By Euronews Green
Published on
Humans are used to thinking of trees as a reusable resource, but new analysis suggests that a third of all forest loss this century is irreversible.
The report from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Google DeepMind offers the most detailed view to date of what’s driving deforestation, by identifying causes of permanent loss like agriculture, mining, and infrastructure.
It found that 34 per cent (177 million hectares) of all global forest loss between 2001 and 2024 is permanent, as trees in those areas are unlikely to grow back naturally. Ongoing agriculture is responsible for 95 per cent of that total, though there are wide regional differences.
“We’ve long known where forests are being lost. Now we better understand why,” says Michelle Sims, research associate at WRI. “This knowledge is essential to developing smarter actions at the regional, national and even local level – to protect remaining forests and restore degraded ones”.
Concerningly, the proportion of forest erasure tied to permanent land use change rises to 61 per cent in tropical rainforests, home to Earth’s most vital ecosystems for biodiversity and carbon storage. That’s 50.7 million hectares – or an area nearly the size of Thailand – gone for good.
What is the main cause of tree loss in Europe?
In Europe, the researchers found that 91 per cent of tree cover loss is due to timber harvesting, much of it within managed forests where regrowth is planned.
In heavily forested Sweden, for example, the routine harvest of timber caused 98 per cent of all tree cover loss from 2001-2024 (6 million hectares). The Nordic nation is one of the world’s largest producers of wood products, including pulp, paper and other sawn wood materials.
After trees are harvested, they are replanted or allowed to naturally regenerate. In theory, this means that tree cover loss is temporary and balanced by regrowth in managed cycles.
But globally speaking, even the two-thirds of forest loss driven by ‘temporary’ causes, such as logging, wildfires, natural disturbances or shifting cultivation, can leave deep scars.
Forest regeneration depends on how the land is managed afterwards, the type of forest and the degree of environmental stress it faces, the report cautions.
“Just because trees grow back doesn’t mean forests return to their original state,” says Radost Stanimirova, research associate at WRI.
“They might store less carbon, have fewer species or be more vulnerable to future damage. And climate change is making many natural events like fires and pest outbreaks more intense and frequent, which makes it harder for forests to recover.”
In temperate and boreal regions such as Russia and North America, logging and wildfires – often triggered by lightning or human activity, then fanned by climate change – are the primary drivers of forest loss.
How can the new data help protect forests?
Thanks to an advanced AI model and satellite imagery, the findings represent a significant advancement in forest intelligence.
By pinpointing the underlying causes of forest loss in different places, the data enables policymakers, companies and communities to design more targeted solutions to tackle deforestation.
WRI has some immediate recommendations, including strengthening Indigenous and local land rights, designing policies that reflect local farming and land use realities, improving how forests are managed and monitored, and ensuring infrastructure and agricultural expansion are guided by strong environmental planning.
It also stresses that local land use dynamics are shaped by global market forces. To this end, the EU’s Deforestation Regulation – which requires suppliers of palm oil, timber, coffee, beef and other commodities to prove their production did not cause forest clearance – must be enforced.
Meanwhile, the researchers add, reducing wildfire risk demands ecosystem-specific fire management and early warning systems.