Global tropical primary forest cover continued decline in 2022

Subject: Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Context:

According to research by World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Global Forest, Tropical areas lost 4.1 million hectares of forest cover – equivalent to losing an area of 11 football fields per minute – in 2022.

Details:

This forest loss produced 2.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, which is around the same as India’s annual emissions due to the combustion of fossil fuels.
Primary forest cover loss in tropical areas in 2022 was 10% more than in 2021.

Primary forests:

Primary forests are some of the densest, wildest and most ecologically significant forests on Earth.
They are mature, natural forests that have remained undisturbed in recent history.
They span the globe, from the snow-locked boreal region to the steamy tropics, though 75% of them can be found in just seven countries.
Primary forests comprise an estimated 26% of the world’s natural forests.
They often store more carbon than other forests and are rich sources of biodiversity.
Primary forest loss is almost irreversible in nature: even if the green cover regrows, a secondary forest is unlikely to match the extent of biodiversity and carbon sequestering capabilities of a primary forest.

Findings of the Global Forest Watch:

The world is not on track to meet most of its forest-related commitments.
In 2022, although the global deforestation rate was 3.1% lower than the baseline from 2018-2020, it was still over one million hectares above the level needed.
To meet the target of restoring 350 Mha of forests globally by 2030, the world needs to increase tree cover by 22 Mha per year, between 2021 and 2030.
Despite registering some gains, the overall change in tree cover in the last 20 years was a net loss of 100 Mha.
This means that we are still losing forests and not restoring them at the required rate.

Country-wise assessment:

Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the two countries with the most tropical forest cover and both registered losses of this resource in 2022.
Ghana and Bolivia also rapidly lost their primary forest cover.
Indonesia and Malaysia managed to keep their primary forest cover loss to record-low levels in 2022

Causes of destruction:
- Increased population led to increased demand for food
- Expansion area under agriculture
- Encroachment of land under primary forests
- Shifting cultivation
- Forest fires
Consequences:
- Forest loss in the Amazon basin not only affects carbon but also regional rainfall.
- It may eventually lead to a tipping point that, if crossed, could convert most of the ecosystem into a savanna.

India’s situation:

According to Global Forest Watch, India lost 43.9 thousand hectares of humid primary forest between 2021 and 2022, which accounts for 17% of the country’s total tree cover loss in the period.
The total tree cover loss in India between 2021 and 2022 was 255 thousand hectares.
The total global tree cover loss in 2022declined by 10%.
This includes primary, secondary, and planted forests.
This decrease is a direct result of a decrease in fire-related forest losses which decreased 28% from 2021. Non-fire losses in 2022 increased by slightly less than 1%.

Global Forest Watch (GFW):

Global Forest Watch (launched 2014) is an open-source web application to monitor global forests in near real-time.
GFW is an initiative of the World Resources Institute, with partners including Google, USAID, the University of Maryland, Esri, Vizzuality and many other academic, non-profit, public, and private organizations.

World Resources Institute:

WRI is a global research organization that spans more than 50 countries and focuses on six critical issues at the intersection of environment and development: climate, energy, food, forests, water, and cities and transport.
It was established in 1982. Headquartered in Washington, US.