An year after a pledge to reverse deforestation, taken by 145 world leaders in Glasgow COP26, a research published in World Resources Institute (WRI) shows that the tropics suffered a loss of primary forests the size of 11 football fields per minute in 2022, which totals up to a whopping 4.1 million hectares.
If forest fires are kept aside for the analysis, it is the third highest loss in terms of forest regions since 2002. Brazil suffered the most from primary forest loss, losing over 1.8 million hectares approximately – a 15 per cent increase from 2021. But, as a glimmer of hope, showing the way to reverse deforestation, Indonesia has managed to bring its primary forest loss rate down by 64 per cent, which is a historical low.
Also known as old-growth forests or virgin forests, these are ecosystems characterised by the presence of mature, undisturbed trees that have reached their natural lifespan. These forests have evolved over centuries or even millennia, with minimal human interference or disruption. They are typically composed of diverse and complex plant and animal communities, with a rich variety of species, including rare and endemic ones.
Primary forests play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and providing ecosystem services. They act as carbon sinks, absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide, thus helping to mitigate climate change. They also regulate local and regional climates, enhance water quality and availability, and contribute to soil fertility.
The research pointed out that the primary forest losses in 2022 led to the emission of 2.7 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide, which is about the same as India’s annual carbon emissions. The loss of primary forests is a defining factor when it comes to global warming. As carbon sinks, they absorb a great deal of greenhouse gases within its trees, which when felled or burned, release the same into the atmosphere causing the global temperature to rise – global warming.
Moreover, since these old trees have grown over decades and centuries developing their intricate ecological processes, scientists warn that the “ecosystem services” offered by them cannot be replaced by afforestation efforts elsewhere.
Scientists emphasise the critical importance of safeguarding these pristine forests, as their loss would entail irreversible consequences for the environment and human well-being. For that same reason, in CoP26 2021,145 world leaders signed a pledge to “halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation”. The countries that signed the “Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration On Forest And Land Use” cover about 85 per cent of the world’s forests.
But after having agreed upon the same, the world still saw a 10 per cent increase in primary tropical forests loss in 2022 as compared to 2021. As per Rod Taylor, the Global Director of WRI, “Globally, we are far off track and trending in the wrong direction. Our analysis shows that global deforestation in 2022 was over 1 million hectares above the level needed to be on track to zero deforestation by 2030.” A similar scenario played out in 2014, following the ‘New York Declaration On Forests’ which brought together various governmental and non-governmental bodies together to reverse deforestation by 2030.
As demonstrated by Indonesia, it is possible to halt and reverse deforestation if government and corporate bodies work together. It is due to their combined efforts that Indonesia has been able to drastically reverse deforestation in 2022. The policies to drive corrective action have been a major player in helping the Indonesian government achieve its ‘Forestry and Other Land Uses (FOLU) Net Sink’ targets of 2030. The goal of ‘Net Sink’ is to enable the absorption of equal or more amounts of greenhouse gases as would be generated by the FOLU sector in 2030.
Since the majority of Indonesia’s forest losses are due to forest fires, therefore, techniques incorporated by both the private and the public sector, like cloud-seeding and mangrove rehabilitation seem to be working. Similarly, Myanmar has also been able to manage its forest losses and kept them at a constant level for the last three years. Strict laws towards illegal logging and corporate efforts in that direction seem to be working. These countries can act as case studies showing the world a way to actually achieve its targets to halt and reverse deforestation.
