Preventive Measures of Deforestation

According to the 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment, globally the deforestation rates declined in 2021 by 6.3 per cent only as compared to the 2018-20 baseline. To stop the deforestation completely by 2030, an annual reduction of 10 % is needed. At the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow (2021) around 145 countries affirmed their commitment to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. Some preventive measures for deforestation includes:

• Reforestation: Areas that have been cleared can be regrown by replanting more trees. It can provide other benefits like reducing soil erosion degradation and improving water quality.
• Afforestation: Plant trees in area that where there are no trees, creating a new forest or ecosystem. Reducing the demand on these forests. Buy certified wood products.
• Reducing meat consumption: Reducing meat consumption can save land and water and increase biodiversity. It can help reduce deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions.
• Better policy implementation: Proper implementation of policy can reduce deforestation by 50–53%. From land-use change carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 84–87%.
• Reduce paper use: One of the simplest ways to help the fight against deforestation is reducing and recycling paper. Maximize the use of the digital technology.
• Raise awareness regarding the negative effects of deforestation and benefits of reforestation or afforestation.
• Reduce consumption, Reuse and recycling forest products and spread awareness about the importance of forests.

Deforestation is the clearance of forests by cutting down trees and not replanting them. It can involve the conversion of forest land for agriculture, logging, urban development, or infrastructure projects. Effects of deforestation include soil erosion, climate change, desertification, biodiversity loss, food and fuel shortage, disruption of the water cycle, effect on human health and extinction of species. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation report around 420 million hectares of forest were lost between 1990 and 2020. The annual rate of deforestation has slowed down but was still 10 million hectares per year between 2015 and 2020.