in total 81.7 million hectares less. This is what has reduced global forest mass over the past 60 years due to heavy use of land, indiscriminate logging and massive fires.. This means that A third of the trees that gave shade to our grandfathers are gone. Forest area loss impact on biodiversity world but p1,600 million people at risk all over the world.
This is the conclusion of a recent article published in the journal ‘Environmental Research Letters’, involving ten researchers from Germany, the United States, the Philippines, Italy, Japan, Mexico and the Netherlands. In it, it is remembered that reforestation was not enough to mitigate damage to forests.
Actually, gross forest loss 437.3 million hectaresduration gain is only 355.6 million hectares. More than 80 million hectares of area lost correspond to an area equivalent to Spain and Poland.
To carry out this study, the researchers used data on land use from around the planet to assess how forests have changed over the past sixty years.
The reduction of the Alborada surface, coupled with the rapid growth of the world’s population, More than 60% per capita decline in global forest area It increases from 1.4 hectares per capita in 1960 to 0.5 hectares in 2019.
Differences between rich and poor countries
“Continually forest loss and degradation affect the integrity of forest ecosystemsreducing their capacity to produce and provide essential services and sustain biodiversity, as reported by the authors of the article”.
This reduction in forests alsoaffects the lives of at least 1.6 billion people worldwide, predominantly in developing countries that depend on forests for various purposes”.
However, this decrease in forest area is not homogeneous throughout the world. According to the authors of the article, Losses are concentrated in low-income countries located near the tropics.duration forest growth is limited to rich countries it is found outside the tropics. It’s a phenomenon the researchers say”forest crossing”.
Despite a clear distribution pattern, the scientists warn that forest loss in more developed countries also needs to be investigated further.
“By strengthening forest protection in high-income countries, deforestation shifts to less developed countriesespecially in the tropics.
Analysis of the world’s forests is an integral part of various global environmental and social initiatives, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). United Nations Organization (UN) to prevent, stop and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. Ten Years for Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).
prevent mass extinction
Purpose of this program prevent, stop and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on all continents and oceans. Thus, it can help eradicate poverty, combating climate change Y prevent mass extinction. And if the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the fragile balance of ecosystems.
In fact, as early as 2016, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) global increase in zoonotic epidemics was a cause for concern.
Specifically, he noted: 75% of all new infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic and are closely related to the health of ecosystems.. Finally, with the covid-19 outbreak in 2020, keeping ecosystems healthy To keep these dangers away.
However, the researchers in this article go further and consider that to help these initiatives achieve their goals, “There is a deep need to reverse or at least flatten the global curve of net forest loss to protect the rest of the world and to restore and rehabilitate degraded forest landscapes”.
Reference Report: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac7df5