Forests cover approximately a third of the planet and houses 80 percent of all terrestrial species. Additionally, they provide livelihoods for over 1.8 billion human beings (Mackenzie & Denchak, 2024). Due to the importance of forests to the ecosystem and humanity's wellbeing, deforestation is an important issue to consider. Deforestation is the clearing of large areas of forest, for purposes such as logging, agriculture and development.
Since lumber has been necessary as a fuel source, a material for building and manufacturing, and because clearing land provides opportunities for economic growth and development, deforestation provides many short term benefits. This prioritization of short term benefits over long term impacts has led to massive deforestation, with 10 hectares of forest—which is equivalent to the size of Portugal—being cleared every year (UN Environment Programme, 2024).
According to National Geographic, farming, grazing of livestock, mining and drilling are the cause for more than 50% of all deforestation worldwide. The rest is mostly due to forestry practices and wildfires, and a minimal amount due to urbanization and development. In the Amazon it is mostly for cattle ranching and farms, specifically soy plantations, while in Malaysia and Indonesia, forests are cut down for palm oil production (Nunez, 2022).
250 million people live in forest and savannah areas and depend on it as a source of income and livelihood (Nunez, 2022). Forests offer a myriad of benefits to communities. In King County (as well as many other places), forests and natural spaces offer less stormwater runoff, improved water and air quality, reduced greenhouse gases and increased habitat for native wildlife.
Deforestation also plays a key role in feeding the climate crisis because trees are one of the most important carbon storages. When trees are burned or decay, they release carbon dioxide, and cutting down trees reduces the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by forests overall. At the same time, the climate crisis requires the world to cut 22 gigatones of carbon emissions annually by 2050, and halting deforestation could cut 4 gigatons of emissions per year. Working to restore forests using nature-based solutions could cut 10-18 gigatons of emissions per year (UN Environment Programme, 2024).
One example of the necessity of working to stop deforestation and ensure reforestation is King County, in Washington State. Due to logging and development, the natural spaces in the area were left facing "habitat fragmentation, an invasive-dominated understory that inhibits native species from regenerating, a declining dominant forest, and limitations on restoration efforts" (Schroder et al., 2015).