Around 191,000 square miles of tree coverage was lost across the globe in 2015–2016, according to The Guardian’s report on new Global Forest Watch data.
The world lost about 77,000 square miles of forest in 2015 and 114,000 square miles in 2016—enough forest to cover the states of Nebraska and Arizona, respectively.
The most startling example of deforestation in 2015 occurred on the island of New Guinea, the third largest tract of rainforest on the planet. Deforestation skyrocketed 70 percent compared with 2014, the report said, with the major causes of forest loss being logging and palm oil companies.
Deforestation increased by 51 percent in 2016. These losses were driven largely by fire, the report said.
“We want to do more than watch [forests] disappear,” Mikaela Weisse, a Global Forest Watch research analyst, told The Guardian. “Our hope is that governments, companies, and civil society organizations can use the information we provide on when and where forests are changing to make better decisions.”
