6.6 million hectares disappeared: deforestation increased in 2022

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A total of 6.6 million hectares of forest were lost in 2022 – an area almost as large as the German state of Bavaria. 96 percent of them were destroyed in tropical areas, according to the report published Tuesday in Washington by several scientific and civil society organizations, including the environmental foundation WWF.

The report points to public pledges from countries, companies and investors: Under this definition, forest destruction should be ended by 2030 and 350 million hectares of damaged landscapes and forests should be restored by then.

It was said that in 2022, the world is still far from the goal of stopping forest destruction. Above all, agriculture, road construction, fires and commercial logging are the causes of the destruction. In 2022, global gross deforestation was 21 percent above the level that would be needed to end deforestation by 2030. The data situation on global forest restoration efforts is poor. There is also a lack of a global overview of natural forest recreation.

“The world’s forests are in crisis,” said Erin Matson, who works at the consultancy Climate Focus and co-authored the report. “So many promises have been made to stop deforestation and finance forest protection. But the opportunity for progress is given up every year.” According to the report, deforestation would need to be reduced by 27.8 percent by 2023 to meet the promises made. Moreover, biological diversity in forests is “declining at an alarming rate.”

But there are also positive developments, the report says. Fifty countries worldwide are on their way to ending deforestation. Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia, home to large rainforests that are considered important carbon sinks and play an important role in the fight against climate change, have also made progress in combating their loss.

According to the report, $2.2 billion in public funds flows into forests worldwide every year, which is a small percentage compared to other global investments. Governments must also create an environment with more incentives for companies to protect, sustainably manage and restore forests, the authors say.

(SDA)

Source: Blick