Forests Under Threat

Scale of deforestation

Forests cover ~31% of Earth's land surface but are being lost at an alarming rate:

• Globally, ~4.7 million hectares of forest were lost per year between 2010–2020 (FAO, 2020).
• Tropical rainforests are the most threatened: the Amazon has lost ~17% of its original area; Indonesia has lost >50% of its original lowland rainforest.
• The Congo Basin (DRC) is increasingly under pressure despite slower historical deforestation.

Drivers of deforestation

Commercial agriculture (dominant driver)

• Cattle ranching (Amazon, Brazil): accounts for ~65–70% of Amazon deforestation; Brazil produces ~12% of global beef exports. "Arc of deforestation" along the agricultural frontier.
• Palm oil (Borneo, Sumatra, Papua New Guinea): used in ~50% of packaged food products, cosmetics, biofuel. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certifies sustainable producers but only covers ~20% of global production.
• Soy farming (Mato Grosso, Brazil): mainly for animal feed (70% of soy → livestock). The Amazon Soy Moratorium (2006) reduced soy-driven deforestation but displaced pressure to Cerrado.

Commercial logging

• Selective logging targets high-value tropical hardwoods (mahogany, teak, merbau, rosewood) for furniture and flooring.
• Infrastructure (roads) built for logging opens forests to further agricultural encroachment.
• Legal logging is regulated; illegal logging remains widespread (Indonesia, DRC, Cambodia).

Subsistence farming (smallholders)

• Slash-and-burn / shifting cultivation: small farmers clear forest, farm for 2–3 years until soil is exhausted, then move on.
• Major driver in DRC and SE Asia at local scale.
• Driven by poverty and lack of land rights — marginalised communities have no alternative.

Mining and energy

• Mining: gold mining in the Amazon (Yanomami territory — illegal garimpeiro mining), nickel, coltan (DRC — smartphone supply chains).
• Hydroelectric dams: Belo Monte Dam (Xingu River, Brazil) — flooded 500 km² of Amazon; displaced 20,000 people including indigenous communities.
• Oil extraction: E&P operations in the Yasuni National Park (Ecuador); roads built for oil access open remote forest.

Infrastructure and urbanisation

• Road building (e.g. BR-163 highway, Pará state, Brazil) fragments forest and opens it to colonisation.
• Mining and logging towns grow into permanent settlements.

Climate change (feedback)

• Increased drought frequency and length in the Amazon → "forest dieback": eastern Amazon now a net carbon emitter rather than sink in drought years (Aragão et al. 2018).
• If deforestation continues + climate change → "tipping point" at ~20–25% Amazon loss → savannification of eastern Amazon (Lovejoy/Nobre 2019).

Consequences of deforestation

Sustainable management of forests

Conservation and national parks

• Protected areas: Yasuni National Park (Ecuador), REDD+ protected zones. Effective when enforced; but deforestation occurs right up to park borders; guards and rangers underfunded.
• Community land rights (titling): evidence shows indigenous-titled forests have the lowest deforestation rates. Brazil's indigenous reserves deforested at <1% the rate of unprotected land.

REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation)

• UN programme that pays tropical forest countries to reduce deforestation vs. a baseline.
• Brazil received $1 bn from Norway's Amazon Fund (2008–2019) — Amazon deforestation fell 83% from its 2004 peak by 2012.
• But: payments stopped under Bolsonaro; deforestation rose sharply 2019–2022; recovered under Lula from 2023.
• Evaluation: effective when political will exists; vulnerable to government change; additionality is hard to measure.

Sustainable logging (FSC certification)

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): certifies timber from sustainably managed forests (selective logging, replanting, no-clear-cut zones, biodiversity surveys).
• Consumers can look for the FSC logo. ~200 million hectares certified globally.
• Limitations: cost of certification → excludes smallholder loggers; greenwashing concerns; consumer awareness low in price-sensitive markets.

Ecotourism

• Turns intact forest into economic asset: Costa Rica earns $3 bn/year from ecotourism (20% of foreign exchange).
• Incentivises communities to protect forest rather than clear it.
• Limitations: scale (ecotourism benefits few; agriculture benefits many); dependency on tourist arrivals (Covid-19 = devastating for ecotourism-dependent communities); "greenwashing" by operators.

The debate: global vs. national vs. local management

• Global (UNFCCC, REDD+, CBD): sets targets (30×30: protect 30% of land by 2030); provides finance; but lacks enforcement mechanism; rich countries historically deforested their own forests first.
• National (government policy): Brazil's Forest Code (50% of Amazon landholdings must remain forest for private farms); legal enforcement is key — under Bolsonaro, enforcement collapsed, deforestation surged.
• Local (community management): indigenous communities with legal land rights protect forests most effectively (evidence from Amazon, Borneo, Congo). Local knowledge + cultural attachment = sustainable long-term management.

Conclusion: the most effective approach combines secure indigenous land rights (local) + national policy enforcement + international financial incentives (REDD+). No single scale is sufficient.

Edexcel B exam tip

For 8-mark "Evaluate" forest management questions: name three approaches → assess evidence of success for each → assess limitations → conclude which is most effective and why. Use REDD+, FSC, ecotourism, and indigenous rights as your four named strategies.