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This summer, dangerous heatwaves have shattered records<\/a> around the world. The extreme temperatures would be As countries struggle to respond<\/a> to the sweltering weather, a new study<\/a> provides the largest and most comprehensive review yet of how to stop deforestation \u2014 a major cause of climate-warming greenhouse gases, second<\/a> only to fossil fuel emissions. Led by Conservation International climate economics expert Jonah Busch, the research distills findings from 320 peer-reviewed studies that focus on what\u2019s accelerating deforestation and how to prevent it.\u00a0<\/p>\n With international efforts to conserve nature<\/a> and fight climate change<\/a> gaining ground, Busch said he hopes the study\u2019s findings serve as a roadmap for protecting forests, \u201cone of our best allies in reducing emissions and cooling a rapidly warming planet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWorld leaders have committed to fight climate change by halting and reversing<\/a> deforestation by 2030,\u201d he added. \u201cThis new study can help guide policies and investment toward actions that support those goals \u2014 and away from those that don\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n What slows deforestation<\/strong><\/p>\n Of all the methods proven to prevent deforestation, protected areas \u2014 such as national parks, wilderness preserves and other places set aside to conserve nature \u2014 are most effective at reducing deforestation, the study found.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cProtected areas are a tried-and-true way of conserving nature and curbing the climate crisis,\u201d Busch said. “However, not all protected areas are created equal \u2014 their location is key. To really help mitigate climate change, protected areas must be in the right places.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Currently, about 17 percent<\/a> of the planet\u2019s lands are conserved, but many of those protected areas are in remote locations, where the threat of deforestation is relatively low. As countries ramp up efforts to protect 30 percent<\/a> of lands \u2014 something scientists and conservationists say is needed to stem biodiversity loss and climate change \u2014 new protected areas should be created in places where deforestation is more likely to occur in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n That means areas with higher populations and greater proximity to cities and roads, according to the study. Understanding these drivers of deforestation can help guide where new protected areas are established \u2014 and ensure they have a greater impact on protecting nature and the climate, Busch said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong>: Protected forests are a climate powerhouse<\/a><\/p>\n Additionally, the study found that deforestation rates in Indigenous territories or lands managed by Indigenous peoples are consistently low, either due to traditional land-management practices that favor forests, or because Indigenous lands tend to be in remote areas and less likely to be converted to agriculture, Busch said.<\/p>\n In 2017, Busch and his colleagues published an analysis<\/a> of deforestation using studies available at the time. In the six years since, the amount of research demonstrating that Indigenous managed lands prevent deforestation has more than doubled \u2014 providing the strongest evidence yet that upholding Indigenous land rights and officially recognizing Indigenous territories is key to reducing deforestation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trickle of evidence has become a flood,\u201d he said. \u201cIndigenous management undoubtedly slows deforestation.\u201d<\/p>\n Protecting land rights<\/a> enables Indigenous communities to practice their own systems of resource management, which in turn helps to protect lands and water \u2014 and support global conservation goals. Notably, late last year the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework<\/a>, an agreement signed by nearly 200 countries to protect nature<\/a>, formally recognized the rights and contributions of Indigenous peoples.\u00a0<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong>: To achieve global conservation goals, secure Indigenous rights<\/a><\/p>\n Other successful approaches to preventing deforestation are based on creating financial incentives for communities to keep forests intact \u2014 for example, by valuing the carbon<\/a> that trees remove from the atmosphere and store in their trunks and soils. The study found that providing benefits to communities that keep their trees standing lowers deforestation rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, revenues from the sale of Additionally, the study found that commodity certification programs, which allow farmers to sell coffee, palm oil or other products at a higher price in return for protecting trees, are also connected to lower rates of deforestation \u2014 as are companies\u2019 commitments to ending deforestation in their supply chains.\u00a0<\/p>\n What accelerates deforestation<\/strong><\/p>\n What\u2019s the main driver of deforestation in the tropics? In a word: Agriculture. It\u2019s responsible for 90 percent of all tropical deforestation, which roughly amounts to 9 million hectares<\/a> (22 million acres) of forest destroyed annually \u2014 the equivalent of more than 8 million soccer fields.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why is agriculture so damaging to forests? It comes down to economic incentives, Busch said.<\/p>\n \u201cLand is valuable and scarce,\u201d he said. \u201cThe economic value of cutting down forests for growing crops is consistently well-reflected in global markets \u2014 in short, it\u2019s a moneymaker. But despite the huge benefits trees provide in terms of clean water, the ability to store climate-warming carbon and so much more, global markets don\u2019t value standing forests in the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, there were other drivers of deforestation that surprised Busch, either because they\u2019d never before been identified in a peer-reviewed paper, or because they went against conventional wisdom.<\/p>\n For example, Busch pointed to a persistent myth that poverty drives people to deforest their lands to grow crops and meet basic needs. However, again and again evidence shows that poverty doesn\u2019t cause deforestation \u2014 wealth does, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe more resources people or companies have, the more access they have to the equipment and labor needed to clear forests \u2014 and the easier they can secure credit to clear large tracts of land,\u201d Busch said.<\/p>\n The study is also the first to identify a connection between higher temperatures and more deforestation. That\u2019s perhaps because warmer and drier conditions make forests more susceptible to fire<\/a>, which is responsible for most deforestation in many parts of the world, Busch said. This finding suggests that increased deforestation may be yet another unwelcome consequence of global warming.<\/p>\n Ultimately, climate change is making forests both more vital and more vulnerable. It\u2019s a vicious circle: deforestation is driving climate change \u2014 and it\u2019s also fueled by it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis summer\u2019s record-breaking heat is a stark reminder that climate change is happening now,\u201d Busch said. \u201cForests are one of our best defenses against climate change \u2014 but only if they\u2019re left standing.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/p>\n Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates<\/a>. Also, please consider supporting our critical work<\/a>.
\n \u201cvirtually impossible<\/a>\u201d without human-caused climate change, according to an ever-growing<\/a> body of research.<\/p>\n
\n carbon credits<\/a> can generate much-needed investments in local communities \u2014 such as improving health services, funding scholarships or supporting new job opportunities. In Kenya\u2019s
\n Chyulu Hills<\/a> region \u2014 where forests have been decimated by slash-and-burn agriculture and charcoal burning for fuelwood \u2014 Conservation International and partners launched a carbon project that is helping to conserve and restore
\n 404,000 hectares<\/a> (1 million acres) of land, secure new livelihoods for the local community and prevent the release of around
\n 30 million metric tons<\/a> of carbon emissions.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
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