An area the size of New Zealand, some 29.7 million hectares (73.4 million acres), was stripped of tree cover during 2016, says data on Global Forest Watch, an increase of 51 percent from the previous year. “Forest fires seem to be a primary cause for this year’s spike, including dramatic fire-related degradation in Brazil,” wrote two World Resources Institute analysts in a blog.
“Recent blazes in Brazil, California, Portugal and elsewhere suggest that forest fires are not going away – indeed, they may only get worse as the planet warms. The large scale of forests affected by fire and other drivers in 2016 makes it clear that, now more than ever, we need to work together towards better forest management,” said the analysts, Mikaela Weisse and Liz Goldman.
Besides fire, agriculture, mining and logging are perennial causes of tree cover loss. The 2016 loss was the largest recorded by Global Forest Watch. It said Portugal lost 4 percent of its tree cover during 2016. “Recent deadly blazes point to another record-breaking year in 2017.” The El Nino weather pattern of 2015-16 brought drought throughout the tropics and helped set the stage for fires.