Switzerland-sized rainforest lost last year, says study

Published June 28, 2023
An aerial view shows a deforested area during an operation to combat deforestation near Uruara, Para State, Brazil on January 21. — Reuters
An aerial view shows a deforested area during an operation to combat deforestation near Uruara, Para State, Brazil on January 21. — Reuters

Washington: The world lost an area of old-growth tropical rainforest the size of Switzerland last year, as deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon continued unabated, a forest monitoring project report said on Tuesday.

Global Forest Watch, which is backed by the nonprofit World Resources Institute (WRI) and draws on forest data collected by the University of Maryland, revealed that about 41,000 sq km of tropical rainforest was lost in 2022.

That was the final year of Jair Bolsonaro’s government in Brazil, which accounted for more than 40 per cent of all losses. Despite a recent global pledge to reach zero deforestation by 2030, tropical forest loss last year exceeded 2021 levels.

“2022 numbers are particularly disheartening,” said Francis Seymour, a WRI official. “We had hoped by now to see a signal in the data that we were turning the corner on forest loss.”

Global Forest Watch assessed ‘primary forests’, which include mature forests that have not been cleared or regrown in recent history.

Such forests protect against climate change because they absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide. Last year’s losses in the tropics released some 2.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to India’s annual fossil fuel emissions, the report said.

Indonesia and Mala­ysia managed to keep forest loss near a record low, continuing a multiyear streak of stamping down deforestation driven by oil palm plantations.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

NAP revival
Updated 17 Mar, 2025

NAP revival

This bloody cycle of violence will continue unless action is complemented with social, economic, political efforts in Balochistan and KP.
New reality
17 Mar, 2025

New reality

THE US retreat from global climate finance commitments could not have come at a worse time. Pakistan faces an...
Killer traffic
17 Mar, 2025

Killer traffic

MYSTERIOUS and unstoppable. It is these words that perhaps best describe the recent surge in traffic-related...
After the review
Updated 16 Mar, 2025

After the review

Should prepare economy for durable growth by attracting foreign private investments to boost productivity and exports.
Embracing crypto
16 Mar, 2025

Embracing crypto

IT seems a little prod was all it took for Pakistan to finally ‘embrace the future’. The Pakistan Crypto Council...
Fault lines
16 Mar, 2025

Fault lines

IT was a distressing spectacle, though a sadly predictable one. As the National Assembly took up for discussion the...