6/12/2017 Deforestation | Threats | WWF

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Deforestation

WWF-Canon / Simon Rawles

Deforestation
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Overview

Nigel Dickinson / WWF-Canon

In the Amazon, around 17% of the forest has been lost in the last 50 years, mostly due to forest conversion for
cattle ranching.

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Forests cover 31% of the land area on our planet. They produce vital oxygen and provide homes for people and wildlife.
Many of the worlds most threatened and endangered animals live in forests, and 1.6 billion people rely on benefits forests
offer, including food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicine and shelter.

But forests around the world are under threat from deforestation, jeopardizing these benefits. Deforestation comes in many
forms, including fires, clear-cutting for agriculture, ranching and development, unsustainable logging for timber, and
degradation due to climate change. This impacts peoples livelihoods and threatens a wide range of plant and animal
species. Some 46-58 thousand square miles of forest are lost each yearequivalent to 48 football fields every minute.

Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change because they act as a carbon sinksoaking up carbon dioxide that
would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing changes in climate patterns. Deforestation
undermines this important carbon sink function. It is estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the result of
deforestation.

Deforestation is a particular concern in tropical rainforests because these forests are home to much of the worlds
biodiversity. For example, in the Amazon around 17% of the forest has been lost in the last 50 years, mostly due to forest
conversion for cattle ranching. Deforestation in this region is particularly rampant near more populated areas, roads and
rivers, but even remote areas have been encroached upon when valuable mahogany, gold and oil are discovered.

WWF has been working to protect forests for more than 50 years. With a focus on protected areas management and
sustainable forestry, WWF works with governments, companies, communities and other stakeholders to promote
certification for responsible forest management practices, combat illegal logging, reform trade policies and protect forested
areas.

Fire-tailed titi monkey and pink river dolphin among 381 new species discovered in the Amazon

The report, New Species of Vertebrates and Plants in the Amazon 2014-2015, details 381 new species that were
discovered over 24 months, including 216 plants, 93 fish, 32 amphibians, 20 mammals, 19 reptiles and one bird.

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Gabriel Melo-Santos

Blog Posts

Causes

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Alain Compost / WWF-Canon

A forest in Sumatra, Indonesia, is clear cut to make way for a palm oil plantation.

Deforestation can happen quickly, such as when a fire sweeps through the landscape or the forest is clear-cut to make way
for an oil palm plantation. It can also happen gradually as a result of ongoing forest degradation as temperatures rise due
to climate change caused by human activity. While deforestation appears to be on the decline in some countries, it remains
disturbingly high in others including Brazil and Indonesiaand a grave threat to our worlds most valuable forests still
remains.
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Conversion
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As the human population continues to grow, there is an obvious need for more food. In addition, agricultural products, such
as soy and palm oil, are used in an ever-increasing list of products, from animal feed to lipstick and biofuels. Rising
demand has created incentives to convert forests to farmland and pasture land. Once a forest is lost to agriculture, it is
usually gone foreveralong with many of the plants and animals that once lived there.

Illegal Logging

National laws regulate the production and trade of timber products at all stages, from harvesting to processing to sales.
These laws can be violated in any number of ways, such as taking wood from protected areas, harvesting more than is
permitted and harvesting protected species. Illegal logging occurs around the world, and in some places, illegal logging is
more common than the legal variety. This destruction threatens some of the worlds most famous and valuable forests,
including rainforests in the Amazon, Congo Basin, Indonesia and the forests of the Russian Far East. Illegal logging also
depresses the price of timber worldwide, disadvantaging law-abiding companies, and depriving governments of revenues
normally generated by duties and taxes. Poor communities near forests are often vulnerable when outsiders try to gain
control over the timber nearby, which can lead to repression and human rights violations.

Fires

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Fires are a natural and beneficial element of many forest landscapes, but they are problematic when they occur in the
wrong place, at the wrong frequency or at the wrong severity. Each year, millions of acres of forest around the world are
destroyed or degraded by fire. The same amount is lost to logging and agriculture combined. Fire is often used as a way to
clear land for other uses such as planting crops. These fires not only alter the structure and composition of forests, but they
can open up forests to invasive species, threaten biological diversity, alter water cycles and soil fertility, and destroy the
livelihoods of the people who live in and around the forests.

Fuelwood Harvesting

Wood is still a popular fuel choice for cooking and heating around the world, and about half of the illegal removal of timber
from forests is thought to be for use as fuelwood.

Impacts

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Kevin Schafer / WWF-Canon

Forests are more than just a collection of treesthey are integrated ecosystems and home to some of the most diverse life
on Earth. They are also major players in the carbon and water cycles that make life possible. When forests are lost or
degraded, their destruction sets off a series of changes that affect life both locally and around the world.

Reduced Biodiversity

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About 80% of the worlds documented species can be found in tropical rainforestssome of the forests most vulnerable to
deforestation. When species lose their forest homes, they are often unable to subsist in the small fragments of forested
land left behind. They become more accessible to hunters and poachers, their numbers begin to dwindle and some
eventually go extinct. Even localized deforestation can result in extinctions as many unique species exist in small isolated
geographic locations in the world.

Increased Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Forests help to mitigate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, but they become carbon sources when they
are cut, burned or otherwise removed. Tropical forests hold more than 210 gigatons of carbon, and deforestation
represents around 15% of greenhouse gas emissions. These greenhouse gas emissions contribute to rising temperatures,
changes in patterns of weather and water and an increased frequency of extreme weather events. For example, in
Sumatra, rainforests on deep peatlands are being cleared, drained and converted to pulp plantations, contributing to
Indonesias high greenhouse gas emissions. Changes in climate can affect forest-dwelling creatures by altering their
habitats and decreasing availability of food and water. Some will be able to adapt by moving to higher elevations or
latitudes, but species losses may occur.

Disruption of Water Cycles

Trees play a key role in the local water cycle by helping to keep a balance between the water on land and water in the
atmosphere. But when deforestation or degradation occurs, that balance can be thrown off, resulting in changes in
precipitation and river flow.

Increased Soil Erosion

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Soil erosion in Africa.

Without trees to anchor fertile soil, erosion can occur and sweep the land into rivers. The agricultural plants that often
replace the trees cannot hold onto the soil. Many of these plantssuch as coffee, cotton, palm oil, soybean and wheat
can actually exacerbate soil erosion. Scientists have estimated that a third of the worlds arable land has been lost through

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soil erosion and other types of degradation since 1960. And as fertile soil washes away, agricultural producers move on,
clearing more forest and continuing the cycle of soil loss.

Disrupted Livelihoods

Millions of people around the world depend on forests for hunting, gathering and medicine, forest products such as rubber
and rattan, and small-scale agriculture. But deforestation disrupts the lives of these people, sometimes with devastating
consequences. In the Greater Mekong in Southeast Asia, where land tenure systems are weak, deforestation has
contributed to social conflict and migration. In Brazil, poor people have been lured from their villages to remote soy
plantations where they may be abused and forced, at gunpoint, to work under inhumane conditions.

Impacted Species & Places

What WWF Is Doing

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Edward Parker

WWFs focus on sustainable forestry around the world is concentrated in four key areas: forest certification, combating
illegal logging, reforming trade and protecting forested areas. WWF works with local communities and other partners in
forest management efforts so that forests can be secured and local economies can still benefit from their resources.

Working with Companies

To combat illegal logging and promote responsible forestry, WWF created the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN).
GFTN links hundreds of companies, forest-dependent communities, non-governmental organizations and entrepreneurs in
more than 30 countries around the world with the goal of creating a market for environmentally responsible forest products.
GFTN works at national and regional levels to expand the area of forests under responsible and credibly certified forest
management. It also works to encourage demand for good wood wood and paper products from those well-managed
forests. GFTN helps participants benefit from sustainable forest management and reduce demand for products from illegal
and controversial sources. As a result of this program, habitat has been preserved for endangered species such as the
Borneo pygmy elephant, orangutan and great apes.

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WWF's Global Forest Trade Network (GFTN) works with companies to identify legal sources of timber.

Working to Reduce Deforestation

Eliminating all deforestation is not possible. Parts of the landscape will need to be reshaped and altered as populations
grow and changebut this can be balanced through sustainable forest management, reforestation efforts and maintaining
the integrity of protected areas. Given the amount of deforestation around the world, zero net deforestation may seem
unattainable. However, it is not only possible, but necessary if we intend to preserve our most precious wildlife, respect and
empower local communities, maintain critical ecosystem services and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some nations
are already finding success. Paraguay, for example, reduced the rate of deforestation in their country by 85% in the years
just following enactment of its 2004 Zero Deforestation Law. WWF advocates for governments, international bodies and
other stakeholders to make zero net deforestation a reality by 2020.

Offsetting Carbon Emissions from Forests

If carbon emissions from deforestation were taken into account, Brazil and Indonesia would rank in the top 10 of the worlds
worst polluters. WWF focuses on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries
Deforestation
and the conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (called REDD+).
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efforts will also address many of the drivers of deforestation and provide incentives for nations to protect their
forests while safeguarding the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples.

Creating Protected Areas

Securing forest ecosystems as parks and other protected areas can help to preserve their valuable plants and animals for
future generations. Protected areas have proved key to the preservation of some species, such as the mountain gorillas
that live in the forests of the Virunga Mountains in East Africa. In addition to protecting biodiversity, the Amazon Region
Protected Areas program has demonstrated that a system of well-managed and sustainably-financed protected areas
contributes to reduced CO2 emissions from deforestation. WWF has worked to create and continue support for protected
areas in more than 100 countries around the world.

Promoting Sustainable Bioenergy

Humans have used forests for fuel for thousands of years, and 2.6 billion people today still use biomassmainly wood and
charcoalfor cooking. WWF works to promote bioenergy from scrap wood, oil and fats, sugar and starch crops, residues
and wastes, and even algae to reduce reliance on forests and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. WWFs vision is that
by 2050, 100% of the worlds energy will come from sustainable, renewable sources, including bioenergy.

Stopping Illegal Logging

Illegal logging includes the harvesting, transporting, processing, buying or selling of timber in violation of national laws.
WWF uses several approaches to tackle illegal logging. One is ensuring that powerful policies and trade agreements are in
place in the US and other countries. WWF also provides guidance on best practices related to legality and responsible
sourcing to hundreds of companies around the world, including in the US, and supports an alliance that monitors the status
of the remaining natural forests in Sumatra's province of Riau. We, too, we encourage US consumers to buy wood
products that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
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Eyes On the Forest

We also support Eyes on the Forest, an alliance that monitors the status of the remaining natural forests in Sumatra's
province of Riau and shares information worldwide to empower those working to protect critical habitat.

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Press Releases
Bhutan, WWF and Partners Announce Deal to Permanently Secure Bhutans Extensive Network of Protected Areas
WWF Statement on the Introduction of The Jobs and Trade Competitiveness Act
A Step Forward for the Future of Sustainable Rubber

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WWF In The News

Status of Forests is 'Dire' as World Marks 2017 Earth Day

Projects

Transforming the global rubber market

Forests in Asia, home to elephants, tigers and other endangered speciesare often cleared to make room for
growing rubber trees. They are among the most threatened forests in the world. Thats why WWF has set an
ambitious goal of transforming the global rubber market.

Protected Areas: Key to Achieving Peace in Colombia

Deforestation
A recently signed peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the leftwing guerrillas of the
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Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) opens the door to restoring the health of the countrys natural
resources, as well as preventing further damage or loss to them.

Publications

Forest Degradation in the Core Zone of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve 2015-2016

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Transforming Peru's forest sector

Will Asia Pulp & Paper default on its "zero deforestation" commitment?
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Eyes on the Forest: No One is Safe

Experts

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