Scientists have found that \u201cforests and agriculture can get us at least a quarter of the way to meeting the Paris Agreement\u2019s goal of limiting warming to 1.5\u00b0C\u201d.<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> But this will be impossible to achieve if we continue cutting down our forests. Preventing a disastrous increase in global warming depends on stopping deforestation now.<\/p>\r\n 1. The total globally forested area stands at about 4.06 billion hectares. However, it is decreasing every day.<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Roughly 420 million hectares of forest worldwide have been razed since 1990.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> In the same period, the global area of primary forest decreased by over 80 million hectares.<\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The majority of this destruction took place in Africa and South America. Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Angola, Tanzania, Paraguay, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bolivia, and Mozambique are the top countries for average annual net losses of forest area.<\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span> These are also the countries most likely to experience further deforestation throughout 2021.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n 2. Agricultural expansion is the primary driver of deforestation and forest degradation.<\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Some estimate agriculture is responsible for as much as 80 per cent of global deforestation.<\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Land conversion for growing crops, raising livestock and products, such as paper, continues to be the leading cause of deforestation.<\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Both large-scale commercial agriculture and local subsistence farming lead to substantial tree felling.<\/span>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n 3. Indigenous Peoples safeguard 80 percent of the planet\u2019s remaining biodiversity<\/a>.<\/span>13<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Indigenous Peoples make up just five percent of the global population. They own, occupy or use a quarter of the world\u2019s surface area.<\/span>14<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Much of this land is forested and highly biodiverse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But, both they and their forests are under threat from deforestation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n 4. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, assassinations of Indigenous leaders and human rights defenders in Colombia have increased by more than 80 percent.<\/span>15<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Over 250 activists were killed in the first ten months of 2020. This is the deadliest year on record for environmental and Indigenous defenders. Most murders are occurring in Colombia. The expansion of mines and cattle ranches fuels deforestation in the Amazonian country.<\/span>16<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n 5. Deforestation decreases by two-thirds on land in the Brazilian Amazon where Indigenous Peoples have full ownership rights. But, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is working to erode Indigenous protections and ownership.<\/span>17<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Indigenous Peoples \u201chold vital ancestral knowledge and expertise on how to adapt, mitigate, and reduce climate and disaster risks\u201d, according to the UN. However, many governments recognize only a fraction of Indigenous People\u2019s land as formally or legally belonging to them.<\/span>18<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Invasions of Indigenous People\u2019s land in Brazil increased 135 percent in 2019.<\/span>19<\/sup><\/a><\/span> At least 18 people were murdered in land conflicts in the same year.<\/span>20<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Deforestation in 2021 threatens the rights and lives of Indigenous Peoples.<\/span>21<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n 6. Since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, deforestation in Brazil has leaped by nearly 50 percent. In 2020, it reached its highest level since 2008.<\/span>22<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Nearly two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest is found within Brazil\u2019s borders.<\/span>23<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The Brazilian government\u2019s approach to deforestation is therefore critical. But the outlook for 2021 is not overly optimistic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The Brazilian government passed 195 executive acts to dismantle or bypass environmental laws between March and May 2020 alone.<\/span>24<\/sup><\/a><\/span> In addition, IBAMA, the country\u2019s leading environmental enforcement, issued 20 percent fewer fines in 2020.<\/span>25<\/sup><\/a><\/span> This is concerning for everyone. The state of the Amazon affects us all.<\/p>\r\n 7. Indonesian deforestation will be easier for businesses in 2021. A massive deregulation bill passed in October 2020 removes requirements and environmental impact assessments for companies.<\/span>26<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The deregulation bill was compiled hastily \u2013 largely in secret\u00a0\u2013 and with limited public input. Its measures include drastically stripping back environmental protections against coal mining.<\/span>27<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It also recentralizes the permitting process for plantations and mines. This limits who can raise objections to a project to those directly impacted. As a result, it hinders the ability of NGOs and conservation groups to challenge developments on behalf of small farmers and Indigenous communities.<\/span>28<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n 8. US President Biden has promised to provide USD $20 billion to protect the Amazon rainforest.<\/span>29<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The change in US leadership suggests a very different attitude regarding the world\u2019s largest rainforest. Former US President Trump praised Bolsonaro\u2019s approach to deforestation and forest degradation in Brazil.<\/span>30<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Now, thankfully, President Biden is moving forward on his pledge to protect the rainforest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Former US officials have drawn up an Amazon Protection Plan. It aims to calm tensions between the two countries whilst reducing deforestation.<\/span>31<\/sup><\/a><\/span> There is subsequently hope that pressure from the US will save one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.<\/p>\r\n 9. Palm oil is one of the biggest causes of deforestation, affecting some of the Earth’s most biodiverse forests. Palm oil production affects the habitat of endangered plant and animal species.<\/span>32<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Because palm oil is so versatile, ubiquitous and cheap, it is difficult to persuade palm oil producers to change their manufacturing, despite its effects on tropical forests. <\/span> In 2020, there were estimated to be about 800 individuals of the Tapanuli orangutan. In 2021, it is on the critically endangered species list.<\/span>33<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\nFacts about deforestation in 2021<\/h2>\r\n
Deforestation worldwide<\/h3>\r\n
Facts about deforestation and Indigenous Peoples<\/h3>\r\n
![\"10](\"https:\/\/climatetransform.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/chief-raoni.jpeg\")
Deforestation in Brazil<\/h3>\r\n
Indonesian deforestation in 2021<\/h3>\r\n
US President Biden and the Amazon rainforest<\/h3>\r\n
![\"10](\"https:\/\/climatetransform.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Tapanuli-orangutan-and-palm-oil.jpeg\")
Palm oil and deforestation in 2021<\/h3>\r\n
The effects of tree cover on plant and animal species<\/h3>\r\n