Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Sept 4, 2019 15:38:56 GMT 2
(.#A.006).- Tropical forests continue to disappear rapidly.
Tropical forests continue to disappear rapidly.
PARIS (AFP) - The destruction of tropical forests has continued apace in 2018 and the world has lost an area equivalent to that of Nicaragua, reveals a study, which is particularly concerned about the disappearance of primary tropical forests essential for climate and biodiversity.
According to data compiled by Global Forest Watch (GFW), a project supported by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and based in particular on satellite data, "tropical regions have lost 12 million hectares of tree cover in 2018" .
RISE TO INCREASE
This is the fourth worst year (after 2016, 2017 and 2014) since GFW began mapping the decline of these forests in 2001.
"It is tempting to welcome a second year of decline after the peak of 2016," said France Seymour of WRI. "But looking back over the last 18 years, it's clear that the overall trend is still on the rise."
"The disappearance of 3.6 million hectares of tropical primary forest, an area the size of Belgium, is particularly worrying," says GFW in its report.
These forests "are an extremely important forest ecosystem, with trees that can be hundreds or even thousands of years old," says GFW. "They store more carbon than other forests and are irreplaceable for preserving biodiversity. "
FIVE COUNTRIES
Primary tropical forest destruction is concentrated in 5 countries: Brazil with the Amazonian forest, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia where the primary tropical forest gives way to palm oil or wood crops, Colombia and Bolivia, two countries that also include part of the Amazonian forest, the "lung of the planet".
In 2002, Brazil and Indonesia accounted for 71% of tropical primary forest losses, compared with 46% in 2018. Last year, "Primary forest loss in Indonesia reached its lowest level since 2003, continuing encouraging decline initiated in 2017, "according to the report. This trend can be explained by "recent government policies", for example with forest areas protected by a moratorium.
In Brazil, the loss of primary forest remains high, worries GFW. "Part of the loss of 2018 can be attributed to forest fires, but it seems to be largely due to clear-cutting in the Amazon, jeopardizing the decline in deforestation that the country experienced in the early 2000s ".
F I N.
Tropical forests continue to disappear rapidly.
PARIS (AFP) - The destruction of tropical forests has continued apace in 2018 and the world has lost an area equivalent to that of Nicaragua, reveals a study, which is particularly concerned about the disappearance of primary tropical forests essential for climate and biodiversity.
According to data compiled by Global Forest Watch (GFW), a project supported by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and based in particular on satellite data, "tropical regions have lost 12 million hectares of tree cover in 2018" .
RISE TO INCREASE
This is the fourth worst year (after 2016, 2017 and 2014) since GFW began mapping the decline of these forests in 2001.
"It is tempting to welcome a second year of decline after the peak of 2016," said France Seymour of WRI. "But looking back over the last 18 years, it's clear that the overall trend is still on the rise."
"The disappearance of 3.6 million hectares of tropical primary forest, an area the size of Belgium, is particularly worrying," says GFW in its report.
These forests "are an extremely important forest ecosystem, with trees that can be hundreds or even thousands of years old," says GFW. "They store more carbon than other forests and are irreplaceable for preserving biodiversity. "
FIVE COUNTRIES
Primary tropical forest destruction is concentrated in 5 countries: Brazil with the Amazonian forest, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia where the primary tropical forest gives way to palm oil or wood crops, Colombia and Bolivia, two countries that also include part of the Amazonian forest, the "lung of the planet".
In 2002, Brazil and Indonesia accounted for 71% of tropical primary forest losses, compared with 46% in 2018. Last year, "Primary forest loss in Indonesia reached its lowest level since 2003, continuing encouraging decline initiated in 2017, "according to the report. This trend can be explained by "recent government policies", for example with forest areas protected by a moratorium.
In Brazil, the loss of primary forest remains high, worries GFW. "Part of the loss of 2018 can be attributed to forest fires, but it seems to be largely due to clear-cutting in the Amazon, jeopardizing the decline in deforestation that the country experienced in the early 2000s ".
F I N.
