Global Deforestation Increased, 3.2% in 2023 Despite , Tropical Forest Loss Decreasing .
Fox News reports that the global loss of primary
forests in the world's tropics declined slightly
in 2023 compared to the year before.
According to Global Forest Watch researchers, the world
lost about 14,000 square miles of tropical primary forest,
sometimes referred to as old-growth forests, in 2023.
Global Forest Watch (GFW) director Mikaela Weisse
warns that declining losses in Colombia and Brazil
were mostly offset by increased losses in other places.
The world took
two steps forward,
two steps back, Mikaela Weisse, Global Forest Watch
(GFW) director, via Fox News.
Fox News reports that scientists consider
tropical primary forests to be treasure troves
of biodiversity, with the Amazon rainforest home
to an estimated 10% of Earth's known species.
According to Weisse, tropical primary forest losses in
2023 caused greenhouse gas emissions equal to half
of the United States' annual fossil fuel emissions.
According to Weisse, tropical primary forest losses in
2023 caused greenhouse gas emissions equal to half
of the United States' annual fossil fuel emissions.
The GFW found that Brazil, the Democratic Republic
of Congo and Bolivia topped the list of tropical
nations with the most primary forest losses. .
Despite remaining on top of the list, forest loss in
Brazil fell 36% as a result of President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva's aggressive conservation policies. .
At the same time, Colombia experienced
a 49% decline in forest loss amid President
Gustavo Petro's environmental preservation efforts.
Overall, beyond just tropical primary forest loss, , global deforestation , rose 3.2% in 2023.
We are far off track and
trending in the wrong direction
when it comes to reducing
global deforestation, Rod Taylor, World Resources Institute
forests director, via Fox News