More Than a Third of Recent Tropical Deforestation Driven by Global Consumption

When it comes to tropical deforestation, global consumption may be largely to blame. Scientists have found that more than a third of recent deforestation can be tied to the production of beef, soy, palm oil and timber.

In order to better understand the impact of trade of tropical deforestation, the scientists investigated the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. More specifically, they looked at the extent to which international trade in products drove deforestation.

"From having been caused mainly by smallholders and production for local markets, an increasing share of deforestation today is driven by large-scale agricultural production for international markets. More than a third of global deforestation can be tied to rising production of beef, soy, palm oil and wood products," said Martin Persson, one of the researchers, in a news release. "If we exclude Brazilian beef production, which is mainly destined for domestic markets, more than half of deforestation is our case countries is driven by international demand."

The scientists didn't stop there, either. They also analyzed the associated carbon dioxide emissions created by these trade flows. In all, they found a total of 1.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide can be linked to the production of the analyzed commodities.

"Another key trend is that more and more corporations have pledged to rid their supply chains from deforestation," said Persson. "Pushed by environmental organizations and seeing the risks of being associated with environmental destruction, companies like Unilever and McDonalds are pressuring their suppliers to stop expanding production on forest land. Today both public and private consumers, be it individuals or corporations, have the possibility to contribute to the protection of tropical forests by holding suppliers accountable for the environmental impacts of their production."

The findings are published by the Center for Global Development.