Fires cause record loss of tropical forests in climate threat

The tropical forests in the world, which offer a crucial buffer against climate change, disappeared faster than ever last year, new satellite analysis suggests.

Researchers estimate that 67,000 square kilometers (26,000 m²) of these unspoilt, old forests were lost in 2024-a area that is almost as large as the Republic of Ireland, or 18 football fields per minute.

Branden were the main cause, which for the first time recorded in the agriculture of agriculture, with the Amazon particularly poor in the midst of record dried.

However, there was more positive news in Southeast Asia, with the government policy that helped reduce forest loss.

Tropical rain forests store hundreds of billions of tons of carbon in soil and woody trunks. But this new global record raises further questions about their resilience on a warming planet.

Many researchers are worried that some forests, such as parts of the Amazon, are approaching a “turning point”, above which they can fall into irreversible decline.

“The idea of ​​the turning point is, I think, increasingly the right one,” said Prof Matthew Hansen, co-director of GLAS Laboratory at the University of Maryland, who produces the data.

Prof. Hansen described the new results as “frightening” and warned of the possible “savannization” of the rainforest, where old tropical forests die back and permanently switch to Savanne.

“It is still a theory, but I think that is increasingly plausible looking at the data.”

A Individual study“ published last weekmade a similar warning of potentially significant deback of the Amazon as global warming International target of 1.5 ° C.

This would not only threaten the lively series of wildlife in these most biodiverse habitats, but would also have serious consequences for the global climate.

Until recently, the Amazon had done humanity a pleasure, which recorded more planet -warming carbon dioxide (CO2) than the released.

But burning these forests broadcasts huge amounts of CO2 – which contributes to global warming instead of limiting.

In 2023-24 the Amazon experienced His worst drought On record, Fed by climate change and the natural warming The child’s weather pattern.

Many fires are intentionally started to free up the country for agriculture, making it difficult to untangle the two.

But the drought offered ideal conditions for burning to get out of hand, where Brazil and Bolivia are the most poorly affected.

Although it is only one year, it fits into the expected pattern of more intense tropical fires in a warming world.

“I think we are in a new phase, where it is not only the clearing for agriculture that is the most important driver,” said Rod Taylor of the World Resources Institute (WRI), which is also behind the latest report.

“Now we have this new reinforcing effect, which is a real feedback job of climate change, where fires are simply much more intense and much more than they have ever been.”

In total, the record loss of the old (primary) tropical forests in the world has released 3.1 billion tons of planet -warming gases, the researchers estimate.

That is about the same as the emissions of the European Union.

Landen in Southeast Asia, however, have covered the global trend.

The area of ​​primary forest loss in Indonesia fell by 11% compared to 2023, for example despite drought.

This was the result of a joint effort of governments and communities that work together to enforce “no burning” laws, according to Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of the Global Forest Watch project at WRI.

“Indonesia serves as a bright spot in the data of 2024,” she said.

“Political Will is a key factor of success – otherwise it is impossible”, agreed Gabriel Labbate, head of limiting climate change at the United Nations Program Unredd, which was not involved in today’s report.

Other countries, including Brazil, have seen success with similar approaches in the past, but began to see the losses increase again in 2014 after a change in government policy.

Prof. Hansen said that although the progress in Southeast -Asia was positive, the fluctuations in forest loss in Brazil show that protection policy should be consistent.

“The key that we have not yet seen is sustainable success in reducing and maintaining a low conversion of these ecosystems and if you were interested in maintaining the environment that you always have to win,” he said BBC News.

The researchers agree that this year’s UN climate summit COP30 – which is being organized in the Amazon – will be crucial for sharing and promoting forest protection schedules.

One proposal is to reward countries that maintain tropical forests through payments. The detail has yet to be worked out, but has a promise, according to Rod Taylor.

“I think it is an example of an innovation that tackles one of the fundamental issues that can currently be made more money by cutting forests than leaving them,” he said.

Graphics by Erwan Rivault