To tackle deforestation we need to focus on land use. Here's why

Sep 13, 2022

An aerial view of deforestation in the Amazon, where forest was burned as it was cleared by loggers and farmers near Porto Velho, Brazil August 29, 2019

Only a small share of deforestation – between 45 and 65% – results in the expansion of actual agricultural production. Much deforestation is 'for nothing'. Image: REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Florence Pendrill

Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

Toby Gardner

Senior Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute, Director of Trase

Patrick Meyfroidt

Georges Lemaître Earth and Climate Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute , UCLouvain, Belgium

Martin Persson

Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

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The drivers of agricultural deforestation

Agriculture often drives the clearance of forests and other ecosystems without leading to commodity production. Image: Trase

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