EVENTS

Forests are coming under more pressure than ever as demand for food and fuel grows. Every year, around 10 million hectares of forests are destroyed, making way for activities like cattle pasture, palm oil plantations, soy fields or roads. Most of this is happening in tropical regions, where there is a particularly rich variety of life. Even larger areas are suffering from degradation – where the forest remains, but its richness and health is in decline. Threats include illegal and unsustainable logging, overharvesting of wood for fuel and charcoal, small-scale farming, hunting, forest fires, and pests and diseases.All this threatens the survival of countless species, fuels climate change, jeopardizes people’s livelihoods and undermines the vital services that forests provide.