5 Causes of Deforestation

Look no further than your dinner plate, because industrial agriculture accounts for around 85% of deforestation worldwide. While this can mostly be attributed to meat production (beef in particular), soy and palm oil plantations follow closely behind as causes for deforestation.

But before you shun the tofu, let’s take a closer look: meat producers clear vast swaths of forest to graze their livestock, but beef cows don’t just eat grass — in fact, 80% of all soybeans grown go directly into feed for cattle, poultry, and pigs. And palm oil, an ingredient that’s as ubiquitous as it is destructive, is a major contributor to deforestation in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. 

Around 380,000 hectares of forest are cut every year to meet the incredible global demand for wood and wood products, accounting for around 60% of degradation. Another 25% of forest is degraded for fuelwood and charcoal. From clear cuts to massive logging roads providing access to previously untouched areas, these degraded forests are much more vulnerable to conversion to other land uses like mining, agriculture, and settlement.

Thanks to an ever-increasing demand for minerals, mining in tropical forests is on the rise. And because large-scale mining is an intensive, industrial undertaking, it necessitates the development of massive infrastructure, which only amplifies the degradation.

As the tide of human population growth washes over the land, large swaths of forest get cleared to make way for the expansion of cities and settlements. And with these settlements come even more infrastructure and expansion.

Climate change is a leading cause of deforestation. Extreme weather events like wildfires (which are responsible for an estimated 10% of degradation annually), droughts, and storm surges destroy millions of hectares of forest every year — and their intensity is only increasing with global warming. But the trouble doesn’t stop there: after the last fire has been put out, the gates open wide to accommodate pests, diseases, and invasive species that make themselves at home, decimating whatever remains.