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Time of India
21-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
'Red alert': Fires drive tropical forest loss to record high
Eighteen football pitches every minute of every hour of every day: that is the record extent of tropical rainforest destroyed last year due in large measure to fires fuelled by climate change, researchers reported Wednesday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Tally it all up and the world lost 67,000 square kilometres (25,900 square miles) of precious primary tropical forest, an area double the size of Belgium or Taiwan. The loss was 80 percent higher than in 2023, according to the think tank. "This level of forest destruction is completely unprecedented in more than 20 years of data," its co-director Elizabeth Goldman said in a briefing. "This is a global red alert." Fires are responsible for nearly half of these losses, surpassing for the first time agriculture as the main driver of destruction. Loss of tree cover in 2024 -- from deforestation and fires, deliberate or accidental, generated more than three billion tonnes of CO2 pollution, exceeding India's emissions from fossil fuel use over the same period. Tropical forests, which harbour the highest concentrations of biodiversity, are the most threatened of any forest biomes on the planet. They are also sponges for CO2, helping to prevent global temperatures from rising even faster than they have. Forest fires are both a cause and effect of climate change, injecting billions of tonnes of CO2 in the atmosphere that in turn accelerate warming and the conditions leading to more destructive fires. Extreme conditions The exceptional fires last year were fuelled by "extreme conditions" that made them more intense and difficult to control, the authors said. Climate change driven by the massive burning of fossil fuels and boosted by natural El Nino weather phenomenon made 2024 the hottest year on record, with temperatures averaging more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Historically, most fires in tropical forests are set to clear land for agriculture and livestock, especially the so-called "big four" commodities: palm oil, soy, beef and timber. Brazil saw 2.8 million hectares (6.9 million acres) of primary forest destroyed last year, two-thirds to fires typically started to make way for soybeans and cattle. In 2023, Brazil made measurable progress in reducing forest loss during President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's first year after returning to office. "But this progress is threatened by the expansion of agriculture," said Sarah Carter, a researcher at the World Resources Institute in Washington. The Brazilian Amazon was most affected, with destruction at its highest level since 2016. Global Forest Watch reports on forest destruction from all causes, deliberate or accidental. This stands in contrast to the Brazilian government's monitoring network MapBiomas, which published figures last week showing a sharp decline in deforestation in 2024, but based on narrower criteria and not including many areas ravaged by fire. New phenomenon Forest protection is high on the agenda of the COP30 UN climate conference that Brazil will host in November in the tropical city of Belem. Neighbouring Bolivia's forest loss, 1.5 million hectares skyrocketed by 200 percent last year, with a record 3.6 percent of primary forests destroyed in a single year, mostly due to fires set to clear land for industrial-scale farms, according to the report. The picture is mixed elsewhere, with improvements in Indonesia and Malaysia but a sharp deterioration in Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo. While policies have resulted in a slowdown of the extent of forests lost to palm oil plantations, notably in Asia, the destructive footprint of other commodities has expanded, including avocados, coffee and cocoa. "We shouldn't assume that the drivers are always going to be the same," said Rod Taylor, director of the WRI's forest programme. "One new driver we are seeing, for example, is linked to mining and critical minerals."
RTÉ News
21-05-2025
- Science
- RTÉ News
'Red alert': Fires drive tropical forest loss to record high
Eighteen football pitches every minute of every hour of every day: that is the record extent of tropical rainforest destroyed last year due in large measure to fires fuelled by climate change, researchers reported. Tally it all up and the world lost 67,000 square kilometres of precious primary tropical forest, an area double the size of Belgium or Taiwan. The loss was 80% higher than in 2023, according to the Global Forest Watch think-tank. "This level of forest destruction is completely unprecedented in more than 20 years of data," its co-director Elizabeth Goldman said in a briefing. "This is a global red alert." Fires are responsible for nearly half of these losses, surpassing for the first time agriculture as the main driver of destruction. Loss of tree cover in 2024 - from deforestation and fires, deliberate or accidental - generated more than three billion tonnes of CO2 pollution, exceeding India's emissions from fossil fuel use over the same period. Tropical forests, which harbour the highest concentrations of biodiversity, are the most threatened of any forest biomes on the planet. They are also sponges for CO2, helping to prevent global temperatures from rising even faster than they have. Forest fires are both a cause and effect of climate change, injecting billions of tonnes of CO2 in the atmosphere that in turn accelerate warming and the conditions leading to more destructive fires. 'Extreme conditions' The exceptional fires last year were fuelled by "extreme conditions" that made them more intense and difficult to control, the authors said. Climate change driven by the massive burning of fossil fuels and boosted by natural El Nino weather phenomenon made 2024 the hottest year on record, with temperatures averaging more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Historically, most fires in tropical forests are set to clear land for agriculture and livestock, especially the so-called "big four" commodities: palm oil, soy, beef and timber. Brazil saw 2.8 million hectares of primary forest destroyed last year, two-thirds to fires typically started to make way for soybeans and cattle. In 2023, Brazil made measurable progress in reducing forest loss during President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's first year after returning to office. "But this progress is threatened by the expansion of agriculture," said Sarah Carter, a researcher at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington. The Brazilian Amazon was most affected, with destruction at its highest level since 2016. Global Forest Watch reports on forest destruction from all causes, deliberate or accidental. This stands in contrast to the Brazilian government's monitoring network MapBiomas, which published figures last week showing a sharp decline in deforestation in 2024 - but based on narrower criteria and not including many areas ravaged by fire. New phenomenon Forest protection is high on the agenda of the COP30 UN climate conference that Brazil will host in November in the tropical city of Belem. Neighbouring Bolivia's forest loss 1.5 million hectares - skyrocketed by 200% last year, with a record 3.6% of primary forests destroyed in a single year, mostly due to fires set to clear land for industrial-scale farms, according to the report. The picture is mixed elsewhere, with improvements in Indonesia and Malaysia but a sharp deterioration in Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo. While policies have resulted in a slowdown of the extent of forests lost to palm oil plantations, notably in Asia, the destructive footprint of other commodities has expanded, including avocados, coffee and cocoa. "We shouldn't assume that the drivers are always going to be the same," said Rod Taylor, director of the WRI's forest programme. "One new driver we are seeing, for example, is linked to mining and critical minerals."
NDTV
21-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
'Red Alert': Fire Wipes Out Tropical Rainforest Twice The Size Of Belgium
Eighteen football pitches every minute of every hour of every day: that is the record extent of tropical rainforest destroyed last year due in large measure to fires fuelled by climate change, researchers reported Wednesday. Tally it all up and the world lost 67,000 square kilometres (25,900 square miles) of precious primary tropical forest, an area double the size of Belgium or Taiwan. The loss was 80 percent higher than in 2023, according to the Global Forest Watch think tank. "This level of forest destruction is completely unprecedented in more than 20 years of data," its co-director Elizabeth Goldman said in a briefing. "This is a global red alert." Fires are responsible for nearly half of these losses, surpassing for the first time agriculture as the main driver of destruction. Loss of tree cover in 2024 -- from deforestation and fires, deliberate or accidental -- generated more than three billion tonnes of CO2 pollution, exceeding India's emissions from fossil fuel use over the same period. Tropical forests, which harbour the highest concentrations of biodiversity, are the most threatened of any forest biomes on the planet. They are also sponges for CO2, helping to prevent global temperatures from rising even faster than they have. Forest fires are both a cause and effect of climate change, injecting billions of tonnes of CO2 in the atmosphere that in turn accelerate warming and the conditions leading to more destructive fires. Extreme conditions The exceptional fires last year were fuelled by "extreme conditions" that made them more intense and difficult to control, the authors said. Climate change driven by the massive burning of fossil fuels and boosted by natural El Nino weather phenomenon made 2024 the hottest year on record, with temperatures averaging more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. Historically, most fires in tropical forests are set to clear land for agriculture and livestock, especially the so-called "big four" commodities: palm oil, soy, beef and timber. Brazil saw 2.8 million hectares (6.9 million acres) of primary forest destroyed last year, two-thirds to fires typically started to make way for soybeans and cattle. In 2023, Brazil made measurable progress in reducing forest loss during President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's first year after returning to office. "But this progress is threatened by the expansion of agriculture," said Sarah Carter, a researcher at the World Resources Institute in Washington. The Brazilian Amazon was most affected, with destruction at its highest level since 2016. Global Forest Watch reports on forest destruction from all causes, deliberate or accidental. This stands in contrast to the Brazilian government's monitoring network MapBiomas, which published figures last week showing a sharp decline in deforestation in 2024 -- but based on narrower criteria and not including many areas ravaged by fire. New phenomenon Forest protection is high on the agenda of the COP30 UN climate conference that Brazil will host in November in the tropical city of Belem. Neighbouring Bolivia's forest loss -- 1.5 million hectares -- skyrocketed by 200 percent last year, with a record 3.6 percent of primary forests destroyed in a single year, mostly due to fires set to clear land for industrial-scale farms, according to the report. The picture is mixed elsewhere, with improvements in Indonesia and Malaysia but a sharp deterioration in Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo. While policies have resulted in a slowdown of the extent of forests lost to palm oil plantations, notably in Asia, the destructive footprint of other commodities has expanded, including avocados, coffee and cocoa. "We shouldn't assume that the drivers are always going to be the same," said Rod Taylor, director of the WRI's forest programme. "One new driver we are seeing, for example, is linked to mining and critical minerals." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Record decrease in Brazil deforestation in 2024: report
RIO DE JANEIRO: Deforestation slowed in all of Brazil's nature biomes for the first time in six years in 2024, according to a report issued months before the country hosts a major UN climate conference. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The total area deforested in South America's biggest country was 32.4 percent lower than in 2023, some 1.24 million hectares, the report by monitoring agency MapBiomas said Thursday. It was the second year in a row of lower deforestation, with 2023 also recording a drop of 11 percent from the previous year. Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged to eradicate illegal deforestation by 2030, and wants to make Brazil a leader in the fight against global warming -- in which carbon-absorbing forests play a key role. Yet despite the advances, Brazil still lost about 3,403 hectares of native vegetation -- more than 8,000 football fields -- daily in 2024. Brazil is home to six biomes, each with its own climate, vegetation and animal life: the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest, the Cerrado, the Caatinga, the Pantanal, and the Pampa. In the Amazon, the largest tropical rainforest on the planet, logging destroyed an average of 1,035 hectares daily, or "about seven trees per second," the report said, mostly to clear land for agriculture. The Cerrado, a tropical savanna rich in biodiversity, was the biome most affected by clearing for the second year in a row, losing 652,197 hectares -- an area similar in size to the megacity of Sao Paulo. Two-thirds of Indigenous lands recorded no deforestation in 2024, said the report. Deforestation is the intentional destruction of vegetation, and does not include forest fires, which reached record levels in Brazil last year, fueled by extreme heat and drought worsened by climate change. COP30, the next round of UN climate talks, are due to take place in the Amazonian city of Belem in November.
Reuters
29-04-2025
- General
- Reuters
Bunge Foundation, Brazil environment agency to fight forest fires
SAO PAULO, April 29 (Reuters) - The Bunge Foundation has signed a cooperation agreement in Brazil to train indigenous fire brigades in five states through 2029, according to a statement on Tuesday. The foundation, backed by U.S. grain trader and food processor Bunge, said the partnership with Brazilian environmental agency Ibama will support up to 40 indigenous brigades, providing training and assistance to fight forest fires in the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Para, Maranhao and Tocantins. According to data from MapBiomas, a nonprofit land-use research group, 30.80 million hectares (76.1 million acres) burned in Brazil in 2024, an area larger than Italy, Bunge Foundation said in the statement. That figure represents an increase of 13.6 million hectares compared to 2023 and is the largest burned area since 2019, the MapBiomas data showed. Some three-fourths of the burned vegetation was native, the foundation's statement said, citing MapBiomas. In Brazil, fire has been used in agriculture for clearing land to rear cattle or grow crops like soy. Scholars say that historically, farmers have used fire to control pests or dispose of waste. Brazil is one of the world's biggest food producers and exporters, and an important country for Bunge's operations. Flavia Leite, general coordinator of Brazil's national forest fire agency PrevFogo, said the partnership between Ibama and the Bunge Foundation marks a key step in strengthening actions against forest fires, combining efforts to protect communities, conserve biodiversity and stand up to climate change. 'The ancestral knowledge of indigenous peoples is essential for the conservation and monitoring of forests," said Claudia Calais, executive director of the Bunge Foundation, in the statement.
