Forest Losses Increased Again in 2020
2021-04-03
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1The World Resources Institute (WRI) says the world lost 4.2 million hectares of forest land in 2020.
2The total area affected would be about the size of The Netherlands.
3The loss of forest in 2020 was a 12 percent increase over 2019.
4Climate change both causes forest loss, or deforestation, and is caused by deforestation.
5Scientists warn that climate change creates hotter and drier climates.
6As a result, forests are more vulnerable to fire and damaging insects.
7Plants are also important because they absorb carbon emissions that are blamed for causing climate change.
8Rod Taylor is head of WRI's forest program.
9He said forests hold large amounts of carbon.
10Taylor said losing them has "irreversible" effects on biodiversity and the climate.
11The International Monetary Fund estimates that the world economy shrank by 3.5 percent in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
12But, deforestation continued to increase.
13The WRI says this was likely because lockdowns limited governments' ability to enforce laws against forest loss.
14People may have also moved out of cities into rural areas.
15However, the strongest effects of COVID-19 on forest loss are probably still to come.
16WRI researcher Frances Seymour said: "It's likely that governments will try to restart their economies on the backs of forests."
17Areas near the Earth's equator lost a total of 12.2 million hectares of forest in 2020.
18The loss released emissions equal to 570 million cars.
19That is more than two times the number of cars on the road in the United States.
20Brazil saw the largest decrease in forests.
21The 1.7 million hectares lost was a 25 percent increase from the previous year.
22The decline was more than three times higher than the next-highest country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
23There was some good news. Indonesia slowed its rate of deforestation by 17 percent in 2020.
24Palm oil, a vegetable oil, is a leading driver of deforestation.
25Last year, the price of palm oil decreased, possibly affecting deforestation in Indonesia.
26In addition, experts say the Indonesian government passed laws that are preventing forest loss after damaging fires in 2015.
27Those rules include fire prevention measures, restrictions on new palm oil farms and reforms aimed at reducing poverty.
28But experts are concerned now that the price of palm oil is starting to rise again.
29"The next two to three years would be the real test" if Indonesia can continue reducing deforestation, said Andika Putraditama, who works with WRI in Indonesia.
30WRI experts say that climate change is killing forests in many different ways.
31In Europe, hot, dry weather in 2019 and 2020 led to more insect damage in Germany and the Czech Republic.
32Forest losses increased 200 percent in the two countries from 2018.
33In Russia, a hot spring and summer led to forest fires in Siberia.
34Extreme heat and drought in Australia is blamed for damaging fires there in 2019 and 2020.
35The world is stuck in a "vicious cycle," Seymour said. Global warming leads to dry forests, forest fires and insect damage.
36Seymour added: "Nature has been whispering this risk to us for a long time. But now she is shouting."
37Mario Ritter Jr.
1The World Resources Institute (WRI) says the world lost 4.2 million hectares of forest land in 2020. 2The total area affected would be about the size of The Netherlands. 3The loss of forest in 2020 was a 12 percent increase over 2019. 4How deforestation affects climate 5Climate change both causes forest loss, or deforestation, and is caused by deforestation. Scientists warn that climate change creates hotter and drier climates. As a result, forests are more vulnerable to fire and damaging insects. Plants are also important because they absorb carbon emissions that are blamed for causing climate change. 6Rod Taylor is head of WRI's forest program. He said forests hold large amounts of carbon. Taylor said losing them has "irreversible" effects on biodiversity and the climate. 7The International Monetary Fund estimates that the world economy shrank by 3.5 percent in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, deforestation continued to increase. The WRI says this was likely because lockdowns limited governments' ability to enforce laws against forest loss. People may have also moved out of cities into rural areas. 8However, the strongest effects of COVID-19 on forest loss are probably still to come. WRI researcher Frances Seymour said: "It's likely that governments will try to restart their economies on the backs of forests." 9Areas near the Earth's equator lost a total of 12.2 million hectares of forest in 2020. The loss released emissions equal to 570 million cars. That is more than two times the number of cars on the road in the United States. 10Brazil saw the largest decrease in forests. The 1.7 million hectares lost was a 25 percent increase from the previous year. The decline was more than three times higher than the next-highest country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 11Gains in Indonesia 12There was some good news. Indonesia slowed its rate of deforestation by 17 percent in 2020. 13Palm oil, a vegetable oil, is a leading driver of deforestation. Last year, the price of palm oil decreased, possibly affecting deforestation in Indonesia. 14In addition, experts say the Indonesian government passed laws that are preventing forest loss after damaging fires in 2015. Those rules include fire prevention measures, restrictions on new palm oil farms and reforms aimed at reducing poverty. But experts are concerned now that the price of palm oil is starting to rise again. 15"The next two to three years would be the real test" if Indonesia can continue reducing deforestation, said Andika Putraditama, who works with WRI in Indonesia. 16WRI experts say that climate change is killing forests in many different ways. 17In Europe, hot, dry weather in 2019 and 2020 led to more insect damage in Germany and the Czech Republic. Forest losses increased 200 percent in the two countries from 2018. 18In Russia, a hot spring and summer led to forest fires in Siberia. 19Extreme heat and drought in Australia is blamed for damaging fires there in 2019 and 2020. 20The world is stuck in a "vicious cycle," Seymour said. Global warming leads to dry forests, forest fires and insect damage. 21Seymour added: "Nature has been whispering this risk to us for a long time. But now she is shouting." 22Mario Ritter Jr. 23Steve Baragona reported this story for Voice of America. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor. 24____________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26vulnerable- adj. easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally 27absorb- v. -to take in a natural or gradual way 28emissions -n. (often pl.) gasses released from processes like burning fuel 29biodiversity -n. the existence of many different kinds of plants and animals in an environment 30lockdown -n. an emergency measure of keeping people in a secure place to avoid or prevent danger 31irreversible- adj. impossible to change back to a previous condition or state 32drought- n.- a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain 33vicious- adj.- very violent and cruel 34cycle -n. a set of events or actions that happen again and again 35whisper- v.- to speak very softly or quietly 36We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.