Shocking revelation: Every 6 seconds, a large primeval rain forest across the football field is destroyed

A satellite-based study showed that 2019 was the worst year for primeval forests in the world.

According to the annual report of the Global Forest Watch (GFW), 38.000km ² primary forest was destroyed in 2019. This figure means an area of rainforest the size equivalent of a football pitch is lost every 6 seconds. This is the 3rd largest reduction since 2000 and equivalent to the area of ​​Switzerland.

In 38.000km ² this, Brazil accounts for more than 1/3, then the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia.

"The density of deforestation recorded in 2019 is unacceptable , " said Frances Seymour, a member of the World Resources Institute.

"We're going in the wrong direction," he added.

A rainforest area the size of a football field is lost every 6 seconds in 2019. (Image: Straits Times)

Mikaela Weisse, a project manager at GFW, said that the international community has tried to slow down or prevent deforestation, but it is clear that the figures still do not budge on a global level that reflects the issue. concerns.

Weisse said primeval forests are of particular interest to her and her colleagues because they have great implications for biodiversity and play an important role in capturing large amounts of carbon.

When burning forests, the carbon they retain will escape into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), causing a greenhouse effect.

"It will take decades or even centuries for these forests to return to their original state , " Weisse said.

The density of primary forest loss was recorded at a record high in 2016 and 2017 before decreasing slightly in 2018. However, the number of areas of primary forest lost in 2019 increased by 2.8% compared to 2018. .

According to GFW researchers, deforestation has a big impact on the goal of limiting global climate change because trees absorb about 1/3 of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Brazil is the country that recorded the heaviest deforestation as the loss of forests in the country (1.36 million hectares) accounted for more than a third of the world's total forest loss in 2019.

In Brazil, farmers burning forests for agriculture and raising cattle are the main cause of deforestation, not forest fires.

Last year, deforestation in Brazil increased by 85% compared to 2018. According to Brazil's Space Research Institute, 9,166 km ^{2 of} forests were cleared in 2019, the highest number in the last 5 years.