Tiny Deforestation Patches Have Huge Climate Impact

AFP/APP

Paris, France: Deforestation on a small scale can have a disproportionately large impact on the climate, a new study has found, challenging the common perception that only large-scale destruction of tropical rainforests drives carbon losses.

French scientist Philippe Ciais, lead author of the study published Wednesday in Nature, said that minor clearings “are responsible for most of the carbon losses observed over the past 30 years” in tropical rainforests.

The research showed that clearances of less than two hectares, while a tiny fraction of tropical deforestation, accounted for 56 percent of carbon losses from these vital carbon sinks.

“These findings highlight the disproportionate climate impact of small-scale tropical deforestation and call for a rethink of policy,” the study said, emphasizing that local-level deforestation, often overlooked compared to large fires or chainsaw operations in hotspots like the Amazon, poses a major threat.

Tropical rainforests contain half of the carbon stored in the world’s trees, locking away heat-trapping carbon from the atmosphere. Yet they are increasingly threatened by deforestation or partial degradation caused by agriculture, logging, mining, or fires.

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Global Forest Watch estimates that in 2024, the equivalent of 18 football fields of tropical rainforest were destroyed every minute.

The research team used satellite data to examine tropical deforestation since 1990, factoring in tree regrowth where vegetation is allowed to regenerate. While large-scale fires can destroy vast areas, regrowth over time offsets much of the carbon loss.

In contrast, small-scale clearing often represents permanent land conversion for farms, roads, or villages, particularly in the Amazon and now increasingly in Southeast Asia and Africa.

“These areas have lost more carbon than they have absorbed over the past 30 years,” Ciais said. Tropical dry forests on the periphery of humid zones, however, have maintained a neutral carbon balance thanks in part to post-fire regeneration.

The study underlined that carbon losses are not inevitable. “If we were able to significantly reduce activities related to degradation and deforestation, forests could regenerate very quickly and shift from a source to a sink of carbon,” Ciais added.

For many developing nations, clearing forests remains more profitable than protecting them, a challenge highlighted at the November UN climate summit in Brazil. There, an investment fund was launched to financially reward countries that preserve their tropical forests.

Ciais emphasized that policies to combat deforestation must consider the realities faced by farmers on the ground, providing alternative sources of income to make forest protection viable.