GNVNews 2025 year5 month25 day

The World Resources Institute 2025 year May released a new study which found that, in 2024, the worldwide loss of primary tropical forests was nearly double year-on-year and was expected to reach a record high globally of 6.7 million hectares. For the first time, fires rather than agricultural expansion were the main driver of tropical forest loss, with losses particularly severe in Latin America.

As a background to fire-driven forest destruction, large ranches and farms carry out burning to convert land into cropland and pasture. However, drought driven by climate change and the deterioration of environmental governance have allowed these fires to spread out of control, accelerating deforestation. In addition, the expansion of agriculture and livestock, weak enforcement and monitoring of environmental regulations, and legal and political frameworks that prioritize land conversion over forest protection are cited as causes of deforestation. In Bolivia, where the area of primary forest loss expanded second only to Brazil, structural factors such as an economic crisis may also be at play. Furthermore, support from local governments and the central government has been insufficient, and primary forest loss due to non-fire causes such as illegal logging also increased between 2023 and 2024 by 14%.

Deforestation leads to rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, which in turn fuels more frequent droughts that cause fires. These fires—the primary driver of such deforestation—also lead to water pollution; lung cancer due to smoke; increased risks of infectious disease; and, because of concerns about smoke and transportation infrastructure, the loss of educational opportunities due to school closures. They also cause forced relocation and various other impacts on communities. Furthermore, under the banner of environmental protection, there are concerns about unfair discrimination and scapegoating, and the fueling of racial prejudice against Indigenous peoples who practice traditional land uses such as slash-and-burn agriculture. Researchers warn that today’s acceleration of deforestation is a “global emergency.”

Learn more about the background of deforestation in South America → “Illegal logging is encroaching on the untouched heart of the Amazon: ‘alarming’ study finds”

Learn more about the barriers to environmental protection → “Latin America: Environmental defenders under threat”

Photo: Forest fires in Bolivia (EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] )