Rome (dpa) - Every year, around ten million hectares of forest disappear from the earth - this is an area that is almost as large as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg combined.
Although the pace of deforestation has slowed, the development is alarming, the UN agricultural organization FAO and the United Nations Environment Program warn UNEP. The forests are a central habitat for many animals and plants worldwide. The UN experts who presented the "Global Forest Status Report 2020" cited agriculture as one of the main reasons for deforestation and other forms of deforestation. Large cattle farms and soybean and palm oil production are specifically mentioned here.
In total, around 420 million hectares of forest area have disappeared in the past three decades since 1990 because they have been converted into other forms of use. However, the process slowed down: in the 1990s, the loss was around 16 million hectares per year. "Deforestation and forest degradation are continuing at an alarming rate, which is contributing significantly to the ongoing loss of biodiversity," FA Qu director Qu Dongyu and UNEP chief Inger Andersen write in the forest report. The FAO is based in Rome.
In Germany, the WWF environmental foundation pointed out that a large part of the deforestation does not happen in Germany, but that the EU bears joint responsibility. "Every hectare of forest loss triggers a dramatic chain reaction. Species extinction, loss of sustainable resources and income opportunities and fueling the climate catastrophe are causing us existential difficulties," explained Diana Pretzell, head of biodiversity policy at the WWF. "The European Union has a special responsibility here. Around a sixth of all the food we sell contributes to deforestation in the tropics."
UN report; English
FAO on the report; English
