Leaders of 145 countries signed in November 2011 the so-called Glasgow Declaration, by which they committed their respective countries to meet six objectives for the protection of forests, including reforestation and sustainable development in areas of special importance such as forests. tropical and primary forests (forest masses that remain virgin or practically intact for a long period of time).
The good intentions of this UN sponsored declaration are not coming true. At least, this is indicated by the global forest management report for 2022 (Global Forest Review) published this week by the World Resources Institute. And it is not just a problem of 2022, because the report warns that the prospects are not hopeful. "Instead of consistent declines in primary forest loss to meet the Glasgow Declaration target, the trend is moving in the opposite direction. In fact, humanity is not on track to meet major commitments related to forests", indicates the executive summary of this WRI report.
The Earth lost in 2022 an area of rainforest comparable to all of Switzerland. Most of this forest loss was due to forest fires, logging, occupation of crops and pastures or construction and infrastructure, indicates the now published report, based on satellite observations.
In another comparison with didactic intentions, AFP indicates that the figures for 2022 are equivalent to destroying a forest the size of a football field every five seconds; every hour, every day of the whole year. Global Forest Watch itself uses the same soccer simile on another time scale, as shown in a note on its Twitter account: "In 2022, the equivalent of 11 forest soccer fields were lost (destroyed) per minute."
Tropical forests destroyed last year released 2.7 billion metric tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere, equivalent to the fossil fuel emissions of India, the world's most populous nation, also highlights WRI's Global Forest Watch. This data is of special importance in the context of the fight against climate change, warns this specialized entity. “We are rapidly losing one of our most effective tools to combat climate change, protect biodiversity, and support the health and livelihoods of millions of people.”
Brazil accounted for 43% of the loss of tropical and/or primary forests, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (13%) and Bolivia (9%).
The more than 41,000 square kilometers of forests destroyed make 2022 the fourth most devastating year for primary forests in two decades.
"Since the turn of the century, we have seen a hemorrhage in some of the world's most important forest ecosystems despite years of efforts to reverse that trend," Mikaela Weisse, director of WRI's Global Forest Watch, told the conference. informative presentation of the new report.
In addition to the landscape, biodiversity and climate importance, the WRI report recalls that "some 1.6 billion people, almost half of them members of indigenous groups, directly depend on forest resources for their food and livelihood."
Deforestation in Brazil increased during the four-year government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and rose 15 percent last year compared to 2021, AFP highlights in its review of the report's data.
The Bolsonaro administration trashed environmental policies, turned a blind eye to illegal deforestation, and weakened protections for the rights of indigenous peoples who have proven to be effective stewards of healthy forests.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in earlier this year, has vowed to end deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 2030, but he will face many challenges to achieve it, experts say. Scientists fear climate change and deforestation Combined, they could trigger the accelerated transition of the Amazon basin from tropical forest to savannah, which could profoundly alter the climate not only in South America but throughout the world.
"Halting and reversing forest loss is one of the most cost-effective mitigation options available to us today," said Frances Seymour, WRI Distinguished Senior Investigator for Forests.
High rates of primary forest loss also continued in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where more than half a million hectares were destroyed in 2022, the report notes.
Unlike Brazil, the main drivers were subsistence farming and small-scale charcoal production from slash-and-burn wood, a reflection of the country's poverty. A $500 million deal signed by the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2021 to protect its forests has been undermined by the recent auction of permits for oil and gas exploration. The government of this African country also indicated that it would lift a moratorium on new logging concessions.
Meanwhile, Bolivia experienced the third largest loss of primary forests (almost 4,000 km2) in 2022 and a 32% increase in deforestation rate compared to 2021.
"Most of the loss occurred within protected areas, which cover the last patches of primary forest in the country," the Global Forest Watch report said.
Just over five percent of global tropical forest loss last year occurred in Indonesia (2,300 square kilometres), where deforestation levels have more than quadrupled since 2016.
Other countries that completed the list of major losses of tropical forests worldwide last year are Peru (3.9%), Colombia (3.1%), Laos (2.3%), Cameroon (1.9% ), Papua New Guinea (1.8%) and Malaysia (1.7%).
