Global deforestation - statistics & facts
Since 2001, around 22 million hectares of forest have been lost each year. Overall, this adds up to a land area approximately twice the size of Argentina. Despite a reduction in the negative net change rate of the global forest area in the past decades, years of anthropogenic disturbances like forestry and commodity-driven deforestation have taken their toll on the extension of the lungs of the planet. To worsen the situation, natural causes of tree cover loss, like wildfires and desertification, have intensified due to climate change, leaving a worrying scenario for such vital ecosystems.
During the UN climate summit (COP16) in Glasgow in 2021, the world pledged to end deforestation by 2030. Some key progress has been achieved; the share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas (KBAs) that are protected has increased from 26.6 percent in 2000 to over 44 percent in 2023 . Meanwhile, the deforested area in the Brazilian Amazon dropped to 8,000 square kilometers, the lowest figure recorded in the past five years.
Even if some improvement has already been made in the past years, the global deforestation rate remains too high, and the world is not on track to meet its 2030 target.
Wildfires, a threat on the rise
In 2024, around 30 million hectares of tree cover were lost worldwide, the largest area since 2001. The main driver of global deforestation that year were wildfires. 2024 was a year of intense wildfire activity in many regions of the world. Almost 14 million hectares of tree cover were lost due to fires, making it the worst year since the turn of the century . Russia experienced the biggest tree loss due to fires in that period, followed by Canada. These two territories were also by far the worst-hit by deforestation in 2024, with more than five million hectares lost in each. This was more than the total tree cover loss of runners-up Russia and Brazil combined. Forestry practices and agriculture are some of the other main drivers of global deforestation.Efforts to stop deforestation
In addition to the material resources provided by forests, they are also an important carbon sink and therefore fundamental in keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Since the beginning of the century, forests worldwide have captured a net average of over seven billion metric tons of CO2e per year, more than the annual emissions in the US.During the UN climate summit (COP16) in Glasgow in 2021, the world pledged to end deforestation by 2030. Some key progress has been achieved; the share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas (KBAs) that are protected has increased from 26.6 percent in 2000 to over 44 percent in 2023 . Meanwhile, the deforested area in the Brazilian Amazon dropped to 8,000 square kilometers, the lowest figure recorded in the past five years.
Even if some improvement has already been made in the past years, the global deforestation rate remains too high, and the world is not on track to meet its 2030 target.
