Brazil is world leader in loss of primary tropical forests in 2021

From the Editorial Office

MANAUS – Brazil was responsible for 40% of all deforestation of primary forests on the planet in 2021. That is, almost half of the loss of primary forests in the world in 2021 took place in Brazil. The data is from Global Forest Watch (GFW), a platform for monitoring forests all over the planet. Last year 1.5 million hectares of primary tropical forests were lost. The country leads the sad ranking of forest loss well ahead of second place (Democratic Republic of Congo, with 500 thousand hectares).

Each year, the GFW presents an independent assessment of the state of the world’s forests in the previous year. The data are produced from geospatial analyses developed by the University of Maryland, and monitor forest cover worldwide, forest fires, and primary forest loss in the tropics.

This year’s update presents a new feature, which is the losses caused or not by fire. In the case of Brazil, not even the reduction of hotspots in the Amazon and Pantanal in 2021 changed this trend. Non-fire-related losses – which in Brazil are most often associated with agricultural expansion – increased by 9% between 2020 and 2021.

Brazil holds about one-third of the world’s remaining primary tropical forests and has maintained rates of primary forest loss above 1 million hectares since 2016, according to GFW data.

“Primary forest loss in Brazil is especially worrying, as new evidence reveals that the Amazon forest is losing resilience, and is closer to an inflection point than previously thought,” says Fabíola Zerbini, Director of Forests, Agriculture and Land Use at WRI Brazil.

The distribution of areas of primary forest loss shows an expansion of the most critical regions beyond the Arc of Deforestation. Many new hotspots of primary forest loss in these states encompass large-scale clearings – probably for cattle pastures – along existing roads, such as the BR-319.

World forest loss remains high

In all, the GFW identified the loss of 3.75 million hectares of primary tropical forests in the world. In addition to Brazil, the loss of forests in countries like Bolivia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which recorded an increase with respect to 2020, draws attention. Indonesia, on the other hand, recorded a reduction in forest loss rates for the fifth consecutive year, indicating that public policies of the Indonesian government and the commitment of the private sector in the country are having an effect.

Despite focusing on the tropics, which is where 96% of the world’s permanent forest clearing occurs, GFW also analyzed boreal and temperate forests, identifying a 29% increase in forest loss by fire, especially in Siberia – in this region, forests are threatened by climate change.

About Global Forest Watch

Global Forest Watch is a global platform for monitoring forest loss across the globe. It analyzes and interprets data provided by the University of Maryland at 30-meter resolution that maps the loss of tree cover, i.e., both natural and planted forests and loss due to natural or human causes.

The annual report focuses on primary tropical moist forests because they are forest areas of greatest concern, due to their biodiversity and importance in addressing the climate emergency, and also to avoid including loss in plantations.

The GFW differs from Prodes, Inpe’s Amazon deforestation monitoring system, in that it has a different methodology and analysis period: the GFW covers the period from January to December, while Prodes covers August of one year to July of the following year. Despite these differences, both show an increase in the trend of loss of primary forests.