Tropical rainforests are home to rich indigenous cultures and amazing biodiversity. They also play an important role in stabilizing the climate and sequestering carbon. However, tropical deforestation continues to occur at an alarming rate around the world. According to the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this loss produces almost 50% more greenhouse gases than the entire global transport sector.
Much of tropical deforestation is driven by the creation of agricultural land, but a new report on Forest Trends finds that nearly half of all conversions from virgin rainforest to agricultural land are illegal. Much of deforestation is driven by a small number of key agricultural products, which are produced primarily for export.
1. Beef
The increase in beef demand is partly due to the growing global population and the expansion of the middle class, especially in East Asia and China. Both beef and leather production are drivers of illegal deforestation in Brazil, although the country has had considerable success in slowing the rate of forest loss.
2. Soybeans
Sam Lawson, lead author of the Forest Trends report, said soy is linked to increased demand for meat. "Most of the soybeans are used as feed for cattle, chickens and pigs." Soybean cultivation has led to deforestation in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia.
3. Palm oil
Palm oil is the most efficient source of vegetable oil and one of the most lucrative. Palm oil-related deforestation is enormous, especially in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Malaysia. "You drive through large areas of Malaysia and you don't see anything but oil palm plantations," Lawson said. "However, it is predicted that the world will need another Malaysian oil palm plantation to meet the growing demand."
4. Wood pulp
Deforestation to grow wood pulp is a major problem in Indonesia. Pulp used to make textiles such as paper products or man-made fibers.
5. Cocoa
In many countries, some agricultural products grown on illegally modified land are sold domestically. However, according to data from forest trends, 100% of these products, including cocoa and soybeans, are exported in Papua New Guinea. The good news is that ethical chocolate is one of them.
What can be done
With the help of third-party certification systems such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, many companies are taking steps to establish more traceable supply chains.
However, forest trends show that consumer Governments also have an important role to play. The problem is that the efforts of tropical forest countries to prevent deforestation for these commodities are being undermined by the fact that importing countries are largely unrecognizable. Importing countries can penalize imports of commodities not produced by legally grown plantations, thereby reducing the incentive to continue illegal deforestation for these commodities.
Changing consumer behavior may have some positive effects, but products like wood pulp and palm oil can be difficult to tell the difference between good and bad.
It may be more effective for individual consumers to lobby their politicians, lobby the companies that produce these products, and donate to NGOs and charities that operate on these issues. This may be more effective than changing your own buying habits.