Problem

From 2001 to 2015 3 million square kilometers of forest was lost. The loss of forest has an impact on the habitat of millions of species of which many cannot survive without the forest. Furthermore trees are a vital part of the ecosystem. They prevent desertification by moistering their soil and give shade that prevents extreme temperatures on the ground. Trees also play a crucial role in preventing global warming by absorbing greenhouse gases. Source: National Geographic

Causes

Deforistation has several causes of which some are caused by nature itself, but mostly humans are responsible for the loss of forest. 27% of the total loss of trees is permanent and was caused by land that was converted to agricultural ground. This ground is used to grow soy, timber, beef and palm oil. The causes of deforestation are different per country and continent. In South America tree loss was mostly commodity-driven. Here they cut trees to create products like soy and palm oil. In Africa the main reason for deforestation is subsistence farming. This means people are cutting down trees to create agricultural land to feed their own family. A global cause of deforestation is the cutting of trees to sell them as timber. Source: Sciencenews

Solution

It is vital for the survival of all kind of species including ourselves that we stop deforestation. One solution is to motivate large companies to clean up their supply chain and improve their policies. These policies will have to be governed by governments that themselves have to set better climate goals.