According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), based in Washington, USA, by 2022 the planet lost an area of pristine tropical forest the size of Switzerland or the Netherlands, destroying ecosystems mainly due to agriculture and ranching.
According to a WRI analysis, which was based on data collected via satellite, the loss is equivalent to a football field of tropical trees cut down or burned every five seconds in 2022, representing 10% more destroyed area than in 2021 .
In 2022, the Global Forest Watch (GFW) satellite recorded the destruction of more than 4.1 million hectares of primary tropical forest, critical to the planet’s biodiversity and carbon sequestration.
The hardest hit country is Brazil, with area destroyed accounting for 43% of global losses, ahead of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (13%) and Bolivia (9%).
Also in the top 10 of the 2022 ranking are Peru (3.9%), Colombia (3.1%), Laos (2.3%), Cameroon (1.9%), Papua New Guinea (1.8%) and Malaysia (1.7%).
In Indonesia, by contrast, forest destruction decreased for the fifth consecutive year.
“We are losing one of our most effective tools to fight climate change, protect biodiversity and support the health and livelihoods of millions of people,” GFW Executive Director Mikaela Weisse said at a news conference today.
The accelerated destruction of forests continues despite pledges made at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, by major world leaders.
Source: DN
