Satellite data released Tuesday (June 27) showed that Earth lost a carbon-absorbing rainforest larger than Switzerland or the Netherlands in 2022.  Commodity crops and cattle were the reasons for the destruction of most of the rainforest.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) estimates that 10 percent more mature tropical trees are chopped down or burned each year, or a football field every five seconds, day or night.

The WRI’s Global Forest Watch team estimates that tropical forest deforestation last year emitted 2.7 billion tonnes of CO2, comparable to India’s fossil fuel emissions, the world’s most populous nation. Brazil lost 43%, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 13%, and Bolivia 9%.  

Due to the over 16,000 square miles of main forests burned last year, 2022 will be the fourth worst year for primary forests in the previous 20 years. A year after the Glasgow COP26 summit, forest loss is increasing.

In a briefing, WRI’s Global Forest Watch director Mikaela Weisse said that despite years of efforts to stop the trend, some of the world’s most important forest ecosystems have been hemorrhaging since the turn of the century.

We’re losing the potential to fight climate change, conserve biodiversity, and protect millions of people’s health and lifestyle.

Despite tripling CO2 emissions, plants and soil have absorbed 30% of global pollution since 1960.

Nearly half of the world’s 1.6 billion people survive only on forest resources.

Brazil’s deforestation increased by 15% in 2018 over 2021 under President Jair Bolsonaro. President Bolsonaro’s administration restricted indigenous peoples’ rights, eliminated environmental restrictions, and ignored illegal deforestation. These acts protect forests.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would have several hurdles in preventing Amazon’s deforestation by 2030, according to experts.

Scientists fear that climate change and deforestation may accelerate the Amazon basin’s shift from tropical forest to savannah, altering South American and global weather patterns.

The Amazon basin’s forests store twice the world’s total CO2 emissions.

WRI distinguished senior fellow for forests Frances Seymour said, “Halting and reversing forest loss is one of the most cost-effective mitigation options available to us today.”

The analysis found that primary forest loss continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which lost over 500,000 hectares in 2022.

Due to great poverty, subsistence farming and small-scale charcoal production dominated, unlike Brazil.

Over 80% live without power. Recent oil and gas development rights auctions have cast doubt on the DRC’s 2021 $500 million forest preservation accord. The administration has suggested lifting the moratorium on new logging concessions.

In 2022, Bolivia lost the third-most primary forests (nearly 4,000 sq km) and saw a 32% increase in deforestation compared to 2021. Global Forest Watch found “the majority of the loss occurred within protected areas, which cover the last remnants of primary forest in the country.”

Gold mining, cocoa production, and fires dominated. Indonesia (2,300 sq km), which has witnessed deforestation drop four times since 2016, lost 5% of tropical forests worldwide in 2017.

In 2022, Peru (3.9%), Colombia (3.1), Laos (2.3), Cameroon (1.9), Papua New Guinea (1.8), and Malaysia (1.7) were among the “top ten” tropical forest losers. 15% of the world’s woodlands were destroyed last year.

Conclusion:

In 2022, satellite data showed Earth lost carbon-absorbing rainforests. The World Resources Institute (WRI) estimates that 10% more mature tropical trees are chopped down or burnt year, equivalent to a football field every five seconds. Brazil lost 43%, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 13%, and Bolivia 9%. Due to the 41,000 square kilometers lost last year, 2022 will be the fourth worst year for primary forests in the previous 20 years. A year after the Glasgow COP26 summit, forest loss is increasing. Scientists warn that climate change and deforestation might accelerate the Amazon basin’s shift from tropical forest to savannah, changing weather patterns in South America and across the world.