Agriculture is often blamed for the deforestation of forests crucial for biodiversity. However, 60% of the loss of intact forests now stems from the growing global demand for various consumer products, energy or minerals.
At least that’s what researchers say in a study published in One Earth — using geolocation data and economic models — to assess the insidious impact of global exports not only on deforestation, but also on the degradation and fragmentation of intact forests on the planet.
In this large portrait, Canada is targeted as one of the countries most at risk of losing intact forests, along with Russia, Indonesia and Australia, due to the acceleration of raw material exports.
“The loss of intact forests is not just a tropical phenomenon, it also affects boreal regions, such as Canada, where many of these unique and irreplaceable forests remain”, explains Thomas Kastner, co-author of this study and senior researcher at the Senckenberg Institute for Biodiversity and Climate in Germany.
The study recalls that the integrity of primary forests, never exploited by humans, is crucial to preserve biodiversity, but also to reduce the impact of ongoing climate change, because these areas store up to three times more carbon than logged forests.
When these unique forest areas are fragmented and degraded by forest roads, electricity or gas corridors, they lose their ability to protect certain species and store greenhouse gases, these researchers point out.
Consumption
“We see that in Russia, the disappearance of intact forests is accelerating at the moment to meet the global demand for gas and wood. The European demand for palm oil is also fueling the disappearance of intact forests in Indonesia”, explains Thomas Kastner.
“Beef production is believed to drive deforestation in the Amazon, but it is difficult for consumers to realize that the production [de biens] processed involves wood and metals produced at the expense of intact forest. [Ça peut être aussi le cas] services of the tertiary sectors supplied by electricity produced from oil and gas”, explain these authors.
The global portrait of this forest disintegration — based on 2014 data — estimates that imports from China, the European Union and the United States alone were responsible for approximately 37 % of intact forest area lost in one year. Local demand is often not the cause of the degradation of these unique forests.
The loss of intact forests is not just a tropical phenomenon, it also affects boreal regions, such as Canada, where many of these unique and irreplaceable forests remain.
All in all, common consumer products in the West and in Asia (toilet paper, diapers, cell phones) are accelerating the disappearance of intact forests thousands of kilometers away, even on other continents.
In Canada, the study estimates that 139,000 hectares of intact forests have been lost to meet the needs of the American market (timber, minerals) and 38,000 hectares for the Chinese market alone. More than a third of degraded intact forests are thought to result from the high demand for construction products.
Europe squeezes life
The European Community, considered the 2e importer of products linked to deforestation in the world, adopted last December a regulation obliging companies to certify that none of the components of their products come from deforestation or forest degradation. In this way, we want to ensure, from 2024, the traceability and sustainability of products imported into European territory. Nothing like that exists in Canada.
For the consumer, believes Thomas Kastner, trying to reduce their impact on intact forests remains a headache, as the origin of the materials or energies used to produce everyday consumer goods remains obscure.
According to him, only concerted actions can stop the loss of intact forests. “It will take international efforts to counter these phenomena, which stem from global supply chains. It is possible, Europe has just done it. Another way would also be to reduce our consumption at the base, he says.
According to Pier-Olivier Boudreault, head of conservation at the Society for Nature and Parks (SNAP-Québec), this study demonstrates that Canada has an important role to play in preserving the remaining intact forests.
“It debunks the myth that only the Amazon is struggling with this problem! Europe is committed. Here, it is not only deforestation, but also the degradation of intact forests that is causing ecosystems and species such as caribou to disappear. Provinces could adopt stricter policies towards the forest industry. »