Deforestation

Discover the threats, causes and impacts, and how you can help.

The Lungs of Our Earth in Jeopardy

Inspired from the movie Revolution and narrated by Rob Stewart, our Educational Video gives you more content on Deforestation.

Trees are a vital organ of our planet and our survival. Our forests control climate, cycle water, protect soil, store carbon, supply medicine and most importantly produce more than 40 percent of the world’s oxygen. Currently, trees cover approximately 31 percent of the earth. They are home to up to 90 percent of the world’s land-based biodiversity and half of all known species live in tropical forests. Indigenous peoples around the world rely on forests for housing and food, while the developing world relies on forests for a range of products.

Deforestation, the loss of forests around the world, is occurring at an astounding rate of one football field per second.[1. Greenpeace International. “Our disappearing forests,” April 2007. www.greenpeace.org] Less than 10 percent of the Earth’s original (frontier) forests remain[2. Greenpeace International. “Our disappearing forests,” April 2007. www.greenpeace.org]. We are losing forests to clear-cutting for agriculture and ranches, for wood and paper products and to natural fires and fires used for clearing land. Whole ecosystems are collapsing due to humanity’s constant demand.

Tree evolution has changed little in the last 70 million years. And it should not be forced to change now due to deforestation. Around the globe we can find trees that are 4,000 to 5,000 years old. The Daintree Rainforest in Australia began 160 million years ago and is the oldest surviving rainforest in the world.[3. Daintree Rainforest Tours, daintreerainforest.net.au/about-us] We are losing these vital ancient trees to deforestation.

The more trees we lose, the less oxygen we have to breathe. Forests absorb carbon that is released into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. Humanity produces more carbon than the world can absorb, and with less trees, more carbon will be absorbed by the oceans, causing ocean acidification, our biggest threat. In other words, the loss of our forests could result in the loss of ecosystems around the globe.

Learn more about our beautiful forests and the devastation deforestation is causing by reading on and sharing this information with everyone you know. We can still change things!