Understanding
deforestation

What is deforestation?

As agriculture and urbanisation expanded, deforestation grew into one of the world's most pressing environmental issues, accelerating sharply from the 1960s onwards. 

Deforestation is the removal of trees and other vegetation from an area of land, converting forest into non-forested land for other uses. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines it as the conversion of forest to another land use, or the long-term reduction of tree-canopy cover below a 10% threshold.

Most deforestation is driven by human activity, chiefly the clearing of land for agriculture, along with logging, mining, and the spread of towns and infrastructure. Together these have reshaped the world's forests, with consequences that reach far beyond the forest edge.

Deforestation drives biodiversity loss, increases carbon emissions, and has significant social and economic impacts on the communities and countries that depend on forests for their livelihoods. Around 10.9 million hectares of forest are cleared each year, an area roughly the size of Portugal. Humans have cut down forests for thousands of years, but never at today's pace. To help balance the loss, a growing number of individuals, organisations, and governments are backing reforestation and restoration projects. At Green Earth, these kinds of projects form the core of what we do.

Owl sitting on a tree, Europe.

The scale of the problem

According to the FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025, the world still holds around 4.14 billion hectares of forest, covering roughly a third of all land. But that total continues to shrink: since 1990, an estimated 489 million hectares of forest have been lost to deforestation, an area larger than the European Union.

Read more: Countries with the highest deforestation rates

There is, however, an important distinction in the numbers. Each year around 10.9 million hectares of forest are cleared, but new planting and natural regrowth offset much of that, leaving a net loss of about 4.12 million hectares a year. The encouraging news is that this net rate is falling, down from 7.8 million hectares a year in the 1990s, as more countries protect and restore their forests. The sobering counterpoint is that tropical primary forest, the oldest and most irreplaceable, is still being lost at record levels, with Global Forest Watch recording 6.7 million hectares destroyed in 2024 alone.

Read more: Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest: causes, effects, solutions

Deforestation is not evenly spread. It is concentrated in the tropical regions of South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia, home to some of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems. Brazil, for example, has experienced significant deforestation in the Amazon rainforest due to agricultural expansion, logging, and other activities. In Indonesia, deforestation is driven largely by the expansion of oil palm plantations, which produce various consumer products such as palm oil.

Read more: Deforestation in the United States: causes, consequences, and cures

As researchers writing in Science Advances warn, if losses reach 20 to 25%, the forest could pass a tipping point beyond which large parts would shift permanently from rainforest to dry savannah.

Why it matters

Historically, deforestation has occurred for thousands of years as humans cleared forests for agriculture and settlement. However, the pace and scale of deforestation increased dramatically in recent decades. 

Read more: Why we need to plant more trees

Deforestation significantly impacts the environment and local communities, highlighting the need for sustainable land-use practices that balance economic development with environmental and social conservation. In addition to impacting local communities that live in the immediate surroundings of the forests, deforestation impacts different supply-chain activities, food security, and agriculture on a global level.

How deforestation affects nature

• Soil erosion: Trees help to anchor the soil, preventing erosion. When trees are removed, the soil becomes more vulnerable to erosion, leading to loss of fertility and reduced agricultural productivity.

• Loss of biodiversity: Forests are home to a wide range of plant and animal species. Deforestation leads to the loss of habitat for these species, resulting in extinctions and declines in biodiversity.

• Increase in carbon emissions: Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Deforestation releases this carbon back into the atmosphere. In addition, due to deforestation, there are fewer forested areas, and thus more carbon is released into the atmosphere.

• Water cycle disruption: Trees play a vital role in regulating water cycles. Deforestation leads to reduced water availability, changes in rainfall patterns, and increased risk of drought and flooding.

Read more: The vital role of reforestation in bird migration

 Armadillo, Pantanal, Brazil.

Read more: Why we need to plant more trees

How deforestation affects people

• Displacement: Forests are often home to indigenous and other local communities. Deforestation can result in their displacement and loss of traditional livelihoods.
• Loss of livelihoods: Deforestation can lead to the loss of livelihoods for local communities depending on forests for their sustenance, such as through hunting, gathering, and non-timber forest-product harvesting.
• Conflicts over resources: Deforestation can result in conflicts over resources, such as land and water, between local communities, loggers, and other stakeholders.
• Economic impacts: Deforestation can result in reduced agricultural productivity, decreased water availability, and other economic impacts that negatively affect local communities and national economies.

Read more: Case studies of the biggest companies supporting a greener future

The key challenges

Many factors contribute to the growth of deforestation rates in different locations. While these factors can be divided into different types, they are deeply interconnected. Driving forces of deforestation include:

• Agriculture The single largest driver. Forests are cleared to make way for crops and livestock, particularly commercial commodities such as soy, palm oil, and cattle, often to meet global demand far from where the forest stands.

• Logging The demand for timber, pulp, and paper drives both legal and illegal logging, degrading forests and opening them up to further clearing.

• Mining and infrastructure Extracting minerals, oil, and gas clears forest and pollutes surrounding land and water, while new roads, dams, and settlements fragment forests and open once-remote areas to development.

• Weak governance and poverty Underlying these direct causes are deeper ones: unclear land rights and weak enforcement allow illegal clearing to go unchecked, while poverty can leave communities with little choice but to clear forest for subsistence or income. Political instability can make forest protection harder still.

Herd of Nelore cattle grazing in a pasture on a Brazilian ranch.

Read more: Why we need to restore high-priority areas like Africa

How to combat deforestation?

Deforestation is a significant environmental issue that threatens ecosystems' biodiversity and affects the quality of soil, air, and water. There are various solutions and initiatives to reduce deforestation, such as forest conservation, reforestation, and sustainable land-use practices. Let’s discuss some of them:

• Reforestation: Planting new trees in areas where forests have been cleared or degraded is an important strategy to combat deforestation. Reforestation efforts involve planting native tree species, using agroforestry techniques, and restoring degraded land. For example, at Green Earth, we partner with local communities for our reforestation and afforestation projects to plant native, fruit, and nut trees to holistically approach the unique ecosystem of each location.
  
  

  Read more: Reforestation: 10 amazing benefits of planting trees

Tree nursery - Greenzone Afforestation Project, Cameroon, Green Earth.

• Forest conservation: One of the most effective ways to reduce deforestation is to conserve existing forests. Governments, non-profit organisations, and local communities can work together to protect forests through policies and incentives that encourage sustainable practices.
• Sustainable land-use practices: Promoting sustainable land-use practices, such as agroforestry and sustainable agriculture, can help reduce the demand for forest clearing for agriculture and grazing. This involves practices such as crop rotation, intercropping, and reduced tillage.
• Payment for ecosystem services (PES): PES is a market-based mechanism that compensates landowners for the ecological services provided by their land, such as carbon sequestration, water regulation, and biodiversity conservation. PES can provide financial incentives to landowners to conserve forests and adopt sustainable land-use practices. Costa Rica’s success story is a great example of how this system works.
• Certification schemes: Certification schemes such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) provide standards for sustainable forest management and agriculture, respectively. These schemes assure consumers that the products they purchase are produced sustainably.
• REDD+: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is a global mechanism that aims to incentivise countries to reduce their carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. REDD+ promotes the conservation of forests, restoration of degraded lands, and sustainable forest management.
• Community-based forest management: Empowering local communities to manage and protect forests can provide an alternative to forest clearing for economic development.
  
  

  Read more: Sustainable forestry practices combatting deforestation in Canada

How Green Earth combats deforestation

Reversing deforestation is at the very heart of what Green Earth does, and we approach it from two directions.

First, we develop large-scale, high-quality reforestation and afforestation projects that restore degraded land, rebuild habitats, and capture carbon, all verified to leading international standards. Crucially, we do this in partnership with the communities who live alongside these forests. By planting native, fruit, and nut trees suited to each local ecosystem, and by creating lasting local livelihoods, our projects are built to endure rather than to deliver a quick fix.

Second, we tackle one of the biggest drivers of forest loss at its source. In many of the regions where we work, forests are cleared for firewood, the main cooking fuel for millions of households. Our energy-efficient cookstove projects provide stoves that cut the amount of wood each household needs by around 60%, easing the pressure on surrounding forests while also reducing indoor air pollution and freeing up time and income for families. Together, replanting forests and reducing the demand that destroys them make our approach far more effective than either could be alone.

Read more: What makes Green Earth’s reforestation projects unique?

This is how forests are protected for the long term: by making their restoration valuable to the people who steward them, and by reducing the everyday pressures that drive deforestation in the first place. Whether you are a government, a large organisation, a small business, or an individual, Green Earth can help you take meaningful steps towards a greener and more abundant future, turning the tide on deforestation while supporting nature and communities at the same time.