Deforestation surges in world’s no. 2 tropical forest

Deforestation

The world’s second largest tropical rainforest was chopped down at a faster rate last year, threatening to disrupt its role in cooling the planet, according to a new study by Climate Focus.

The pace of deforestation in the Congo Basin increased 5% in 2021 overall, the Amsterdam-based climate advisory said.

Trees were hacked down at a faster pace in four of the six countries through which the forest stretches. The Central African Republic was the worst offender, recording a 71% increase in deforestation rates. Only Gabon and Congo Republic saw a decrease.

The Congo Basin is the site of some of the world’s major peatlands, wet areas that store carbon, holding the equivalent of three years worth of greenhouse gas emissions. It is home to one in five species found on Earth.

“The Congo Basin Forest is at a crossroads,” Marion Ferrat, senior consultant at Climate Focus and lead author of the report, said in a statement.

“If this trend continues,” she said, “we risk losing the largest remaining intact forest in the tropics along with its immense and irreplaceable value for biodiversity, climate, and people.”