Imagine an ogre that relentlessly engulfs millions of hectares of forest each year to satisfy its thirst for minerals, agricultural land and spaces to be urbanized.
This ogre is man.
And the latest WWF report on deforestation, which we unveil this Tuesday, shows the extent of the damage caused by chainsaws around the world.
The environmental association is interested in 24 “deforestation fronts” in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and Oceania.
Regions with a high concentration of "hot spots" and where large areas of remaining forests are threatened.
Over 43 million hectares were lost there between 2004 and 2017, an area roughly equivalent to that of Morocco, to mining sites, industrial tree plantations, land speculators and projects. intensive agriculture.
In particular the soybean farm in Brazil, intended for animal feed.
"France alone imports 3 million tonnes to feed our poultry, cows and pigs," said WWF program director Arnaud Gauffier.
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However, the Amazon and the other primary forests of the planet are a bit of our life insurance.
They cover nearly a third of the globe, are home to more than half of terrestrial species and are the source of 75% of the planet's fresh water.
They are also essential carbon sinks: "By themselves, tropical forests store seven times more carbon than humanity emits each year," notes the NGO report.
"Small pockets of deforestation are being created almost everywhere which degrade the massifs, make them less productive, less resistant to climate change and fires," explains Arnaud Gauffier.
By reducing their water purification capacity and their buffer role in the face of flooding, we increase the process of
savannah (Editor's note: transformation of a region into savanna)
of these primary forests.
"
Calling responsible consumers
The WWF notes that a weakened forest also tends to "buffer against zoonotic diseases
(Editor's note: diseases transmissible between humans and animals)
such as Covid-19" less.
The World Wide Fund for Nature calls for the sense of responsibility of consumers, including in France.
"Eating less farmed salmon that are fed with soy, less meat and animal protein, is less participating in the deforestation of the Amazon, which has lost the equivalent of 80% of the surface of the France in eighteen years ”, underlines Arnaud Gauffier.
But WWF also calls for the "duty of vigilance" of large companies importing wood or products directly or indirectly from deforestation such as food made from unsustainable palm oil.
"The EU is considering setting up a new barrier to entry into the European market," explains Arnaud Gauffier.
This regulation would make it possible to ban the import of products such as cocoa, coffee, rubber or palm oil, the manufacture of which would have led to deforestation.
"