New satellite data reveals a rapid loss of tropical forests in Cambodia, parts of west Africa and Madagascar, and the Gran Chaco region of South America, analysts said. Overall, the world in 2014 lost some 18 million hectares (45 million acres) of tree cover – equivalent to two Portugals. More than half of it was in the tropics, the World Resources Institute said. Even as Brazil and, to a lesser extent, Indonesia – the two nations with the most tropical cover – have slowed the pace of deforestation, the rate of tree loss has accelerated in other equatorial regions, the Washington-based research unit reported. The destruction of carbon-rich forests releases greenhouse gases and diminishes one of Earth’s CO2-trapping “lungs.”
Read the full story on Rappler Science.
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.