VCE Geography - Unit 3 - Deforestation

What are primary forests?

Also known as 'intact' or 'old growth' - these forests have had limited human contact, and contain a full range of species

What are secondary forests?

'Regrowth' or 'regenerated' forests consisting of native species that have been altered by humans. They will eventually reach a stage where they are indistinguishable from primary forests

What are 'monocultures'?

Forests of a single tree species. These are often commercial plantations such as pine for timber

What is the coverage of the world's forests?

Global forests cover 4 billion hectares of land, or about 30% of Earth's land surface

What is the annual net global deforestation loss?

Net forest loss is approximately 4.7 million hectares annually. Total deforestation is likely higher, but some grows back (hence the NET loss)

How is deforestation defined?

Long term reduction of tree canopy cover to below 10-30% (depending on type of forest). Long-term conversion to different land use is another way to distinguish between temporary and permanent deforestation vs forest loss

How is forest degradation defined?

What tree removal results in more than 10-30% of forest cover remaining

What is forest fragmentation?

Clearing some pockets of forested land, leaving a series of intact forest remaining

Where are the majority of the world's forests?

Europe (particularly Russia with its boreal forests) holds about 25% of global forest total, followed by South America with approx 20% of global total. Africa and Asia both have about 15% of global total

What has been the pattern with temperate vs tropical deforestation over time?

Temperate forests (particularly in Europe and North America) were deforested in the period 1700-1950, while tropical deforestation has increased dramatically since 1950

What are the main drivers of deforestation?

Commodity-drive agriculture (clearing to grow crops or produce meat) is 95%+ of global deforestation. Other causes include: mining and urbanisation

What are the regional differences in deforestation?

In Latin America, pasture expansion for beef (and to a lesser extent, soy) production is main cause. In SE Asia, palm oil, paper and pulp are main causes

What are indirect drivers of deforestation?

Population growth, technological change, economic development in LEDCs, policy changes

What are major drivers of forest degradation?

Fires, timber and logging, fuelwood and charcoal

What are some social causes of deforestation?

War and conflict (forest degradation through bombing); population growth; large infrastructure projects; land rights laws; lack of policing

What are the main economic drivers of deforestation?

Economic growth is the underlying driver of most deforestation; escaping poverty often means unsustainable use of resources; government subsidies for agriculture inadvertently promote deforestation

What are some natural processes that cause deforestation?

Pests and disease affect up to 2% of global forests, e.g. phytophora dieback on eucalyptus; wildfires affect up to 3% of all forests; climate change will affect forest distribution and type (e.g. Amazon becoming more savannah than forest)

What are major impacts of deforestation globally?

Formal forestry sector employs 45 million people. Timber products worth $580b. Nontimber forest products worth $124b. Species diversity continues to decline; water quality declines; immense carbon emissions (up to 10% of global total); impacts on indigenous groups that rely upon forest biomes

Where is Mato Grosso?

Western Brazil, bordering Bolivia

What are some basic facts about the Amazon?

It spans 670 million ha across 9 countries; approx. 90-140 billion tonnes of carbon stored in the forest; 34 million people live in the Amazon and depend upon its resources

What are basic facts about Mato Grosso?

Approx 90 million ha; approx 9 billion tonnes stored carbon; has population only 3.5 million, responsible for 2% of Brazil's GDP

What are major causes of Amazon deforestation?

Clearing for cattle grazing (in Brazil, more than 60% of cleared land is used as pasture with very low productivity per hectare); industrial soy production; mining; logging; dams; climate change

What have been the impacts of soy production in Mato Grosso?

Soy production has increased from 10 million to 50 million tonnes from 1980 to 2024. Much of this goes to China. Export value $10.7B.

What have been impacts of beef production in Mato Grosso?

Beef production is at 34 million head cattle in 2022. Exports rose from 66,000 tonnes to 489,000 tonnes between 2003-2022 (i.e enough to feed 20 million people). Export value $2.3B

Why has deforestation increased so much in Mato Grosso?

Policies promoting large-scale agriculture were main drivers. Government incentivised farmers to move from south of Brazil to 'open up Amazon'. Global soy markets are very strong, and Brazilian currency was weak. This all led to huge economic incentives for soy and beef production

What have been the impacts of deforestation in Mato Grosso?

Over 14 million ha have been deforested since 1988 (more than anywhere else in Brazil).

Rainfall might be rreduced by as much as 15%.

Forest fires have released million of tonnes of carbon and affected people's health.

Temp increases of up to 0.5C by 2050 could occur to localised warming.

Many species are endangered.

Malaria infection rates are up.

Brazilian deforestation could be responsible for up to 10% of global carbon emissions

What is the role of spatial technology in managing Brazilian deforestation?

Brazil has advanced deforestatio monitoring system. They use DETER (daily deforestation updates) and PRODES (long-term deforestation rates) to track changes in land use. This has shown that up to 88% of deforestation in Mato Grosso is illegal.

This has led to improved policing, and in conjunction with other policies, deforestation in Mato Grosso has reduced, while soy production is up.

However, small-scale deforestation is occuring more, as this is harder to detect via large-scale satellite imagery

What is the local response in Mato Grosso?

Known as "Produce, Conserve, Include" and developed in 2015. Aims to maximise agricultural productivity while reducing deforestation. Three-pronged approach:

1. Financial incentives for increased sustainability

2. GIS specifically measuring land use change to improve transparency and accountability

3. Stronger governance to implement the system

What is the Conserve goal for Produce, Conserve, Include?

1. To eliminate illegal deforestation by 2030.

2. To reduce deforestation from 5,700 km2 per year in 2001-2010 to 570km2 per year in 2030. This would be 90% reduction.

What is the Produce goal for Produce, Conserve, Include?

1. Increase cattle productivity from 57 to 116kg/ha/yr

2. Increase grain production from 50MT to 125MT by 2030

What is the Include goal for Produce, Conserve, Include?

1. To increase opportunities for family farming products (e.g. National School Feeding Program)

2. Improve land-tenure arrangements for farmers

How is Produce, Conserve, Include supposed to work?

By getting NGOs, local government and farmers to build 'multi-stakeholder consensus'! Establish shared goals, provide financial incentives for meeting those goals, establish new markets for products, share technologies and ideas for improving productivity

How effective has Produce, Conserve, Include been?

Overall deforestation in Mato Gross has reduced 86% from 2004 to current. Soy production has increased 132% from 2004. Police have arrested hundreds of illegal loggers.

PCI goals are ambitious, but have not been met yet, and some seem unlikely to be met by 2030

What is the national case study for deforestation?

Amazon Soy Moratorium

How did the Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM) start?

In early 2000s, deforestation in Brazil was peaking. Much of the land lost was converted to soy plantations, which ended up in Western feedlots for beef and pork production. Greenpeace released a report in 2006 condemning this practice, stating that soy had become an important driver of deforestation

When was the ASM made permanent?

In 2016.

How does Amazon Soy Moratorium work?

It is a national-level policy in Brazil (but not yet Bolivia or Peru) stating that soy production in Brazilian Amazon would only be on existing agricultural land NOT on newly deforested vegetation. It was first voluntary zero-deforestation agreement reached in the tropics

How effective has ASM been?

Deforestation due to soy dropped from 30% to 1.5% of total, while soy production increased 400%. This is a huge productivity increase - more soy on less land and less clearing of forest. It also brought 'reputational gains' for companies that could buy certified deforestation-free. However, some claim that the achievements are 'greenwashing' and that 'cattle laundering' is occurring (i.e. clear forest for cattle, and then sell it to soy farmers later - it's no longer 'newly deforested'!)

What is the global case study for deforestation?

REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation)

What is REDD+?

A program where industrialised nations fund local and regional initiatives within developing countries to reduce deforestation. It aims to create a monetary value for intact forests - make the forest more valuable standing than cut down

What are the aims of REDD+?

To reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by slowing forest loss. To increase removal of GHG from the atmosphere through conservation, management and expansion of forests

How does REDD+ work?

There are three phases:

1. Readiness - developing countries engage stakeholders, create a national strategy, develop forest reference levels

2. Implementation - the project is implemented in developing nation

3. Results-based finance - payment occurs when reductions in deforestation can be certified

How much 'results-based' finance has been paid?

Over $10billion has been pledged by wealthier nations, but only about $300 million has so far been transferred (mostly from Norway)

What are the challenges to the REDD+ system?

1. Donors eager to spend, but recipients unwilling to reform (if it was easy, the developing country would have done it already)

2. Performance criteria - what should the criteria be for 'results'.

3. Reference levels - what should reductions be measured against - i.e. 2003 or 2010 or 2015 levels of deforestation?

4. Putting credible money behind the promise - how do countries get paid if they exceed their targets? How do we 'force' wealthier nations to pay up?