Global Deforestation
This section is intended to collect data on the current status of global deforestation. This is accomplished through the utilization of APIs, databases, news sources, MapBuilders, and academic journals.
Global forest loss map
Credits: University of Maryland, department of geographical sciences.
Results from time-series analysis of Landsat images characterizing forest extent and change.
Trees are defined as vegetation taller than 5m in height and are expressed as a percentage per output grid cell as ‘2000 Percent Tree Cover’. ‘Forest Cover Loss’ is defined as a stand-replacement disturbance, or a change from a forest to non-forest state, during the period 2000–2019. ‘Forest Cover Gain’ is defined as the inverse of loss, or a non-forest to forest change entirely within the period 2000–2012. ‘Forest Loss Year’ is a disaggregation of total ‘Forest Loss’ to annual time scales.
Reference 2000 and 2019 imagery are median observations from a set of quality assessment-passed growing season observations.
News List
COP30: A Decisive, Yet Bittersweet Summit for Forests
The COP30 climate summit, held in Brazil's Amazonian city of Belem, concluded with mixed feelings despite initial optimism. The summit intended to focus global attention on rainforest conservation.
A significant outcome of COP30 was the substantial f... [485 chars]
Opinion | Why Asia can’t wait for Europe to lead on deforestation-free timber
Asia’s dependence on regulatory developments in Brussels risks importing the same contradictions that hinder decisive action by the EU
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Published: 5:30am, 23 Nov 2025
Europe is once again embroiled in a pr... [2877 chars]
EU states back new delay to anti-deforestation rules
EU member states have backed a new one-year delay to landmark anti-deforestation rules that have hit a wall of opposition from businesses and trading partners, diplomats told AFP.
Already delayed by a year, the rollout of the law banning imports of p... [2625 chars]
COP30 ends with roadmap to end deforestation, ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels
The 30th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP 30) in Belem, Brazil, drew to a close late Saturday (November 22, 2025) with COP President Andrei Lago giving a personal commitment to get countries to deliberate upon two ‘road maps’ to end deforest... [3942 chars]
End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff
The world edged a small step closer to the end of the fossil fuel era on Saturday, but not by nearly enough to stave off the ravages of climate breakdown.
Countries meeting in Brazil for two weeks could manage only a voluntary agreement to begin disc... [7009 chars]
Tulfo presses DENR on forest protection spending
SEN. Erwin Tulfo renewed his call for stronger protection and conservation of the country’s forests and mountain ranges as he flagged alarming rates of deforestation during the Senate deliberations on the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Env... [2798 chars]
Climate change, Congo Basin deforestation threaten global cocoa supply: Study
Is the world ironing towards a global chocolate supply crisis? The interpretation comes following a report that indicates a cocoa shortage due to the impact of global warming.
A new analysis from Zero Carbon Analytics, an international research group... [6314 chars]
How a global plan to preserve forests launched a carbon offset debate
Efforts to preserve rainforests were high on the agenda at the latest United Nations climate conference, held at the edge of the Amazon. The journey of a UN-backed scheme to prevent deforestation through carbon payments and offsets exposes the challe... [8257 chars]
Climate Change Deforestation Amazon: Voices From Peru
Against the backdrop of COP30 – the first United Nations climate conference held in the Amazon – Indigenous communities whose rainforest preservation efforts are key to climate solutions are facing new, violent threats as a UN carbon scheme struggles... [9548 chars]
Secure land rights linked to lower deforestation in Brazil's Amazon, study shows
Who owns the rainforest—and who has the right to use it—might seem like a simple question.
But in the Brazilian Amazon, that question lies at the heart of one of the world's most persistent environmental challenges.
New research from Virginia Tech na... [3943 chars]
News API sources: NewsCatcher & GNews