From the air we breathe to the wood we use, forests are essential to our lives. They’re home to more than half of the world’s land-based species, and globally, over 1 billion people live in and around forests and rely on it for food, shelter and livelihoods. After oceans, forests are the largest storehouses of carbon. But we're losing forests at an alarming rate. 

Two-thirds of global forest cover loss is occurring mainly in the tropics and sub-tropics, where vast clusters of deforestation hotspots are destroying the important ecosystem services forests provide.

Deforestation puts human health and the health of our planet at risk. From policymakers to companies to consumers, urgent action is needed to halt forest loss.

WHAT IS CAUSING THIS DEFORESTATION?

Agriculture is the leading driver of deforestation globally. A growing global population and increased food consumption has led to many forests being converted into farms. The type of agriculture varies, but includes predominantly commercial agriculture and vast plantations in Southeast Asia.

Increased public and private sector collaboration and alignment of efforts to address deforestation and conversion are an important step to increasing sustainable food production and local people’s livelihoods while reducing the environmental impacts of production and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Deforestation is also being driven by logging, human migration and population increases, extractive industries (mining, oil and gas), transport and infrastructure projects and expanding towns and cities. The exact causes of deforestation change over time, and vary from region to region. These regional differences highlight the need for place-based solutions that take specific local contexts into account.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FORESTS CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED

We depend on forests for our survival, from the air we breathe to the wood we use. Besides providing habitats for animals and livelihoods for humans, forests also offer watershed protection, prevent soil erosion and mitigate climate change. Yet, despite our dependence on forests, we are still allowing them to disappear.

Nature Needs You. Add your Voice.

JOIN US AND CALL FOR LAWS THAT PROTECT NATURE – AT HOME AND ACROSS THE WORLD!!!