According to a new study published on Monday (1st), in the journal Environmental Research Letters, in the last 60 years, the global forest area has decreased by 81.7 million hectares. This huge loss contributed to the 60% decline in the global forest area per capita — in 1960 it was 1.4 hectares; in 2019, it increased to 0.5 hectares.

The analysis was carried out by a team of researchers led by Ronald C. Stock, from the Center for Biodiversity and Climate Change of the Forest and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) in Japan.

With the help of some data sets, including the Climate Change Initiative (CCI), the researchers examined how global forests have changed over time. And he had observed that forest loss (437.3 million hectares) exceeded the gain (355.6 million hectares).

"The continued loss and degradation of forests affects the integrity of forest ecosystems, reducing their capacity to provide essential services and sustain biodiversity. It mainly impacts developing countries, which rely on forests for various purposes," the authors explain in the study.

Most affected sites

The results of this analysis also revealed that the change in the sand-time pattern of global forests supports the Forest Transition Theory (TFT). proposed in 1990 by geographer Alexander Mather.

The TTF raises the hypothesis that the change in forest areas occurs due to social and economic development. However, while lower-income countries are more associated with forest loss, higher and developed income countries are associated with gain because they have more resources for preservation. "With the strengthening of forest conservation in the most developed countries, forest loss is shifted to the least developed countries, especially in the tropics," Estoque said in a statement.

In addition, the research showed a positive relationship between the proportion of forest and GDP in high-income and highly developed regions, proving that the expansion of green areas occurs through socioeconomic growth.

Low-income countries

The study highlights the need to strengthen support given to low-income countries, especially in the tropics, to help improve their ability to minimize or end forest losses. For this to happen, rich nations need to reduce their dependence on imported tropical forest products.

To help achieve the objectives of these initiatives, there is a need to reverse, or at least flatten, the global curve of net forest loss, conserving remaining areas and restoring degraded regions.

Source: Um só Planeta