A Top Driver Of Global Deforestation Along With Beef, Soy, Palm Oil And Wood Products – Organized Crime
Jennifer Devine, Texas State University
Every year the world loses an estimated 25 million acres (10 million hectares) of forest, an area larger than the state of Indiana. Nearly all of it is in the tropics.
Fires burn off forest cover and natural grasses to create cattle pasture in the Maya forest in Guatemala. Jennifer Devine, CC BY-ND
Tropical forests store enormous quantities of carbon and are home to at least two-thirds of the world’s living species, so deforestation has disastrous consequences for climate change and conservation. Trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, slowing its buildup in the atmosphere – but when they are burned or logged, they release their stored carbon, fueling further warming. Tropical forest loss generates nearly 50% more greenhouse gases than does the gl...