For thousands of years humans have destroyed forests. At the end of the last great ice age, an estimated 57 percent of the worlds habitable land was forested.1 Since then, people in all regions of the world have burned and cut down forests. The chart below shows this. The forested land area declined from six to four billion hectares. That means our ancestors destroyed one-third of the former forests;a forest area twice the size of the US was lost.
There are two big reasons why humans have destroyed forests and continue to do so: the need for land and the need for wood.
The land use for farming did not only come at the expense of the worlds forests, but also led to the huge decline of the worlds other wild spaces, the shrub- and grasslands. The chart shows this too.
In many countries forests continue to be destroyed. The series of charts shows this. In all of these countries the forest cover today is lower than three decades ago.3
Most of the forests that are destroyed today are in the tropics, some of the most biodiverse regions on our planet. Why is this happening?
The following chart shows what is driving the ongoing destruction of the worlds largest tropical forest: the Amazon. The expansion of agricultural land to raise cattle is the most important driver, by far.4
I wish this was more widely understood. Land use for agriculture is the main threat to the worlds biodiversity.5
Most of the destruction of tropical forests is due to consumers in the region, butabout 12 percent of the deforestationin the tropics is driven by demand from high-income countries. Beef-eaters around the world are contributing to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.6
This huge impact of meat consumption on deforestation is also visible in the first chart that showed the history over the last 10 millennia. 31 percent of the worlds habitable land is now grazing land for livestock. This is an extremely large part of the world; taken together it is as large asall of the Americas, from Alaska in the north down to Tierra del Fuego in the south.
Meat consumption is such a large driver of deforestation because it is a very inefficient way to produce food. The land use of meat production ismuch higher than plant-based foods. Reducing meat consumption is therefore a way to increase the agricultural output per land area. A shift away from the land-intensive production of meat, especially beef, would be a major way to make progress and end deforestation. One possible way to get there is to make clear how large the environmental impact of meat production is. Another complementing way is to produce meat substitutes that people prefer over beef.
After thousands of years of deforestation, is there any hope that it could be different?
Yes.
In fact, there are many countries that brought their history of deforestation to an end. Several even turned it around so that forests there are now expanding.
This reversal, from deforestation to reforestation, is called aForest Transition. The chart below shows the data for some of the countries that have achieved this.7
As mentioned before, while it is the case that several countries have achieved this transition, it is also the case that consumers in these countries contribute to deforestation elsewhere.
Crucial for these turnarounds was technological progress that reduced the demand for fuelwood and agricultural land.
These two technological changes can be complemented by effective policies and regulations. Zero-deforestation policies restrict deforestation, and programs like REDD+of the FAO compensate poorer countries and farmers to make forest protection economically more attractive than deforestation.8
Can We Achieve a Global Forest Transition in Our Lifetime?
If we want to protect our planets forests, the world as a whole would need to achieve what many countries have achieved already, the turnaround from deforestation to reforestation a global forest transition.
Countries around the world have made the end of deforestation their explicit goal. At COP26 in Glasgow, countries with about 85 percent of the worlds forests pledged to end deforestation by 2030.
The last chart shows where the world is in this effort.
The brown part of the chart shows the history of the temperate forests. These forests as a whole have achieved the transition: deforestation was high in the past, then peaked in the first half of the 20th century, and from the 1990s onwards temperate forests have expanded in size. Temperate forests are growing back.
The challenge is now to achieve the same in tropical forests, which are shown in green. We are making progress in this direction: the rate of deforestation in the tropics was highest in the 1980s. Since then, the rate of deforestation has declined by a factor of three.
If we can further decrease the demand for fuelwood and agricultural land, it seems possible to bring deforestation in the tropics to an end.
If we achieve the global forest transition in our lifetimes, it would be a major success for the protection of the worlds biodiversity. Additionally, it would bring greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation to an end, and expanding rather than shrinking forests would instead suck more carbon out of the atmosphere.
How can we bring deforestation to an end? There is no single answer, but as we have seen, a few big changes can bring this big goal into reach.
More productive agriculture that allows more production on a smaller land area, a shift away from meat, effective conservation policies, and a shift to modern energy sources: by bringing all of these factors together we could get there. Not only would we save existing forests from being cut down, we might also free up space for forests to grow back.
In our lifetime we have the unprecedented opportunity to bring our long history of deforestation to an end. For the first time in millennia we could achieve a world in which forests expand.
This article was originally published onOur World in Dataand has been republished here under a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Image Credit: Lillac/Shutterstock.com
More:
- Singularity Future Technology Ltd (SGLY) is up 43.55% Tuesday In Premarket Trading - InvestorsObserver - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through March 16) - Singularity Hub - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Palia reaches over 3m players in six months thanks to "invaluable" Switch partnership - GamesIndustry.biz - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Beyond the Singularity: Exploring the Fusion of AI and Art - Hong Kong Standard - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Your Comprehensive Guide to Telos Staking Success | by Pizza Singularity Sapphire | Feb, 2024 - Medium - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- BTS' Kim Taehyung's 'Singularity' Performance Featured in Harvard Professor's Book - BNN Breaking - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Title: Understanding the Singularity: Unveiling the Future of Humanity - Medium - December 12th, 2023 [December 12th, 2023]
- What happens at the center of a black hole? - Astronomy Magazine - December 12th, 2023 [December 12th, 2023]
- IBM Is Planning to Build Its First Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computer by 2029 - Singularity Hub - December 12th, 2023 [December 12th, 2023]
- 22 Laws of Singularity And How You Can Apply Them To Live A Better Life - Medium - December 12th, 2023 [December 12th, 2023]
- Singularity: Here's When Humanity Will Reach It, New Data Shows - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- sentinelOne expands singularity marketplace with new SOAR, insider threat, training, and prioritization integrations - ZAWYA - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Reaching the Singularity May be Humanitys Greatest and Last ... - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- Singularity: Explain It to Me Like I'm 5-Years-Old - Futurism - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- SINGULARITY FUTURE TECHNOLOGY LTD. : Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing, Change in... - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak on Artificial Intelligence: Not worried about The Singularity, well still be in control - MacDailyNews - February 12th, 2023 [February 12th, 2023]
- Cauchy principal value - Wikipedia - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Singularity Future Technology Ltd. (SGLY) Stockholder Notice: Robbins LLP Reminds Investors of the Class Action Against Singularity Future Technology... - December 14th, 2022 [December 14th, 2022]
- ROSEN, A LEADING LAW FIRM, Encourages Singularity Future Technology Ltd. f/k/a Sino-Global Shipping America Ltd. Investors to Secure Counsel Before... - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- Singularity (mathematics) - Wikipedia - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- GitHub: Where the world builds software GitHub - November 21st, 2022 [November 21st, 2022]
- Review: The Singularities, by John Banville - The New York Times - October 25th, 2022 [October 25th, 2022]
- We need to manage AI better as we are approaching the Creative Singularity - RedShark News - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 15) - Singularity Hub - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Ferguson: A second helping of QB play from Thanksgiving weekend - CFL.ca - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Kanimozhi slams Union govt over conducting CGL exams in only Hindi and English - The News Minute - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- New Bayonetta 3 Trailer Reveals An In-Universe Singularity, And Lots Of Witches - Gameranx - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Singularity Future Technology Announces Receipt of Nasdaq Notice of Delisting and Intention to Request Hearing - Yahoo Finance - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Six Recent Discoveries That Have Changed How We Think About Human Origins - Singularity Hub - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- This AI Uses a Scan of Your Retina to Predict Your Risk of Heart Disease - Singularity Hub - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- The Moon May Have Formed Just Hours After Earth Collided With a Protoplanet - Singularity Hub - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- UK HealthCare hosting 2 nationally esteemed guests for 60th anniversary symposium - UKNow - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Why Transcend Fund believes the opportunity for game investments is only getting bigger - VentureBeat - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Austin Powers References in This Fool, Ramy, Bros - Vulture - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Bayonetta 3 Everything You Need to Know About this Bewitching Beat em Up - Wccftech - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Longtermism: The Future Is VastWhat Does This Mean for Our Own Life? - Singularity Hub - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Ohio creates elections integrity office while voter fraud is already 'exceedingly rare' - ideastream - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Elon Musk Warns of World War III - TheStreet - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Durga reminds us of our collective obligations - Daily Pioneer - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Glitch in the algorithm - The Bucknellian - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- As the Robot Fry Cook Takes Over the Kitchen - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The Singularity Image Format (SIF) Selected as a Finalist in the HPCwire Readers' Choice Awards - PR Web - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Singularity Image Format (SIF) Selected as a Finalist in the HPCwire Readers' Choice Awards - Benzinga - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Singularity of the Dual Mandate - Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- What Is the Quirk Singularity Doomsday Theory in My Hero Academia? Explained - Twinfinite - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Introduction to week 4 of Tekedia Mini-MBA: Exponential Technologies and Singularity - Tekedia - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- A $500 Million International Project Will Create the Most Detailed Map of the Brain Ever - Singularity Hub - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- There Are Cheaper, More Sustainable Ways Than Desalination to Meet Our Water Needs - Singularity Hub - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- #3DStartup: Unlimited Tomorrow and its 3D Printed Bionic Prosthetic Arm - 3Dnatives - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- First As Parody, Then As Free Speech: The Onion Goes To The Supreme Court. It's About As Awesome As You'd Suspect. - Above the Law - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- 10 Hot Cyber Threat Intelligence Tools And Services In 2022 - CRN - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Nintendo comes out strong with its offering of upcoming titles - The UML Connector - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The metaverses evolutionary roots could aid its success | Mint - Mint - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Tech That Will Push VR to the Limits of the Human Eye - Singularity Hub - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Super-Earths Are Bigger and More Habitable Than Earth, and Astronomers Are Discovering More of the Billions They Think Are Out There - Singularity Hub - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Scientists Have Long Dreamed of a Memory Prosthesis. The First Human Trials Look Promising - Singularity Hub - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- NASA's DART Spacecraft Will Smack an Asteroid at 14,000 MPH Todayand You Can Watch - Singularity Hub - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Why You Should Read This: 'The Gold Coast' - Alta Magazine - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- The Multitude of Stromae - Mail and Guardian - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is Getting a Location-based VR Experience Next Year - Road to VR - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- What the pandemic taught us about teaching (On the Other Hand) - Montclair Local - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Where to get the Boom Sniper in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 4 - The Nerd Stash - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Machine learning has predicted the winners of the Worlds - CyclingTips - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Vaonis Vespera Review: Easy To Use But with Underwhelming Results - PetaPixel - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- The biggest problem with gravity and quantum physics - Big Think - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- V gets inked on his butt cheek? BTS star spills the details about his friendship tattoo - Zoom TV - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Robots & Humans: Are we heading towards Singularity? - INDIAai - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through September 17) - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- A Swedish Company Wants to Transform Offshore Wind With Vertical-Axis Turbines - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Decarbonizing the Energy Sector by 2050 Could Save the World $12 Trillion - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- This Sleek Solar Car Goes 600 Miles on a Charge and Is Gearing Up for Production - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Meta Built an AI That Can Guess the Words You're Hearing by Decoding Your Brainwaves - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Gory Throwback FPS 'Prodeus' Exits Early Access This Thursday, Launching for PC and Consoles [Trailer] - Bloody Disgusting - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Meet the New Vespera Telescope From Vaonis - Universe Today - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Of God and Machines - The Atlantic - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Intel Core i9-13900K beats the 12900K by +10% in CPU-bound games - KitGuru - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- INVESTIGATION ALERT: The Schall Law Firm Encourages Investors in Singularity Future Technology Ltd. with Losses of $100000 to Contact the Firm -... - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- How To Open Singularity Rock in Tower of Fantasy - Attack of the Fanboy - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Intel i9-13900K Tested in Ashes Of The Singularity, Offers Neglible Increments in Performance - Appuals - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- In a Pilot Trial, Bioengineered Corneas Gave 14 Blind People Their Sight Back - Singularity Hub - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]