“Horrifying” new information indicates that the devastation of global forests reached unprecedented levels in 2024.
From the Brazilian Amazon to the Siberian Taiga, the world’s forests have faced record losses last year, with areas comparable to the size of Italy vanishing due to agriculture, fires, logging, and mining, according to Global Forest Watch.
The tropical regions, known for their biodiversity and carbon-rich forests, are experiencing fires that have emerged as the leading cause of this loss since the tracking began. It’s worth noting, though, that fire doesn’t typically belong to a natural tropical ecosystem. Last year also saw the persistent burning of boreal forests in Canada and Siberia.
Professor Matt Hansen, co-director of the Glad Lab at the University of Maryland, labeled the latest figures as “terrifying.” In contrast, Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of Global Forest Watch, pointed out that this update was starkly different from the over 20 years of data they had observed.
In 2024, the losses in Brazilian forests significantly eclipsed those recorded during the tenure of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, which worsened due to extensive fires and record-setting droughts in the Amazon. Brazil alone accounted for 42% of the total losses from major tropical rainforests, losing roughly 25,000 square kilometers (10,000 square miles). Notably, this data contrasts with official Brazilian statistics, which utilize different criteria for defining deforestation and do not factor in fires.
In Bolivia, previously intact forests saw increasing losses due to drought, fires, and government policies promoting the expansion of agriculture for crops like beans, cattle, and sugarcane. Since 2020, losses from native Bolivian forests have surged nearly fivefold, reaching 14,000 square kilometers (1.4 million hectares).
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Congo Brazzaville reported alarming losses of untouched rainforests. The DRC is home to the Congo Basin rainforest, the second-largest globally after the Amazon.
At the COP26 Climate Conference held in Glasgow, over 140 global leaders committed to ending deforestation by the decade’s close, yet they have fallen behind within just four years. To meet the targets by 2030, forest losses must decrease by 20% from the 2024 figures.
“The signs indicated by these data are quite alarming,” Hansen remarked.
“We have a lot on our plate to address this widespread and increasingly destructive fire situation.”
Goldman termed the historic loss as “global red alerts.” She emphasized the need for collective action across all nations, businesses, and individuals concerned about a sustainable future. “Our economy, our communities, our health – we cannot survive without forests,” she stated.
Among the 20 countries with the largest areas of primitive forests, 17 are currently losing trees at a rate quicker than what was recorded at the signing of the Glasgow pact in 2021.
Yet, amidst this record loss, there’s a glimmer of hope. The rate of loss in nuclear forests in Indonesia and Malaysia remained relatively low, with Malaysia falling out of the top ten for the first time.
Professor Peter Potapov, also co-director at the Glad Lab, warned that the world may be entering a perilous new cycle.
“2024 was a record-setting year for fire-induced forest losses, surpassing even last year’s figures. If this pattern persists, we risk permanently altering critical natural areas, releasing substantial carbon emissions, exacerbating climate change, and igniting even more severe fires,” he cautioned.
“This creates a dangerous feedback loop, and we simply cannot afford to set off any further triggers.”
