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The Main Causes of Deforestation: Beef, Gold, and Fire
Key Takeaways:
Primary forests have decreased by an estimated 47 million ha globally since 2000.
About ⅓ of global forest loss is fire-related.
Nearly ⅓ of the planet’s land area has been transformed in the last 60 years.
90% of deforestation between 2000-2018 was related to agriculture.
7% of deforestation between 2000-2018 was due to palm oil plantations.
An estimated 75% of the 115 leading food crops globally – together representing 35% of global food production – benefit from pollination by animals, many of which live in forests
Deforestation is the human-caused conversion of natural forest to another land use, such as cropland, pasture, or settlements. Between 1990 and 2020, an estimated 420 million hectares of forest were lost this way, and primary forests declined by an estimated 47 million hectares since 2000, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO) State of the World's Forests 2022 report.
The drivers of that loss are closely connected. A logging road or a new mine often opens access for the farms and settlements that follow, and a warming climate makes cleared and degraded forests more likely to burn.
Deforestation vs. tree cover loss
Tree cover loss counts the removal of trees for any reason, including fire and logging followed by regrowth, while deforestation refers only to permanent conversion due to destruction.
Watch Our Deforestation Video to Learn More
The main causes of deforestation
Agriculture is by far the largest driver of deforestation, but logging, fire, climate change, mining, and urban growth each play a role.
Cropland expansion caused almost 50 percent of global deforestation over the same period, with oil palm plantations alone responsible for 7 percent. WRI's satellite data links 172 million hectares of tree cover loss since 2000 to permanent agriculture.
3. Shifting cultivation
In shifting cultivation, forest is cleared, farmed for a few years, and then left to regrow. WRI associates the practice with 53 million hectares of tree cover loss since 2000. Because the land is temporarily abandoned, much of it can recover as secondary forest.
4. Logging and wood harvests
Logging is associated with 135 million hectares of tree cover loss since 2000, including clear-cutting, selective logging, and the roads that open intact forest to further clearing. A 2023 paper published in Nature by WRI researchers found that global wood harvests emit 3.5 to 4.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, more than 10 percent of recent annual global carbon dioxide emissions, and that wood demand is projected to rise 54 percent between 2010 and 2050.
5. Wildfire
Fire is linked to 163 million hectares of tree cover loss since 2000, and the FAO estimates that about one-third of global forest loss is fire-related. In humid tropical forests, where fire plays no natural role, fires are almost always set by people, often to clear land for agriculture. In 2025, fires accounted for 42 percent of the 25.5 million hectares of tree cover lost globally.
"Climate change and land clearing have shortened the fuse on global forest fires," Matthew Hansen, a professor at the University of Maryland and director of its Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) Lab, said in a statement. "They are turning seasonal disturbances into a near-permanent state of emergency."
6. Climate change, drought, and pests
Climate change amplifies many of these threats. Hotter temperatures dry out landscapes and create conditions for larger, more frequent fires, and the carbon those fires release drives further warming, a cycle WRI describes as a fire-climate feedback loop. WRI also links 8 million hectares of tree cover loss since 2000 to other natural disturbances, including insect outbreaks, storms, and landslides.
7. Mining and energy infrastructure
Mining is the fourth-largest driver of deforestation, according to WWF's 2023 Extracted Forests report, and once indirect impacts such as roads, settlements, contamination, and illegal logging are counted, it affects up to one-third of the world's forest ecosystems. Mineral extraction has doubled since 2000 and is increasingly reaching tropical rainforests and protected areas in the Amazon and the Cerrado. Coal and gold account for 71 percent of direct mining-related deforestation, an estimated 6,877 square kilometers (4,273 square miles) over two decades. WRI links mining and energy infrastructure, such as power lines and hydroelectric dams, to 5 million hectares of tree cover loss since 2000.
"Metals are important for the development of human civilisation and the life we live today. But the footprint left by the extraction of these commodities has a heavy toll on ecosystems," said Tobias Kind-Rieper, global lead for mining and metals at WWF Germany.
8. Urban expansion, roads, and infrastructure
Cities, roads, and built infrastructure are associated with 5 million hectares of tree cover loss since 2000. That loss is almost always permanent, and new roads often bring farming and logging deeper into forests.
How to help stop deforestation
Reducing deforestation depends on both policy and demand. Zero-deforestation commitments from companies, land-use policies that protect Indigenous rights, and choosing FSC-certified wood and responsibly produced goods all ease pressure on standing forests.
"A drop of this scale in a single year is encouraging — it shows what decisive government action can achieve," said Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of Global Forest Watch at WRI, of the 36 percent decline in tropical primary forest loss in 2025. "But part of the decline reflects a lull after an extreme fire year. Fires and climate change are feeding off each other, and with El Niño on the horizon for 2026, investments in prevention and response will be critical as extreme fire conditions become the norm."
Restoration returns native trees to land that has been cleared, burned, or degraded, and One Tree Planted's reforestation projects work with local partners worldwide to do that, including agroforestry that helps farmers grow food alongside trees.
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Meaghan Weeden is the Communications Manager at One Tree Planted, where she translates research and impact data into compelling, accessible narratives. With a degree in Environmental Conservation and a background in both traditional publishing and nonprofit communications, Meaghan bridges the gap between scientific complexity and high-impact storytelling to engage global audiences. She is based in Western Massachusetts.
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