The Earth’s most varied and most mysterious ecosystem, the tropical rainforest, has been reduced to half of its original size. Most of this loss has taken place over the past five to six decades. Despite increased awareness of the key role played by the tropical forests in solving the most urgent global environment and development challenges, the rate of tropical deforestation remains alarmingly high. Looking more closely at developments in the last five to ten years, however, we can note both significant policy changes and important examples indicating that it is indeed possible to avoid continued deforestation of the magnitude that has characterized recent decades.

Year: 2015

From collection: State of the Rainforest

Cartographer: GRID-Arendal