Net Global Forest Loss In 2014 Equivalent To Twice The Area Of Portugal
JAKARTA (Reuters) - The rate at which trees were cut down slowed globally for a third year in a row in 2014, but tree loss still covered an area twice the size of Portugal, an environmental research group said.
Losses also accelerated in some previously overlooked regions as land was cleared to grow rubber, soy or palm oil, or for beef production, according to U.S.-based think-tank World Resources Institute (WRI). Trees absorb carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for causing global warming, as they grow and release it when they are burnt or rot.
The world lost 18.8 million hectares (46 million acres) of tree cover in 2014, down from 20.64 million hectares in 2013 and 23.53 million hectares in 2012, according to satellite data obtained by the University of Maryland and Google and published by the WRI.
"This analysis identifies a truly alarming surge in forest loss in previously overlooked hotspots," Nigel Sizer, a WRI director, said in a statement, pointing to West Africa, Asia's Mekong River Basin, South America's Gran Chaco region and Madagascar.
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http://www.globalpost.com/article/6640827/2015/09/02/tree-loss-slows-covers-area-twice-size-portugal-2014-study