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Deforestation is the purposeful clearing of forested land. Throughout history and into modern times, forests have been razed to make space for agriculture and animal grazing, and to obtain wood for fuel, manufacturing, and construction.

Deforestation has greatly altered landscapes around the world. About 2,000 years ago, 80 percent of Western Europe was forested; today the figure is 34 percent. In North America, about half of the forests in the eastern part of the continent were cut down from the 1600s to the 1870s for timber and agriculture. China has lost great expanses of its forests over the past 4,000 years and now just over 20 percent of it is forested. Much of Earth's farmland was once forests.

Today, the greatest amount of deforestation is occurring in tropical rainforests, aided by extensive road construction into regions that were once almost inaccessible. Building or upgrading roads into forests makes them more accessible for exploitation. Slash-and-burn agriculture is a big contributor to deforestation in the tropics. With this agricultural method, farmers burn large swaths of forest, allowing the ash to fertilize the land for crops. The land is only fertile for a few years, however, after which the farmers move on to repeat the process elsewhere. Tropical forests are also cleared to make way for logging, cattle ranching, and oil palm and rubber tree plantations.

Deforestation can result in more carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. That is because trees take in carbon dioxide from the air for photosynthesis, and carbon is locked chemically in their wood. When trees are burned, this carbon returns to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. With fewer trees around to take in the carbon dioxide, this greenhouse gas accumulates in the atmosphere and accelerates global warming.

Deforestation also threatens the world's biodiversity. Tropical forests are home to great numbers of animal and plant species. When forests are logged or burned, it can drive many of those species into extinction. Some scientists say we are already in the midst of a mass-extinction episode.

More immediately, the loss of trees from a forest can leave soil more prone to erosion. This causes the remaining plants to become more vulnerable to fire as the forest shifts from being a closed, moist environment to an open, dry one.

While deforestation can be permanent, this is not always the case. In North America, for example, forests in many areas are returning thanks to conservation efforts.

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Deforestation is the intentional clearing of forested land.

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Forests are being cut down for lumber for infrastructure use, 15 billion Trees are cut down each year by humans. 

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Forests are being cut down for lumber for infrastructure use, 15 billion Trees are cut down each year by humans. 

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Trees store carbon within them so wen we cut them down we are releasing more carbon into the air and taking away the thing that takes in carbon.

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Urban sprawl is creating more need for timber from forests for building said infrastructure 

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Urban sprawl is creating more need for timber from forests for building said infrastructure 

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Urban sprawl spreads horizontally instead of vertically therefor destroying habits that are happening around these urban areas, and it alters the environment completely.

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loss of forests means loss of habitat and habitat loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity.

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loss of forests means loss of habitat and habitat loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity.

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"Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat."

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"Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat."

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This is why national parks, and state parks are such a great idea and we should be increasing the range of them not making them smaller. We also should be helping maintain our areas like in towns that have there own ecosystems, like the areas along the red river as an example.

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Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat. And people also value nature of itself.
Some aspects of biodiversity are instinctively widely valued by people but the more we study biodiversity the more we see that all of it is important - even bugs and bacteria that we can't see or may not like the look of. There are lots of ways that humans depend upon biodiversity and it is vital for us to conserve it. Pollinators such as birds, bees and other insects are estimated to be responsible for a third of the world's crop production. Without pollinators we would not have apples, cherries, blueberries, almonds and many other foods we eat. Agriculture is also reliant upon invertebrates - they help to maintain the health of the soil crops grow in. Soil is teeming with microbes that are vital for liberating nutrients that plants need to grow, which are then also passed to us when we eat them. Life from the oceans provides the main source of animal protein for many people.

Trees, bushes and wetlands and wild grasslands naturally slow down water and help soil to absorb rainfall. When they are removed it can increase flooding. Trees and other plants clean the air we breathe and help us tackle the global challenge of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. Coral reefs and mangrove forests act as natural defences protecting coastlines from waves and storms.

Many of our medicines, along with other complex chemicals that we use in our daily lives such as latex and rubber, also originate from plants. Spending time in nature is increasingly understood to lead to improvements in people's physical and mental health. Simply having green spaces and trees in cities has been shown to decrease hospital admissions, reduce stress and lower blood pressure.

Further reading

Plural valuation of nature matters for environmental sustainability and justice
by Berta Martin-Lopez, Social-Ecological Systems Institute, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany

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Why is biodiversity important? | Royal Society

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Biodiversity is important for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans.

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Deforestation number one cause is agriculture

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Deforestation number one cause is agriculture

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More specifically forests are being cut down for cattle grazing areas. These areas are for meat and milk, however so much food is wasted per year, there is also more than enough food to feed everyone in the world so there is no need for more cattle ranches.

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"Animal agriculture, livestock and animal feed is a significant driver of deforestation, and is also responsible for approximately 60% of direct global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions."

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"Animal agriculture, livestock and animal feed is a significant driver of deforestation, and is also responsible for approximately 60% of direct global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions."

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As we rely on industrial agricultural commodities such as palm, soy, and industrial produced meat and dairy, we are losing forests and accelerating a climate and ecological emergency.

Some 80% of global deforestation is a result of agricultural production, which is also the leading cause of habitat destruction. Animal agriculture - livestock and animal feed is a significant driver of deforestation, and is also responsible for approximately 60% of direct global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Overall, emissions from the food system as a whole, including production and consumption, represent up to 37% of total global human-induced GHG emissions.

Increasingly, the world's agriculture system is expanding its terrestrial footprint to produce livestock feed that meets the growing demand for meat and dairy products or crop-based biofuels. This type of growth is only putting more pressure on forests and increasing the destruction of critical ecosystems. The 2019 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Land Use report concluded that protecting and restoring forests and urgently revamping the global food system through dietary change are key solutions to the escalating biodiversity, climate, and food security crises.

Starting in 2010, a wave of companies pledged to help eliminate deforestation by 2020 through the responsible sourcing of the commodities most linked to forest destruction - cattle, palm oil, pulp and paper, and soya.

These pledges have not come to fruition.

Global commodity production remains a leading cause of forest destruction. Recent Analysis by Greenpeace International suggested that, by the start of 2020, some 50 million hectares of forest - an area the size of Spain - is likely to have been destroyed for global commodity production since those promises were made in 2010.

Meanwhile, the trade of products linked to deforestation, forest degradation, or human rights abuses, often referred to as "high-risk commodities", has boomed: since 2010, the area planted with soy in Brazil has increased by 45%, while Indonesian palm oil production is up 75%, and Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa footprint has grown by 80%. This trend is set to continue - by 2050, global meat consumption (and hence production) is forecast to rise by 76%, soy production by nearly 45%, and palm oil production by nearly 60%.

Palm Oil

Palm oil is a key ingredient found in just about every product sold on supermarket shelves worldwide. It is found in almost everything from soap to shampoos and snack foods like cookies and crackers.

Palm oil comes from fruits that are grown on oil palm trees. The demand for palm oil has skyrocketed since the late 1990s and it has made Indonesia the world's largest producer and as a result, the growing demand for palm oil has become a main driver of rainforest destruction in Indonesia.

Growers, producers, and palm oil traders clear forests to grow palm oil, and the destruction come from the slashing and burning of forests that make way for large scale plantations. In Indonesia, palm oil has pushed orangutans and other wildlife species to the brink of extinction. Industrial-scale palm oil plantations have led to the exploitation of workers, human rights abuses, and the displacement of Indigenous and rural communities from their lands.

Companies that use, produce, and trade palm oil have known about the problem for decades and keep promising to fix it, yet Greenpeace investigations continue to show that they've failed to deliver. The Countdown to Extinction, a Greenpeace International report shows that despite making a deadline set almost 10 years ago companies are failing to deliver on their commitments to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains that include palm oil, soy, cocoa, meat & dairy by 2020. Massive consumer goods companies like Unilever, Nestle, Mondelez and Mars made corporate commitment to ensure that rainforest destruction is not part of their supply chains at any part of the process. However they continue to partner up with palm oil suppliers of dirty palm oil.

The IPCC Climate Change and Land report lay out the impact that humanity is having on the environment. Deforestation for agricultural commodities like palm oil, soy, and cattle is wiping out biodiversity and driving this climate emergency. We are at a point in time where a complete cease in deforestation and serious restoration efforts are needed to prevent mass species extinction if we are to limit global warming under 1.5°C degree world.

Cattle Ranching

Cattle ranching - and the soy farming needed to feed the cattle - is the biggest cause of deforestation in virtually every Amazon country. Around 90% of soy is used to feed animals to produce meat and dairy products.

Worldwide, deforestation due to cattle ranching releases 340 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year, or 3.4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Most of this comes from the Amazon region.

In 2009, Greenpeace published a landmark three-year investigation entitled Slaughtering the Amazon. The same year, the leading meatpackers in Brazil committed to end deforestation, slave labor, and invasions into Indigenous Peoples' Lands in the Cattle Agreement. Although the report and subsequent commitment provoked more scrutiny over cattle production in the Amazon, the Cattle Agreement is still not fully implemented. Due to the lack of fulfilment of the Cattle Agreement and other factors, cattle remains a major threat to the forests and natural eco-systems.

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As we rely on industrial agricultural commodities such as palm, soy, and industrial produced meat and dairy, we are losing forests and accelerating a climate and ecological emergency. Some 80% of global deforestation is a result of agricultural production, which is also the leading cause of habitat destruction.

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Deforestation not only stops the production of oxygen by not taking in carbon and releasing oxygen but it also releases carbon into the atmosphere

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Deforestation not only stops the production of oxygen by not taking in carbon and releasing oxygen but it also releases carbon into the atmosphere

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If we were to put a stop to deforestation we could potentially help put a stop to climate change and helping humans have better air to breath in.

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higher levels of CO2 is directly effecting climate change, therefore directly affecting biodiversity 

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higher levels of CO2 is directly effecting climate change, therefore directly affecting biodiversity 

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Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

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Based on analysis from NOAA's Global Monitoring Lab, global average atmospheric carbon dioxide was 414.72 parts per million ("ppm" for short) in 2021, setting a new record high despite the continued economic drag from the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the jump of 2.58 ppm over 2021 amounts tied for 5th-highest annual increase in NOAA's 63-year record.

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"Urban areas are responsible for 70 percent of global CO2 emissions"

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"Urban areas are responsible for 70 percent of global CO2 emissions"

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This is one of the biggest factors that contribute to climate change and also deforestation for these urban areas. SDG 13

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"Close to 20 percent of the Amazon has been destroyed over the past fifty years." The Amazon Rainforest is close to the size of the USA, picture about 20 states of land being destroyed. 

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"Close to 20 percent of the Amazon has been destroyed over the past fifty years." The Amazon Rainforest is close to the size of the USA, picture about 20 states of land being destroyed. 

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If we were to educate people more on this important matter it might help us be able to make a change. SDG 4 is about creating a more equal opportunity for quality education for the young people.

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Forests cover nearly 31 per cent of the world and are home to more than 80 per cent of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects. 

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Forests cover nearly 31 per cent of the world and are home to more than 80 per cent of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects. 

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Contrary to popular belief industries like the paper industry are most invested in keeping our forests thriving so they have contestant supply of there products.

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Each year since 2000, forests are estimated to have removed an average of 2 billion metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere. NEW

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Each year since 2000, forests are estimated to have removed an average of 2 billion metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere. NEW

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Goal 15 Life on Land, deforestation directly relates to Goal 13, Climate because deforestation is helping cause climate change 

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Goal 15 Life on Land, deforestation directly relates to Goal 13, Climate because deforestation is helping cause climate change 

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Deforestation also directly relates to SDG 2 ending hunger. 

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Deforestation also directly relates to SDG 2 ending hunger. 

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It directly relates to this SDG 2 because there is more than enough food for everyone to not go to bed hungry, deforestations biggest cause is agriculture, we are making more food we are just not spreading it enough. We are also wasting an enormous amount of the food we have in the world. "One third of all food produced is lost or wasted –around 1.3 billion tonnes of food"

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Agriculture production and deforestation go hand in hand, but so does hunger and poverty. SDG 3 is a part of this too.

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Agriculture production and deforestation go hand in hand, but so does hunger and poverty. SDG 3 is a part of this too.

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The price of food has gone up exponentially in the last decade making it impossible for most families to be able to afford food they need. SDG 3 is about helping people have a healthier life style which includes healthier food for all to eat. Less of the severely processed food.

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"An estimated 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases come from animals, and a major cause of viruses’ jump from wildlife to humans is habitat loss, often through deforestation."

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As the world seeks to slow the pace of climate change, preserve wildlife, and support more than eight billion people, trees inevitably hold a major part of the answer. Yet the mass destruction of trees-deforestation-continues, sacrificing the long-term benefits of standing trees for short-term gain of fuel, and materials for manufacturing and construction.

We need trees for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that they absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale and the heat-trapping greenhouse gases that human activities emit. As those gases enter the atmosphere, global warming increases, a trend scientists now prefer to call climate change.

There is also the imminent danger of disease caused by deforestation. An estimated 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases come from animals, and a major cause of viruses' jump from wildlife to humans is habitat loss, often through deforestation.

But we can still save our forests. Aggressive efforts to rewild and reforest are already showing success. Tropical tree cover alone can provide 23 percent of the climate mitigation needed to meet goals set in the Paris Agreement in 2015, according to one estimate.

Causes of deforestation

Forests still cover about 30 percent of the world's land area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Since 1990, the world has lost more than 420 million hectares or about a billion acres of forest, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-mainly in Africa and South America. About 17 percent of the Amazonian rainforest has been destroyed over the past 50 years, and losses recently have been on the rise. The organization Amazon Conservation reports that destruction rose by 21 percent in 2020, a loss the size of Israel.

Farming, grazing of livestock, mining, and drilling combined account for more than half of all deforestation. Forestry practices, wildfires and, in small part, urbanization account for the rest. In Malaysia and Indonesia, forests are cut down to make way for producing palm oil, which can be found in everything from shampoo to saltine crackers. In the Amazon, cattle ranching and farms-particularly soy plantations-are key culprits.

Logging operations, which provide the world's wood and paper products, also fell countless trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to access more and more remote forests-which leads to further deforestation. Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban sprawl as land is developed for homes.

Not all deforestation is intentional. Some is caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees.

Why it matters

There are some 250 million people who live in forest and savannah areas and depend on them for subsistence and income-many of them among the world's rural poor.

Eighty percent of Earth's land animals and plants live in forests, and deforestation threatens species including the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, and many species of birds. Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which blocks the sun's rays during the day and retains heat at night. That disruption leads to more extreme temperature swings that can be harmful to plants and animals.

With wild habitats destroyed and human life ever expanding, the line between animal and human areas blurs, opening the door to zoonotic diseases. In 2014, for example, the Ebola virus killed over 11,000 people in West Africa after fruit bats transmitted the disease to a toddler who was playing near trees where bats were roosting.

(How deforestation is leading to more infectious diseases in humans.)

Some scientists believe there could be as many as 1.7 million currently "undiscovered" viruses in mammals and birds, of which up to 827,000 could have the ability to infect people, according to a 2018 study.

Deforestation's effects reach far beyond the people and animals where trees are cut. The South American rainforest, for example, influences regional and perhaps even global water cycles, and it's key to the water supply in Brazilian cities and neighboring countries. The Amazon actually helps furnish water to some of the soy farmers and beef ranchers who are clearing the forest. The loss of clean water and biodiversity from all forests could have many other effects we can't foresee, touching even your morning cup of coffee.

In terms of climate change, cutting trees both adds carbon dioxide to the air and removes the ability to absorb existing carbon dioxide. If tropical deforestation were a country, according to the World Resources Institute, it would rank third in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, behind China and the U.S.

What can be done

The numbers are grim, but many conservationists see reasons for hope. A movement is under way to preserve existing forest ecosystems and restore lost tree cover by first reforesting (replanting trees) and ultimately rewilding (a more comprehensive mission to restore entire ecosystems).

(Which nation could be the first to be rewilded?)

Organizations and activists are working to fight illegal mining and logging-National Geographic Explorer Topher White, for example, has come up with a way to use recycled cell phones to monitor for chainsaws. In Tanzania, the residents of Kokota have planted more than 2 million trees on their small island over a decade, aiming to repair previous damage. And in Brazil, conservationists are rallying in the face of ominous signals that the government may roll back forest protections.

(Which tree planting projects should you support?)

Stopping deforestation before it reaches a critical point will play a key role in avoiding the next zoonotic pandemic. A November 2022 study showed that when bats struggle to find suitable habitat, they travel closer to human communities where diseases are more likely to spillover. Inversely, when bats' native habitats were left intact, they stayed away from humans. This research is the first to show how we can predict and avoid spillovers through monitoring and maintaining wildlife habitats.

For consumers, it makes sense to examine the products and meats you buy, looking for sustainably produced sources when you can. Nonprofit groups such as the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance certify products they consider sustainable, while the World Wildlife Fund has a palm oil scorecard for consumer brands.

Editor's note: This story was originally published on February 2019. It has been updated.

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Deforestation and Its Effect on the Planet

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Large scale destruction of trees-deforestation-affects ecosystems, climate, and even increases risk for zoonotic diseases spreading to humans.

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Due to deforestation many more diseases are being spread to humans by animals. With the lack of habitat for these animals to live in and with us building closer to there habitats we are at higher risk of them transmitting diseases to us

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SDG 6 goes hand in hand with deforestation

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SDG 6 goes hand in hand with deforestation

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Having clean water is a necessity for all matters of life however when we alter forests we are also altering lakes, rivers, and even the oceans. Less trees and forest coverage allows more settlement to get into. our drink water lowering the quality of it.

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Deforestation also relates to SDG 5, gender inequality.

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Deforestation also relates to SDG 5, gender inequality.

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A lot of these places deforestation is happening is where there is a lot of gender inequality. Women and young girls are unable to go get quality education and therefor there is less people who are educated enough to help solve the problem that is deforestation.

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SDG 7 is about clean renewable energy, this would help deforestation because its helping promote healthier ecosystems which in turn helps the forests.

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SDG 8 is about getting more equal job opportunities for everyone, better job opportunities would mean that the people who are contributing to deforestation would have other jobs they could go to.

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One way in our day to day life that we can help stop deforestation is buy sustainably, when your at the store look for the words recycle and then the percentage, and also shopping locally for food products as much as you can as well.

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SDG 12 Sustainable Development plays a crucial role in deforestation as well 

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SDG 12 Sustainable Development plays a crucial role in deforestation as well 

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One way we can help combat deforestation is to add community gardens throughout the Grand Forks areas. We also will start marketing local sources of meat and having canning and preserving food classes. A way to make this happen is using some of the empty lots around Grand Forks and turning it into a garden, depending how big the lots are we can also add just some grass area for people to enjoy.