Signal 420 million hectares of forest lost since 1990

Summary

The report states that since 1990 about 420 million hectares of forest worldwide have been lost as land was converted to other uses. That is an area larger than India. The UK plays both a direct and an indirect part in this change in land use. In 2021, UK consumption of crops, cattle and timber was linked to the destruction of tropical forest estimated at 30,656 hectares around the world. The report counts habitat loss and degradation among the five main drivers of biodiversity loss. It also states that no less than three quarters of global land has been significantly altered by human activity since 1970.