Deforestation

Deforestation is the permanent removal of forest to make way for another land use: mostly farmland, but also mines, roads and towns. Since 1990, 489 million hectares of forest have been lost to deforestation, and between 2015 and 2025 it still claimed 10.9 million hectares a year.²

Forests cover 32% of the world’s land² and are home to 80% of amphibian species, 75% of bird species and 68% of mammal species.⁶ Clearing them releases carbon: deforestation and other land-use change cause around 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions.⁵ It also disrupts the clean air, water and rainfall that all living beings rely on.

Agriculture, logging, mining, new roads and demand for commodities such as palm oil, soy and beef. Agricultural expansion, from commercial crops to cattle grazing, drives almost 90% of global deforestation.⁴

Habitat loss, more greenhouse gases, soil erosion and declining biodiversity. Forests are major carbon sinks, so destroying them releases carbon dioxide and weakens one of the planet’s best defenses against climate change.

It destroys the habitats that many species depend on. Forests are home to 80% of the world’s amphibian species, 75% of bird species and 68% of mammal species,⁶ so when forests disappear, species are pushed towards extinction.

Tree roots hold soil together and forests soak up rainwater. Remove the trees and the land absorbs less water and loses its grip, which increases the risk of flooding and landslides.

In the tropics, where nearly 94% of deforestation happens.⁷ Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia together account for 62% of humid tropical primary forest loss since 2001.⁷ The biggest hotspots are the Amazon, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia.

Clearing forest can bring short-term income, but it destroys services that are worth far more over time. The World Bank estimates that the standing Amazon rainforest in Brazil is worth more than US$317 billion a year, up to seven times the private value of extensive farming, logging or mining.⁸

Palm oil deforestation happens when forest is cleared for oil palm plantations. In Indonesia, the world’s largest producer, around 31,000 hectares of forest were cleared for industrial oil palm in 2025, and clearing in Papua doubled.⁹ It threatens wildlife, displaces communities and releases large amounts of carbon.

It takes several things at once: protecting standing forest and the rights of the people who live in it, enforcing the law, cleaning up supply chains, restoring degraded land, and making forests worth more standing than cut. Restoration projects that plant trees and reduce local reliance on clearing help bring degraded areas back.

Choose products that are credibly certified as deforestation-free, waste less paper and wood, support conservation and restoration organizations, and raise awareness, for example by sharing our film. Investors can also look at whether putting capital into land restoration suits them; investing always involves risk.

Nature-based solutions protect, restore or better manage ecosystems to cut emissions or remove carbon: reforestation, agroforestry, and protecting forests that would otherwise be cleared. Many combine planting with training and income for local communities, so people depend less on clearing forest. Natural climate solutions could provide 37% of the cost-effective CO₂ mitigation needed through 2030 to keep warming below 2 °C.¹⁰

Deforestation is a short film by Green Earth Group, released in 2025. It runs for 1 minute and 27 seconds.

It’s built like one, with an axe, a dark forest and a slow build of dread. But the subject is real: the film counts what deforestation does, from floods and fire to the loss of species, and then turns to how forests can recover.

Yes. Share the link deforestation.com/film from this site, or show it to a group at school, at work or with friends using our free watch-party kit.

The film ends with a choice, and so does this site. Pick an ending (protect what’s left, restore what’s lost, or back the turnaround) and we’ll show you what that ending takes.

That depends on where you live and on your circumstances. The fund team can tell you whether the fund is open to you. Use the contact form on this page.

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