- More than 3.7 million hectares of tropical primary forest were lost in 2023
- Logging in Brazil and Colombia drops by 36% and 49% respectively in past year, partly due to political change in the countries
- But loss of tropical forest in other countries has increased meaning overall rates of loss remain consistent
In 2023, the world lost tropical primary forest at a rate of almost 10 soccer fields per minute, despite huge reductions in losses in Brazil and Colombia, according to new figures.
In all, 3.7 million hectares of tropical primary forest were lost in 2023, according to new data from the University of Maryland’s GLAD lab and available on WRI’s Global Forest Watch platform.
While this was a 9% decrease from 2022, the rate in 2023 was nearly identical to that of 2019 and 2021. All this forest loss produced 2.4 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2023, equivalent to almost half of the annual fossil fuel emissions of the United States.
But there was good news: between 2022 and 2023, primary forest loss in Brazil and Colombia decreased by 36% and 49% respectively. Researchers put some of this down to changes in political leadership in the country, which is now trying to discourage logging and forest clearance. For instance, in Brazil, President Lula has pledged to end deforestation in the Amazon by 2030.
However, the reductions in Brazil and Colombia were counteracted by sharp increases in forest loss in Bolivia, Laos and Nicaragua, and more modest increases in other countries. In Bolivia, much of the increase was down to forest fires, while in the other countries, agriculture was cited as the primary reason.
“The data from 2023 demonstrates that countries can cut rates of tropical forest loss if they garner the political will to do so, and the countries that have accomplished this can provide lessons for others,” the report concluded. “However, past experience in Brazil shows that such progress can be reversed when political winds change.
“Ultimately, solutions that are truly adapted to the local context, alongside global solutions for climate change and sustainability, must work hand in hand to reduce forest loss everywhere.”
