Like all other green plants, tropical forest trees use photosynthesis to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide and release oxygen. However, when forests are expanding, photosynthesis outpaces respiration, and the excess carbon is stored in tree trunks. So they also do the reverse process, known as respiration.

When trees are destroyed, a large portion of the carbon is released into the atmosphere as CO2. This is how forest degradation and deforestation affect global warming.

Climate experts agree that the current contribution of CO2 from tropical deforestation to global warming pollution is less than 10%. This percentage has decreased in recent decades, partly due to some progress in reducing deforestation but also due to the continuous rise in greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, which are by far the main contributor to climate change.

Where and why does deforestation exist?

The greatest tropical forest zones on the earth are found in Southeast Asia, the Congo Basin in Central Africa, and the Amazon basin in South America. However, the rate of deforestation and its underlying reasons vary greatly in these three regions.
Forests are cleared for a wide range of agricultural goods and other human endeavors. But only four internationally traded commodities—beef, soybeans, palm oil, and wood products—can be directly linked to most of the tropical deforestation that is taking place now. The largest tropical forest area and the highest deforestation rate are found in Amazonia. One major factor is the removal of forests to make way for commodity crops, particularly pasture for beef cattle and cropland for soybeans. Producing commodities for the international market also drives deforestation in Southeast Asia. Still, the main driver of this phenomenon is palm oil plantations for vegetable oil. Southeast Asia is particularly unique in that it has huge tracts of peat soil, which, when cleaned and drained, emits significant volumes of CO2. On the other side, the Congo Basin experiences a lower rate of deforestation, primarily caused by conventional shifting farming. Thus, the forest can regenerate and absorb part of the CO2 that was formerly released.

THE VERDICT
Only stopping deforestation will not halt climate change; immediate action is required to cut the remaining 90% of emissions. However, the necessity of preserving tropical forests and replanting them where they have been destroyed cannot be disregarded. It is now understood that even mature tropical forests may store carbon; throughout the 1990s and the early 2000s, they removed over a billion tonnes of gases that trap heat from the atmosphere. The area of young secondary forests, or those that have recently grown back after clearing, accounts for around 28% of the tropical forest. They are a significant additional “natural climate solution” since their potential sequestration is conservatively estimated to be around 40% as much as would be achieved by halting deforestation. In addition, stopping deforestation and restoring forests provides advantages beyond lowering pollution-related global warming. If we do not protect their habitat, many rare species of animals and plants that inhabit tropical forests face extinction. Tropical woods aid in regulating local precipitation and averting both droughts and floods. Reducing deforestation can help conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable development, in addition to being an effective measure against global warming.

SOLUTIONS INVOLVING REFORESTATION AND DEFORESTATION

The good news is that deforestation in tropical regions can be stopped, and in many places, it already has. Several strategies, including acknowledging Indigenous people’s sovereignty over their lands, putting pressure on corporate deforesters through civil society, and rewarding tropical nations for lowering their deforestation emissions (known as “REDD+”), have demonstrated encouraging outcomes.

However, there have also been setbacks. Between 2004 and 2012, Brazil reduced deforestation by 70%, but the Bolsonaro administration undermined enforcement and launched racial attacks against Indigenous people and their lands in the late 2010s, undoing some of the gains. Governments, corporations, and civil society organizations must all remain steadfastly committed to the cause of stopping tropical deforestation if progress is to continue.