The researchers from the Center for Global Development obtained about 18 million satellite images, data and observations of forest loss in 101 countries over time.
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Tropical forests-including rainforests, cloud forests, and open woodlands-are increasingly cut down to make room for farms, pastures, roads, and urban dwellings, and to harvest timber for construction or fuel.
In a new study, researchers at the Center for Global Development predict 714 million acres of tropical forest – enough to cover all of India – will be felled by 2015.
Forests keep carbon stores and acts as a filter machine that can obtain the heat-associated carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
The researchers have estimated that if the deforestation continues at the same pace, another 169 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide could be added to the atmosphere by 2050. This will enable rich countries to fight off climate change cheaply while the countries with tropical forests will receive a new, green source of income that could be used to alleviate poverty. With this, it may be said that reducing the rate of tropical deforestation is low-priced measure to battle climate change, Jonah Busch, study lead author and environmental economist told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The duo said that much of the devastation can be avoided if global action is taken by putting a price on carbon, either through taxes, payments for emissions reductions or a combination of both. “The Paris climate agreement needs to provide funding and other resources to stop tropical deforestation”, the researchers explain.
“The biggest driver of tropical deforestation by far is industrial agriculture to produce globally traded commodities including soy and palm oil”. Using a “business as usual” model of projected emissions, findings showed emissions from deforestation will climb steadily between 2020 and 2040, after which they accelerate rapidly.
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There were some success stories where countries reduced tropical deforestation without compromising economic growth or food production, the study said. For example, Brazil was successful in controlling the deforestation in the Amazon forest by nearly 80 per cent through strict satellite monitoring and law enforcement. Today, more than three- quarters of the world’s remaining tropical forests have been degraded by human actions.
