Deforestation is the large-scale removal of forested land, often for agriculture, logging, or development — already accounting for 420 million hectares lost since 1990, with a rate of 10 million hectares per year from 2015 to 2020.

Deforestation contributes significantly to climate change and biodiversity loss. Forests cover 31% of the planet, yet their destruction causes 11–17% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation also disrupts the ecosystem services that all living beings rely on like clean air, water security, and biodiversity.

Deforestation happens due to agriculture, logging, mining, infrastructure expansion, and demand for resources like palm oil. Agriculture drives around 70% to 90% of global deforestation, including both commercial crops and livestock grazing.

The impacts of deforestation include habitat loss, increased greenhouse gases, soil erosion, and biodiversity decline. Forests act as major carbon sinks and their destruction leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions. 

Deforestation reduces biodiversity by destroying ecosystems that many species depend on for survival. This disrupts ecosystems and leads to species’ extinction. An estimated 28,000 species face extinction within the next 25 years due to habitat loss from deforestation.

Tree removal disrupts soil stability and reduces the land's ability to absorb rainwater, increasing the risk of flooding and landslides. 

Major deforestation hotspots include the Amazon rainforest, Southeast Asia, and Central Africa, often affecting the most crucial and oldest tropical rainforests. Tropical regions are the hardest hit, with 95% of global deforestation occurring there. Brazil and Indonesia account for nearly half of the total.

While deforestation can provide short-term economic growth through resource extraction, it leads to severe long-term environmental costs and the loss of ecosystem services, thereby impacting the economy and costing billions in the long run. Brazil alone faces $317 billion per year in long-term losses — up to seven times greater than what is earned from forest products

Palm oil deforestation happens when forests are cleared to establish palm plantations. In Indonesia — the world’s largest palm producer — approximately 34,000 hectares of forest were converted to palm oil plantations in 2023, up from 22,000 hectares in 2022. 

Over the previous decade (2018–2022), an average of 32,400 hectares per year were lost to palm-driven deforestation. This practice threatens wildlife, disrupts indigenous communities, and releases significant carbon emissions, making it a major global environmental and social problem.

Stopping deforestation involves land restoration, sustainable land management, conservation policies, and reduced consumption of forest-based commodities. Large-scale initiatives to protect and restore forests are crucial. Nature-based carbon projects plant millions of trees and reduce local communities’ reliance on deforestation, thereby helping to reforest much-needed areas. It is a proven way to stop deforestation on a global scale.

You can help fight deforestation by investing in land restoration, reforestation, or afforestation projects, choosing eco-friendly products, reducing paper and wood consumption, donating to conservation organizations, and raising awareness — like sharing our movie with your network. 

The best way to make the biggest difference is by investing in land restoration funds, which power large-scale tree planting projects across the globe. That way, you are not making a charitable donation or investing your time; you are helping to plant millions of trees while earning returns with purpose. 

Nature-based solutions are carbon projects that focus on removing or avoiding carbon emissions. For eg, land restoration, reforestation, and afforestation projects plant millions of trees which sequester carbon from the atmosphere. These projects also take a holistic approach and combine agroforestry with community training and education, ensuring the long-term health of forests and reducing communities’ reliance on forests, thereby reducing deforestation. 

Nature-based solutions is the most scalable method to effectively mitigate carbon emissions while restoring ecosystems. It can provide 37% of the CO₂ mitigation needed to meet the Paris Agreement’s targets by 2030. Investment in these initiatives is therefore crucial to decrease deforestation and restore nature.