Asia, the rate of deforestation is quite lower compared to Africa, but the trend is just the same. But a critical analysis of specific areas such as South Asia paints a different picture. The deforestation rate in South Asia countries like Cambodia and Vietnam is described as critical by environmentalists. Vietnam takes a lead in Asia in deforestation rate and second in the world led closely by Nigeria (Butler, 2005). High rates of deforestation have been witnessed in countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Russia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Russia has the highest forest coverage in the world with about 12 million square km covered by boreal forest. The deforestation rate in Russia is believed to be 20,000 km2 annually, with the highest rate of tree loss witnessed near its border and China, where the timber business is quite flourishing.

Figure 4. The loss of natural forest in Vietnam between 2002 and 2003.

Source: Researchgate, 2020.

 

Cambodia, considered one of the countries with the highest forest coverage in the world, is also facing a deforestation holocaust. Over the past 40 years, Cambodia has lost 67% of its total forest coverage. According to available research data, in 1970, 70% of Cambodia was covered by forest, but as of 2007, only 1.3% of the country was under forest. The cause of massive deforestation in Cambodia is due to vigorous economic developments such as agricultural expansion, infrastructural and urban development, wood logging, and fuelwood collection. Additionally, rapid population expansion, limited employment opportunities, and inequalities in land distribution also contribute to the rapid deforestation in Cambodia. Lack of government policies against illegal logging is also said to have contributed towards the massive deforestation in Cambodia.

Figure 5. Assessment of the deforestation in Southeast Asia since 1930. Source: researchgate, 2018

In Indonesia, illegal logging is the major cause of deforestation. Indonesia has lost about 40% of her forest coverage and as of 2008, it was estimated that the whole Indonesia forest’s coverage would be wiped out in the next 10 years if logging continued. The Philippines also faces the deforestation problems experienced by other Asian countries. Over the last century, she has lost roughly 50% of its forest coverage.  Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam are also facing the same problems. The forest loss in Thailand has been consistent at 3.1% annually. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Thailand lost about 43% of its total forest coverage from 1973 to 2009. The overall deforestation rate in Thailand is driven by agricultural expansion, but other studies suggest that direct deforestation is a result of illegal logging due to the timber business. In Sri Lanka, deforestation is considered the most environmental problem. In 10 years, from 1990 to 2000, the forest loss rate in Srilanka was at 1.14% annually, and by the end of 2000, the country had lost 28000 hectares of forest area (Butler, 2015). The figure further jumped to 1.43% between 2000 and 2005.

In Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea), Australia has the highest rate of deforestation compared to other countries in the region. Land clearing in Australia is mainly due to agricultural expansion, although other factors such as economic development also contribute. Even though the deforestation rate in Australia is the highest in the region, globally, it is low, and data show that about 87% of the total forest available during the European settlers still remains intact. In New Zealand, the original cause of deforestation was the early British settlers who burned down the forest for settlement purposes. Later, logging took over and almost cleared the remaining forest. However, recent government regulation- banned logging in all public lands and stiff regulations on private lands, has helped reduce the rate of logging. Papua New Guinea has one of the largest tropical rain forest coverage in the world, but the current rate of logging is killing the forest. The annual loss of the tropical forest in New Guinea stands at 1.4 % with illegal logging being the major cause (Butler, 2015). Research shows that timber is the highest contributor to foreign export which is estimated to between 70-90% of the total world timber market. The high rate of illegal logging in Papua New Guinea is blamed on corrupt politicians, weak legislation, and environmental issues.

In South America, the Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in the area and the world, representing half of the rainforest globally. The Amazon rainforest has the largest biodiverse tropical forest worldwide, with 60% of the total rainforest being in Brazil (Amazon, 2009). Brazil is the highest contributor of Amazon deforestation, accounting for 80% of the total deforestation in the area and 14% of global annual deforestation (Adam, 2009). The high deforestation rate in Brazil's Amazon is due to cattle ranching- accelerated by beef and leather trade in the area and agricultural expansion. By 2005 since 1970, 70% of the Amazon forest had been cleared and turned into ranches.

Brazil's Amazon deforestation rate is highest in Mato Grosso and para states with 88% of the total deforestation carried out by non-indigenous people. The indigenous people rely on Amazon as their source of food, shelter, fuel, and medicine thus, they rarely cut down their homes. The rate of amazon deforestation is still rising, and the world wildlife fund warns that by 2030, 60% of amazon forest in Brazil will be wiped out or severely destroyed (Adam, 2009). Between 2007 and 2008, the deforestation rate in Brazil's Amazon jumped by 69% according to government data, and in 2018 the deforestation hit the highest according to satellite data compiled by Prodes. Colombia and Peru also face Brazil's deforestation problem. In Peru, for instance, the deforestation rate is currently between 0.3% and 0.5% annually, and the rate is projected to rise in the next few years. In contrast to Brazil's case, the deforestation in Peru is mainly accelerated by subsistence farming by the immigrants who are able to own public land after 5 years of residency in the country. Overall, Amazon has lost an average of 17.7 million hectares of forest due to deforestation.

Figure 6. Change in moist forest cover in South America between 2001 and 2010. Source: Aide et al, 2012

 

Study shows that half of Europe's forest has disappeared in the last six thousand years due to demand for wood fuel, and agricultural expansion. 22 of the 26 European countries increased their forest harvest rate in the past two decades, with Poland, Sweden, Finland, and Romania showing the most dramatic increase. Comparing the satellite images of the European Union's forest coverage in 2018 reveals that the forest coverage decreased by 69% between 2016 and 2018 (Mongabay, 2018). The extent of deforestation in European countries is quite clear if each country is analyzed. In Italy, deforestation began during the Romans emperor, and it is still continuing. The deforestation in Italy is a result of agricultural expansion in the island areas, and the overall effects have been worse: the loss of overall biodiversity, decline in rainfall, and drying of rivers. Early Scandinavian settlers in Iceland cleared the birch and woodland forests for grazing lands and agricultural purposes (Mongabay, 2018). However, the massive afforestation and reafforestation by the government and local NGOs in the middle of the nineteenth-century, has helped the country recover some of its lost trees. Finland is also struggling with the deforestation crisis. Annually, 19000 hectares of land are cleared in Finland for building, roads, and other purposes.

Before the British colonization of North America, nearly half of the continent was covered by forest. But today, only a third of the whole continent remains under forest- that is approximately 740 million hectares of land. Most of the deforestation in North America has been due to the expansion of agricultural activities and settlement, and of late timber business (Easterbrook, 2005). In North America, Canada accounts for 10% of the total global forest but only contributes 0.4% of the total global deforestation. As of 2005, Canada had 402 million hectares of forest coverage. Research shows that the rate of deforestation in Canada has been decreasing for the past 30 years. In 2005, roughly 56 000 hectares of lands were destroyed: that represents 0.02% of the total forest coverage. Agriculture is one of the major causes of deforestation in Canada, accounting for half of the total area cleared in the past three decades. Additional, urban development, including road, corridors, and recreation, contributed to 19%, while hydroelectricity accounts for 10%.

Deforestation in the United States is an environmental problem just like in most countries across the globe. Between 1992 and 2001, about 3% of the forest was lost to agriculture, auburn development, and wood fuel (Easterbrook, 2005). Most of the deforestation in the United States took place early in the 19th century. And currently, America is ranked at position 7 globally among the countries that have lost their old forest coverage by the Food and Agriculture Organization. In recent days, the major cause of deforestation in America has been a hot public debate with pro logging highlighting its positive impact (US EPA, 2011). The recent rise in forest fires, however, contradicts most of the claims that cite illegal logging as the major cause of tree loss.

Figure 7. Deforestation rate in America since 1700-2017. Source:  Ropeld.com, 2017.

In conclusion, the global deforestation is no longer a looming problem but a present menace that should be tackled head-on. Human factors are the major cause of deforestation, and thus it is upon them to control its spread. The effects and impacts of deforestation are severe and visible that should not be ignored. Comparing the rate of deforestation in different countries across the world shows a consistent trend with Africa taking the lead at twice the worlds' average rate.

References

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