Deforestation Rates Research Articles

Spatio-temporal analysis and identification of deforestation hotspots in the Moroccan western Rif

In the north of Morocco, forest areas are under threat mainly due to the expansion of agricultural land, forest fires and socio-demographic, economic and urban dynamics. Despite the magnitude of deforestation in this area, quantitative studies and investigations of its evolution in time and space are rare or non-existent. The present study aims to assess and quantify gross forest losses in the Western Rif between 2001 and 2020 through the exploitation of Global Forest Change (GFC) data developed by Hansen et al. (version 1.8) based on high resolution Landsat TM satellite images. We used Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) methods to identify statistically significant spatio-temporal trends in forest losses with ArcGis 10.8 and Geoda software. The main results showed that over the last two decades, the Western Rif has lost 8.39% of its forest heritage, a total area of 272 km2. The greatest forest losses were recorded in the provinces of Chefchaouen, Tetouan and Larache (70% of total losses), while the highest annual deforestation rates are reported in the prefectures of M'diq-Fnideq and Tangier-Assilah (0.9% and 0.89% respectively). Moreover, we observed that 81% of the deforested areas were recorded in the formations of the following types: matorral, cork oak stands and artificial pine forest. A first analysis of local Moran's spatial autocorrelation based on the communal division and on the variables relating to forest losses and gross deforestation rates revealed the existence of 3 significant clusters of the high-high (HH) type. A second optimized analysis of deforestation hotspot (Getis-Ord statistical test) based on a 0.5 km × 0.5 km grid identified 26 deforestation fronts in the study area. Finally, we conducted an emerging hotspot analysis to take into account the time dimension and we concluded that the oscillating deforestation model predominates in the Western Rif. These results constitute valuable decision elements to better guide, prioritize and rationalize the monitoring, conservation and restoration efforts of forest ecosystems.

Slow-down of deforestation following a Brazilian forest policy was less effective on private lands than in all conservation areas

Private lands are important for conservation worldwide, but knowledge about their effectiveness is still insufficient. To help fill this important knowledge gap, we analyzed the impacts of a national policy for conservation on private lands in Brazil, a global biodiversity hotspot with high potential for nature-based climate solutions. Through the evaluation of over 4 million private rural properties from the Rural Environmental Cadastre, we found that the last policy review in 2012 mainly affected the Amazon Forest. The amnesty granted to 80% of landowners of small properties prevented the restoration of 14.6 million hectares of agricultural land with a carbon sequestration potential of 2.4 gigatonnes. We found that private lands exist within the limits of public conservation areas and that between 2003 and 2020 deforestation rates in these private lands were higher than those across all conservation areas. The Rural Environmental Cadastre can be an effective tool for managing forests within private lands, with potential to integrate governance approaches to control deforestation and mitigate climate change.

Assessment of deforestation impacts on carbon sequestration in Edo State south Southern Nigeria

The stocking and sequestering of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that result from improving the carbon sink are two important ways that forested land contributes to the fight against global warming. The purpose of the study is to estimate the rate of carbon sequestration (CS) in Edo State, Nigeria, as well as the volume of deforestation and its impact on CS. To gauge the changes in carbon stock, stock-difference and gain-loss methods were employed. The gain-loss method predicts gains and losses based on off-take and growth rates, while the stock-difference approach uses actual measurements of carbon stocks over a given period of time. These two methods presuppose that changes in carbon stock and CO2 flows to or from the atmosphere are equal. To quantify the decline of the forest, geographical studies and satellite imagery were used. Comparing the area covered by forest in the same region at two distinct eras allowed researchers to determine the annual rate of change. The outcome showed that tree cover loss (TCL, kg/ha) was decreased in 18 local government regions (LGAs). As a result, throughout the baseline consideration period of 2010 to 2022, Etasko East (EE) and Estako West (ES), Ovia South East (OSW), and Ovia North have had the least loss in tree cover. The increased demand on human survival brought on by the expanding population may provide an explanation for this observation and discovery. As a result of this development, forests underwent transformation and were used to produce food, build cities and homes, and generate energy. The region with the highest rates of tree cover loss and deforestation was associated with the highest CS, which was calculated at 2700 tC/ha at OSW, and the lowest CS value point at 22.2 tC/ha at Oredo Edo (OE). As a result, OSW showed that dense forests had higher biomass carbon storage than grazing land and open forests. In conclusion, the study showed that Edo State has a significant potential for raising the level of carbon sequestration in order for the state to generate a profit from the sale of carbon stock and enhance climate change mitigation efforts.

PERAN PERUSAHAAN MULTINASIONAL TERHADAP PERUBAHAN UPAYA PENANGANAN DEFORESTASI BRASIL DI AMAZON

The Amazon are being destroyed every year due to land conversion and fires. Brazil has committed to reduce deforestation rates with various policies. Unfortunately, since Jair Bolsonaro took office as President of Brazil in 2019, the commitment to reduce deforestation of the Amazon has been faded. Commitment shifting is indirectly driven by international trade carried out by multinational corporation, especially multinational corporation which enggaged in the global supply chain for cattle ranching and soybean agriculture, both of these sectors are contribute to the majority of deforestation in the Amazon. This study presents the formulation of the problem is "What is the role of multinational corporation in Brazilian policy changes in the forest management and deforestation of the Amazon?". By using dependency theory, this study argues that Brazil as a developing country is under the shadows of the interests of multinational corporation due to inequality, inevitably the government accommodate these interests in changing policies to expand the expansion of multinational corporation in the Amazon, especially those related to the exploitation of natural resources and deforestation. This research is a qualitative research using descriptive research type. This research finds that inequality in global capitalism brings exploitative development in Brazil, especially to deforestation for commercial land conversion and this condition is accommodated by the Brazilian government under Jair Bolsonaro.

Comparison of two landslide hazard zonation methods in the volcanic terrain of Temanggung Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

Landslides are a recurring phenomenon that disrupts the natural environment and causes yearly property damage, economic losses, and fatalities. The damage is expected to increase due to deforestation rates, population growth, agriculture, slope-building infrastructure expansion, and global climate change. This study assesses the susceptibility to landslides through Weight of Evidence (WoE) and Frequency Ratio (FR) methods in the Temanggung Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia, that located on the slopes of two active volcanoes. Initially, a landslide record and the input parameters of the landslide controlling factors were prepared from field surveys, remote sensing data, and secondary data and processed by a geographic information system (GIS). Six landslide parameters in thematic layer maps were selected to develop landslide susceptibility: slope, lithology type, geological structure density, land cover, and rainfall. According to the WoE and FR models, a landslide susceptibility zoning map was classified into four landslide-prone zones from low to very high. Finally, the success and predictive rate curves method confirmed the landslide susceptibility maps to check the model accuracy. The results showed that the landslide susceptibility map using the WoE method had better accuracy than the FR method, with a success rate of 78.48% and a prediction rate of 81.1%. In comparison, the FR method was 74.53% for the success rate and 78.48% for the prediction rate. These landslide susceptibility maps can be used as a guideline to develop land-use planning and landslide disaster mitigation.

An animal crisis caused by pollution, deforestation, and warming in the late 21st century and exacerbation by nuclear war

An environmental–animal crisis is currently ongoing and is becoming increasingly severe due to human activity. However, the magnitude, timing, and processes related to this crisis are unclear. This paper clarifies the likely magnitude and timing of animal extinctions and changes in the contribution rates of select causes (global warming, pollution, deforestation, and two hypothetical nuclear conflicts) of animal extinctions during 2000–2300 CE. This paper demonstrates that an animal crisis marked by a 5–13% terrestrial tetrapod species loss and 2–6% marine animal species loss will occur in the next generation during 2060–2080 CE if humans do not engage in nuclear wars. These variations are due to magnitudes of pollution, deforestation, and global warming. The main causes of this crisis will change from pollution and deforestation to deforestation in 2030 under the low CO2 emission scenarios but will change from pollution and deforestation to deforestation in 2070 and then to deforestation and global warming after 2090 under the medium CO2 emissions. A nuclear conflict will increase animal species loss up to approximately 40–70% for terrestrial tetrapod species and 25–50% for marine animal species, including errors. Therefore, this study shows that the animal species conservation priority is to prevent nuclear war, reduce deforestation rates, decrease pollution, and limit global warming, in this order.

The Conference of Parties - 27 (COP-27) Agreement As an Instrument of State Policy in Handling Deforestation: A Comparative Study of Sweden and Indonesian Governments

The climate crisis is a threat to countries in the world. One of the factors causing the climate crisis is deforestation. Indonesia as the third largest tropical forest country in the world certainly has an impact on the world's climate. Indonesia is a victim of deforestation, moreover reforestation of forest land does not match the rate of deforestation. This research is a normative legal study, using comparative, conceptual, and regulatory approaches. This study discusses the implementation of the Conference of Parties - 27 (COP-27 ) agreement as the basis for establishing policy instruments in Indonesia in dealing with deforestation and looks at Sweden as a comparison in handling deforestation through a policy instrument scheme. This study found that Sweden, through its green politics concept, was able to control the harvesting and utilization of forest products effectively. COP-27 has environmental control principles, one of which is the global net zero principle, namely the earth's temperature is no more than 1.5 degrees. it is hoped that the principles in COP-27 will guide the Indonesian government in making legal policy instruments for environmental management, especially handling deforestation. This research suggests that, like Sweden's green politics, Indonesia needs to present strategic policies through the Green Environmentally Concept policy through policy instruments, be it through laws and regulations, government regulations, or presidential regulations to the level of regional regulations.

Evaluating the Socioeconomic Factors on Deforestation in Northern Pakistan: A Study on Existing Economic Incentive Tools for Reducing Deforestation

Deforestation is a common threat to the environment that has a substantial impact on the forest’s distribution across territorial boundaries. It is simply defined as the loss of forest cover, which most commonly occurs as a result of deforestation for various reasons. Pakistan is among those countries which have a very high deforestation rate. This paper analyzes the various socioeconomic factors which cause deforestation in northern Pakistan and the existing economic incentive tools for reducing deforestation. Data collected from 602 respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a logistic regression model, while the Likert scale was used to determine the mean socioeconomic factor score encouraging deforestation and the economic incentives used to reduce deforestation. Gender distributions showed that the majority (65.9%) of the respondents were male while 34.1% were female. On family size, the majority of the respondents (66.8%) had a family size of 5–8. On age, between 21–25 years (46.0%) recorded the highest number. The average age of the respondents was 24 years. Educationally, 13.8% had a master’s education, 11.1% a bachelor’s education, 4.3% no formal education, 5.6% a higher education level, meaning master’s or PhD students, 56.1% had a primary education, and 9.0% had a secondary education. On occupation, the majority (50.4%) of the respondents were involved in farming as their main occupation. On income, the major income recorded a mean of 25,000 net, while the minor income recorded a mean of 15,500 net. Setting the forest ablaze, increasing farming activities, low level of literacy, increasing timber mafia, growing population, and poverty were the socioeconomic factors found. The economic incentives listed were for forest crop subsidies, an enhanced system of taxes on exploited forest products, the acquisition of well-monitored hunting licenses, alternative job opportunities, credit provision, and a limited ban on round log exports. The results of the logit regression established that rewarding socioeconomic factors were statistically significant variables at (p < 0.05). Conclusively, if adequately controlled and applied, economic incentives can be an important instrument for reducing deforestation. Therefore, deforestation activities cannot be entirely eradicated but they can be reduced to the barest minimum by properly enforcing forest policies in terms of efficient forest policing. The goals of this study are to help with the implementation of appropriate policies and decision-making in forest management, as well as to provide a foundation for future scenario analysis of deforestation potential or to investigate potential environmental and human implications.

Dynamics of past forest cover changes and future scenarios with implications for soil degradation in Misiones rainforest, Argentina

Misiones rainforest is one of the most threatened subtropical forests worldwide. Anthropogenic pressure by agriculture and forestry expansion continues transforming landscapes with negative consequences on ecosystem service provision, such as soil erosion control. Understanding how land use and land cover change (LUCC) management, policies, and social factors influenced in the past, allows decision-makers to anticipate potential effects on future land use and soil loss, contributing to the sustainable planning and management of productive activities. We developed three spatially explicit scenarios for Misiones province by 2030 using the Dinamica EGO modeling platform: 1) Business as Usual (BAU), 2) Low Deforestation (ALTlow), and 3) High Deforestation (ALThigh), based on different international and domestic socioeconomic contexts. We used land cover data from 2002 to 2015 as well as biophysical, social-infrastructure, political-administrative factors, and legal restrictions to estimate changes that may occur by 2030. We analyzed magnitude, intensity, and spatial pattern of future forest cover changes through transition rates and a cellular automata allocation model. Moreover, we used the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine soil water erosion and soil loss tolerance in each scenario. Our results revealed that around 19% of the remaining native forest would be transformed into either agriculture or cultivated forest by 2030 for all scenarios. In addition, and contrary to that trend, the ALTlow scenario showed a recovery of 3% of native forest. Regarding soil erosion, our study indicated that the mean annual soil loss by 2030 would range from 12.03 to 19.15 t. ha−1.year−1 for ALTlow and ALThigh scenarios, respectively. Additionally, between 21% and 31% of Misiones province showed soil loss values higher than tolerance. Our work shows that a 10% decrease in the deforestation rate, compared to the current rate, would lead not only to a recovery of native forest cover, but also to a reduction in soil loss of about 4.5 Mt.yr−1 by 2030. This study demonstrates the suitability of the applied model to simulate future LUCC processes and provides inputs for decision-making involving natural resource management and the potential impacts of these decisions on ecosystem services. Finally, our results highlight the need for appropriate policies and regulations, especially, in terms of land use change restrictions in areas of high erosion risk.

Land Cover Changes Utilising Landsat Satellite Imageries for the Kumasi Metropolis and Its Adjoining Municipalities in Ghana (1986-2022).

Forest loss, unbridled urbanisation, and the loss of arable lands have become contentious issues for the sustainable management of land. Landsat satellite images for 1986, 2003, 2013, and 2022, covering the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and its adjoining municipalities, were used to analyse the Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes. The machine learning algorithm, Support Vector Machine (SVM), was used for the satellite image classification that led to the generation of the LULC maps. The Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalised Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) were analysed to assess the correlations between the indices. The image overlays of the forest and urban extents and the calculation of the annual deforestation rates were evaluated. The study revealed decreasing trends in forestlands, increased urban/built-up areas (similar to the image overlays), and a decline in agricultural lands. However, there was a negative relationship between the NDVI and NDBI. The results corroborate the pressing need for the assessment of LULC utilising satellite sensors. This paper contributes to the existing outlines for evolving land design for the promotion of sustainable land use.

A Worrying Future for River Flows in the Brazilian Cerrado Provoked by Land Use and Climate Changes

In this study, we assessed the impacts of land use and climate changes on the river flows of 81 watersheds within the Cerrado biome, Brazil, based on a comprehensive analysis of field and secondary data acquired between 1985 and 2018. Complementarily, we projected a future deforestation and climate scenario up to 2050 and predicted their impacts on surface water in the study area. We observed that direct impacts by large-scale deforestation oriented to the production of irrigated agricultural commodities have more significantly impacted river flows than climate changes. We estimated an average decrease of 8.7% and 6.7% in the streamflow due to deforestation and climate changes, respectively. Most of the observed changes (56.7%) were due to land use and land cover changes and occurred in recent decades. Climate and land use and land cover changes combined were responsible for a total surface water reduction of −19,718 m³/s within the Cerrado watersheds. By assuming the current deforestation rates, we predicted a total water reduction of 23,653 m³/s by 2050, equivalent to a decrease of 33.9% of the river flows in the study region. It will cause severe streamflow discontinuity in many rivers and strongly affect agricultural, electric power production, biodiversity, and water supply, especially during dry seasons in that region.

The Pine-Oak Forest of the Rio Conchos Basin, Mexico: Key to Rain Production and Soil Erosion Control

Under the current climate crisis, the ecological integrity of forest ecosystems is key to increasing resilience and the sustainability of water and soil resources. Most forests around the world have experienced deforestation and degradation in the past few decades; however, the rate at which these occur varies depending on many factors, including the type of trees, management, and climate. We conducted a review of the deforestation, degradation, and soil erosion of the pine-oak forest within the Rio Conchos basin in northern Mexico. Preference was given to recent studies (last 10 years) conducted within this basin. Out of 27 recent publications on oak forests in Mexico, 19 focused on this forest and half of them were in Spanish. The results show that pine trees are more affected than oak trees, also that the deforestation rate has increased with time and is greater at higher elevations, making this area vulnerable to loss of topsoil during extreme hydrological events. Studies report an annual change in cover rate between 1985 and 2016 of −1.2% for pine, oak and mix vegetation. More recently, between 2000 and 2018, the change in pine cover was calculated as −2.8% concurrent with a +3.4% increase in cover of oak and other secondary vegetation. Proposed conservation strategies vary from runoff control to increased collaboration between landowners, government agencies, and stakeholders.

Analysis of land cover change due to deforestation at Holiday Resort Nature Park, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

. Deforestation activities in Indonesia are increasingly becoming a real concern. All of these actions resulted in the loss of 50% of the world's tropical forests, impacting the livelihoods of forest-dependent people. Changes in land cover are common in natural resource use areas. Land change is an important issue for planners and policymakers. One of them is the encroachment of the Holiday Resort Nature Park (HRNP) area of North Sumatra Province, which is a form of forest governance and weak law enforcement. Especially in this area, there are Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus), which are classified as critically endangered species. Analysis of land cover change can be used as material for formulating policies. By utilizing the Geographic Information System (GIS), it will be easier to analyze land cover and land use changes. The purpose of this study was to analyze land cover changes due to deforestation at HRNP. Spatial analysis of cover change using imagery and testing the accuracy of deforestation data, land cover satellite imagery, and verification in the field. The results showed that during the past 30 years, there has been deforestation from secondary dryland forest of 2079.3 ha to forest, namely swamp shrubs covering an area of 30.5 ha (1.5%) and non-forest covering an area of 2048.8 ha (98.6%). The highest deforestation rate occurred from 1996 to 2000 as much as 2027.3 ha (97.5%). The form of land cover due to deforestation is plantations 1990.8 ha (95.7%) and land cover forms 57.8 ha (2.8%). The conclusion shows that deforestation was triggered by weak law enforcement from the beginning until now, thus providing a more realistic opportunity for communities to encroach

In the Question of Geospatial Information Data Use in the Forestry Legislation Making in Indonesia

The high rate of deforestation and many forest disputes in Indonesia show that forest management in Indonesia is not based on the principles of good forest governance. It also shows that there is still a lack of attention to the aspect of sustainable forest development which focuses on a balanced sustainability condition between the three forest functions (production, ecology, and socio-economic functions). Geospatial Information is expected to be the solution to help provide an accurate data and information which mapping forest development in accordance with the conditions of each forest area, so that the three functions can operate coherently. Furthermore, with the presence of integrated geospatial data, it can be used as a tool in policy formulation, decision making, and/or dispute resolution in the forestry sector. This paper applies empirical juridical research consisting participatory methods through discussions and interviews with related parties. In practice, the legal materials are firstly collected by using inventory and documentation. Then, it’s completed by interviews and Focus Group Discussion data. Moreover, it also applies statutory, conceptual, and case approaches. This paper highlights the use of geospatial information data in the forestry legislation making in Indonesia. Hence, this paper will present new information about the model of forestry dispute resolution based on geospatial information.

Forest Segmentation with Spatial Pyramid Pooling Modules: A Surveillance System Based on Satellite Images

The global deforestation rate continues to worsen each year, and will eventually lead to various negative consequences for humans and the environment. It is essential to develop an effective forest monitoring system to detect any changes in forest areas, in particular, by monitoring the progress of forest conservation efforts. In general, changes in forest status are difficult to annotate manually, whereby the boundaries can be small in size or hard to discern, especially in areas that are bordering residential areas. The previously implemented forest monitoring systems were ineffective due to their use of low-resolution satellite images and the inefficiency of drone-based data that offer a limited field of view. Most government agencies also still rely on manual annotation, which makes the monitoring process time-consuming, tedious, and expensive. Therefore, the goal of this study is to overcome these issues by developing a forest monitoring system that relies on a robust deep semantic segmentation network that is capable of discerning forest boundaries automatically, so that any changes over the years can be tracked. The backbone of this system is based on satellite imaging supplied to a modified U-Net deep architecture to incorporate multi-scale modules to deliver the semantic segmentation output. A dataset of 6048 Landsat-8 satellite sub-images that were taken from eight land parcels of forest areas was collected and annotated, and then further divided into training and testing datasets. The novelty of this system is the optimal integration of the spatial pyramid pooling (SPP) mechanism into the base model, which allows the model to effectively segment forest areas regardless of their varying sizes, patterns, and colors. To investigate the impact of SPP on the forest segmentation system, a set of experiments was conducted by integrating several variants of SPP ranging from two to four parallel paths with different combinations of pooling kernel size, placed at the bottleneck layer of the U-Net model. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the SPP module in improving the performance of the forest segmentation system by 2.57%, 6.74%, and 7.75% in accuracy (acc), intersection over union (IoU), and F1-score (F1score), respectively. The best SPP variant consists of four parallel paths with a combination of pooling kernel sizes of 2×2, 4×4, 6×6, and 8×8 pixels that produced the highest acc, IoU, and F1score of 86.71%, 75.59%, and 82.88%, respectively. As a result, the multi-scale module improved the proposed forest segmentation system, making it a highly useful system for government and private agencies in tracking any changes in forest areas.

Are indicators useful for measuring and supporting the sustainability of forest use? A Zambian case study

Widespread dependence of rural communities on forest products is recognised, however, existing data on forest product use are limited and may not reflect current trends, as dependence patterns change over time. In the context of rapid deforestation, high levels of poverty, and associated reliance on natural resources such as forest products to support livelihoods, it is important to understand the current role of forests for supporting livelihoods so that these can be incorporated into policy and forest management efforts. Effective policies should go a step further and consider attitudes and behaviours of forest product users and attempt to understand linkages between behaviour and forest use. Being able to measure the sustainability of forest use (i.e. the impact of behaviours on the provisioning forest ecosystem) by using a composite indicator approach, is useful if we are to understand the potential impact of changes in behaviour or use patterns and if we hope to make changes that will result in more sustainable use. Here, we assess forest dependence using household interview data collected from 574 households in rural North-Western Zambia. Forest use data were recorded, which we used to inform the development of a forest use sustainability indicator, as were attitudes to forests and forest management, in an area where livelihoods depend on forest resources, with the backdrop of rapid national population growth and deforestation rates. While forest dependence among households was high (97% of households used forest products) and attitudes were generally pro-forest conservation, actual forest use (behaviour) showed signs of being unsustainable, based on the sustainability indicator used to measure forest use sustainability. By using an indicator approach to measure the sustainability of forest use at a household level, we were able to calculate projections of future sustainability based on theoretical future changes in harvesting practices. Local level quantifications of sustainability using standardised tools such as composite indicators could contribute to greater transparency in the process of analysing factors affecting sustainability and the development of appropriate, inclusive, and situation-specific policy to address the sustainability of forest use.

Assessing the value of biodiversity‐specific footprinting metrics linked to South American soy trade

Abstract International demand for a small handful of commodities is a major driver of tropical deforestation and associated biodiversity loss. Previous commitments to reduce commodity‐driven deforestation have largely failed, yet there are currently various proposals in place globally, which aim to address the challenge of reducing overseas environmental impacts of supply chains. However, many of these are highly focused on the issue of deforestation alone. Given that biodiversity objectives are often cited alongside protection of forests, deforestation rates are therefore often used as a proxy for biodiversity loss. Assessments exploring deforestation risk linked to commodity supply chains, enabled by increasingly granular information on sourcing patterns, therefore potentially overlook other important biodiversity concerns. In response, we examine sourcing risks across three producer countries in South America for both forest loss and biodiversity for the example of soy production and trade, which has one of the largest embodied deforestation footprints in international supply chains. Using IUCN and Birdlife data, we create four simple biodiversity metrics to represent different aspects of species‐related biodiversity risk and link both these, and a forest loss metric representing soy driven deforestation, to sub‐national supply chain data to examine risks for the two largest importers from each producer country. We find relatively little evidence of convergence between forest loss and biodiversity metrics, as well as divergence between the four biodiversity indicators both for different importers and across landscapes. This suggests not only that forest loss alone is unlikely to be an adequate proxy for biodiversity, especially at larger spatial scales when considering risks across sourcing patterns, but also that further work is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of interactions between more complex measures of biodiversity and their consequences for informing supply chain activities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The role of elections as drivers of tropical deforestation

Tropical forests support immense biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services for billions of people. Despite this value, tropical deforestation continues at a high rate. Emerging evidence suggests that elections can play an important role in shaping deforestation, for instance by incentivising politicians to allow increased utilisation of forests in return for political support. Nevertheless, the role of elections as driver of deforestation has not yet been comprehensively tested at broad geographic scales. Here, we created an annual database from 2001 to 2018 on political elections and forest loss for 55 tropical nations and modelled the effect of elections on deforestation. In total, 1.5 million km2 of forest was lost during this time period, especially in the Amazon, the Congo Basin and in Southeast Asia. The annual rate of deforestation increased in 37 (67 %) of the analysed countries. Deforestation was significantly lower in years with uncompetitive lower chamber elections compared to competitive election years (i.e. when the opposition can participate in elections and has a legitimate chance to gain governmental power). Our results show a pervasive loss of tropical forests and suggest that competitive elections can be potential drivers of deforestation. Future analyses at higher resolution (intra-annual deforestation and sub-national governance) and simultaneous collection of data on additional mechanisms (legislative changes, financial investments, and binding term limits) will likely provide additional insights into the impacts of elections. We therefore recommend that organisations monitoring election transparency and fairness should also monitor environmental impacts such as forest loss, habitat destruction and resource exploitation.

Transnational agricultural land acquisitions threaten biodiversity in the Global South

Agricultural large-scale land acquisitions have been linked with enhanced deforestation and land use change. Yet the extent to which transnational agricultural large-scale land acquisitions (TALSLAs) contribute to—or merely correlate with—deforestation, and the expected biodiversity impacts of the intended land use changes across ecosystems, remains unclear. We examine 178 georeferenced TALSLA locations in 40 countries to address this gap. While forest cover within TALSLAs decreased by 17% between 2000 and 2018 and became more fragmented, the spatio-temporal patterns of deforestation varied substantially across regions. While deforestation rates within initially forested TALSLAs were 1.5 (Asia) to 2 times (Africa) higher than immediately surrounding areas, we detected no such difference in Europe and Latin America. Our findings suggest that, whereas TALSLAs may have accelerated forest loss in Asia, a different mechanism might emerge in Africa where TALSLAs target areas already experiencing elevated deforestation. Regarding biodiversity (here focused on vertebrate species), we find that nearly all (91%) studied deals will likely experience substantial losses in relative species richness (−14.1% on average within each deal)—with mixed outcomes for relative abundance—due to the intended land use transitions. We also find that 39% of TALSLAs fall at least partially within biodiversity hotspots, placing these areas at heightened risk of biodiversity loss. Taken together, these findings suggest distinct regional differences in the nature of the association between TALSLAs and forest loss and provide new evidence of TALSLAs as an emerging threat to biodiversity in the Global South.

The effects of the synergy of community and government management practices on forest reserves in Ghana: the case of Mpameso forest

ABSTRACT There is increasing evidence of the high deforestation rate of Ghana’s forest reserves as a result of non-proper management. This study focused on deepening the understanding of the prospects and challenges in the management of the Mpameso Forest Reserve in Ghana. Based on a qualitative study, major stakeholders such as traditional heads, community members, and members of the forestry department were interviewed. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results show that respondents were aware of the relevance of the forest reserve. Though there is a collaborative effort between the forestry commission, the chiefs, and the communities, challenges such as a lack of collaboration between chiefs and the forestry department in the district, and encroachment by community members, among other factors, affected the sustainability of the forest reserve.. The study recommends an alternative livelihood should be provided, consideration for the creation of an ecotourism park, and intensification of the enforcement of laws protecting the forest reserve and its sanctions.