International forest conservation – for the environment and climate

Forests do a lot more than provide timber. They store large quantities of greenhouse gases, thus serving as carbon sinks and helping to mitigate climate change. Because they produce oxygen, they are the planet’s “green lungs”, while at local level they reduce extremes of temperature and regulate the water balance. Furthermore, semi-natural forests are home to an extraordinary diversity of species: in the tropical rainforests, many of these have not yet even been identified and yet they are already at risk of extinction. The forests are also important as popular places of recreation.

Around the world, immense damage is being caused by deforestation: some 15 per cent of worldwide CO₂ emissions arise from the clearance of tropical forests. Forests are giving way to the cultivation of monocultures such as palm oil and soya or being converted into cattle pasture. Commercially valuable trees in primary forests are being harvested – often illegally – to provide tropical timber for purposes such as paper production and the manufacture of cheap garden furniture. This triggers progressive deterioration of the forest that may ultimately lead to complete deforestation.

According to Global Forest Watch, the tropics lost more than twelve million hectares of tree cover in 2020 alone. Of that, 4.2 million hectares – an area the size of the Netherlands – was primary rain forest. This loss of primary rainforest released 2,640 million tonnes of CO₂. Global Forest Watch estimates that deforestation has increased by 12 per cent since the previous year.