Here’s an overview of why deforestation is so harmful, what can be done about it, and why it happens in the first place. Annika Terrana, a forest director at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), tells mindbodygreen that at the current rate of deforestation, “we’re losing about 30 soccer fields’ worth of forest a minute.” Most of this is occurring in 24 key regions, which the WWF calls “deforestation fronts.” “Those are areas of forests across the tropics and subtropics of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania,” Terrana explains. Deforestation can occur on primary forests (old growth that has never been significantly altered) as well as secondary forests (which have been cleared before and regrown). While both types of forests are essential to conserve for reasons we’ll get to later, primary forests are usually considered the most ecologically valuable. Forestlands tend to be very fertile, making them prime spots for growing. Clearing them can cause economic gain in the short term, but it comes at a dangerous long-term cost. Indigenous populations, who have lived in a reciprocal relationship with the forest for hundreds of years, are often hit hardest. “Indigenous peoples are quite literally on the front lines of some of this deforestation, and they’re not the ones who are perpetuating it,” Terrana adds. And carbon isn’t the only thing that trees can gobble up as they grow: Forests help remove other pollutants2 from our air and water too. And while you can plant new trees to take on some of the qualities of ancient ones, it will take decades (if not centuries) for these saplings to get established. That’s because when we destroy a tree, we also destroy the intricate underground fungal networks that the tree uses to send resources back and forth to its neighbors. We’re learning more about these networks (nicknamed, the “woodwide web”) all the time, and ongoing research reveals just how fascinating and fragile they are. A team out of the University of British Columbia, spearheaded by Suzanne Simard, Ph.D., is even suggesting that the network’s oldest trees take on maternal qualities over time: They transfer nutrients to young trees in need and protect their kin from threats. These are the mother of all trees, and they’re well worth protecting. Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
