The rate at which the world’s rainforests are being destroyed increased 10% in 2022 compared with 2021, according to data from the University of Maryland and World Resources Institute.
Approximately 4.1 million hectares of rainforest, equivalent to 11 football fields, were lost every minute in 2022, amounting to the destruction of an area the size of Switzerland in 2022, CNN reported.
The destruction was due to a combination of deforestation and wildfires. Countries contributing the most of the world’s forest destruction in 2022 included Brazil (43.1%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (12.5%) and Bolivia (9.4%).
The increase in destruction came one year after 145 countries agreed to attempt to reverse increasing forest loss by 2030 as part of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use.
“Instead of consistent declines in primary forest loss to meet that goal, the trend is moving in the wrong direction,” the latest report on the rainforest destruction stated. “Indeed, humanity is not on track to meet major forest-related commitments.”
