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A tropical rainforest in Indonesia devastated |
The issue of sustainable management for tropical forests is progressing slowly while approximately 95% of these forests worldwide are under threat, according to a report from the International Tropical Timber Organization released on May 25.
According to Manoel Sobral Filho, the executive director of the organization, deforestation is ongoing, and if the current pace continues, half of the world’s tropical forests will vanish in the next 50 years. Currently, about 14 million hectares of tropical forest are lost each year.
In a study conducted by this organization across 33 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa, nearly 95% of tropical forests are not protected by local authorities, leading to rampant exploitation, particularly increasing deforestation in the poorest countries. The fires set to clear land have endangered biodiversity and severely impacted the ecological environment.
Mr. Manoel Sobral Filho asserts that 20% of carbon emissions in the atmosphere stem from deforestation. The situation is particularly concerning in Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines, and Nigeria. Furthermore, in war-torn regions, the headquarters of smugglers, or other criminal activities, the scale of illegal tropical forest destruction is even higher due to the perilous management of these forests.
The International Tropical Timber Organization comprises 59 member countries, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
DUC TRUONG
