State of the World’s Forests 2024: Global efforts curb deforestation, but threats to forests from wildfires and pests remain

Sub: Env

Sec: Eco system

State of the World’s Forests Report:

The FAO released a report on July 22, 2024, highlighting both relief and concern regarding global forests.
The rate of deforestation has slowed, but climate change continues to pose significant threats.

Deforestation and Forest Cover:

Global forest cover in 2020 was approximately 4.1 billion hectares, with major contributions from Russia, Brazil, Canada, the USA, and China.
From 1990 to 2020, around 420 million hectares of forest were converted to other land uses.
Deforestation rates decreased from 15.8 million hectares per year (1990-2002) to 10.2 million hectares per year (2015-2020).

Regional Trends in Deforestation:

Africa, South America, and Asia had the highest deforestation rates, with Africa losing 4.41 million hectares annually.
Several countries, including China, Australia, and India, recorded gains in forest area in 2020.
Indonesia saw an 8.4% decrease in deforestation in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21, the lowest since 1990.
Brazil reported a 50% reduction in deforestation in the Legal Amazon region in 2023.

Mangroves and Their Resilience:

The global mangrove area was 14.8 million hectares, with South and Southeast Asia contributing nearly 44%.
Gross global mangrove loss decreased by 23% between 2000-2020.
Natural expansion of mangroves exceeded the loss to natural causes, indicating resilience.

Impact of Fires and Climate Change

An estimated 340-370 million hectares of land are impacted by fires annually, with 383 million hectares affected in 2023.
The increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires are contributing significantly to global carbon dioxide emissions.
Boreal fires in 2021 accounted for about 10% of global carbon emissions.

Threats from Pests and Diseases

Forests are threatened by pests like the pine wood nematode, which caused significant damage in China, Japan, and South Korea.
The USA faces potential losses exceeding 20% of host tree basal area over 25 million hectares by 2027 due to insects and disease.
Monitoring of forest degradation and pest outbreaks is still in its early stages, making it difficult to quantify economic impacts.

Source: DTE