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Forest Loss Remained Stubbornly High in 2021
2021 tree cover loss data reveals that the tropics lost 11.1 million hectares of tree cover in 2021 — including 3.75 million hectares within tropical primary rainforests, equivalent to a rate of 10 football pitches a minute.
Commodity Driven Tree Cover Loss in Congo May Be 10 Times Higher Than Previous Estimates
When forest degradation and destruction meet local communities who are simply feeding themselves or making their livelihoods, the case for forest preservation gets complicated. In Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the Congo Basin, this pattern of clearing and regrowth for subsistence — dubbed shifting cultivation — is thought to have driven the majority of recent, extensive tree […]
Tracking Deforestation in DRC’s Forest Concessions Is Complicated
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) contains more than half of the remaining Congo Basin rainforest, the second-largest tropical forest on Earth. These forests are increasingly threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture and logging for timber, charcoal and fuelwood. While most logging is carried out by small or medium-sized operators, industrial forest concessions cover 7 percent of […]
New Map Helps Distinguish Between Cyclical Farming and Deforestation in the Congo Basin
On the way from Kisangani to Masako village. Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo by Ollivier Girard/CIFOR. Forest loss is a major concern for conservationists dedicated to protecting the Congo Basin, the planet’s second-largest tropical rainforest. Data like tree cover loss on Global Forest Watch help monitor changes in forest landscapes like the Congo Basin, but […]