BIOtheNUMBERS

“Oil-palm plantations cover over 13 million hectares, primarily in Southeast Asia, where they have directly or indirectly replaced tropical rainforest.”

Estimates indicate “it would take between 75 and 93 years for the carbon emissions saved through use of biofuel to compensate for the carbon lost through forest conversion, depending on how the forest was cleared.”

“If the original habitat was peatland, carbon balance would take more than 600 years.”

“Conversely, planting oil palms on degraded grassland would lead to a net removal of carbon within 10 years.”

“Tropical forests also store around 46% of the world’s living terrestrial carbon, and 25% of total net global carbon emissions may stem from deforestation.”

“In 2006, 85% of the global palm-oil crop was produced in Indonesia (43%) and Malaysia (42%)”

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“Between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometers of forest (an area larger than Greece) and since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed.”

60-70% of deforestation in the Amazon results from cattle ranches

Remaining 30-40% results from small-scale subsistence agriculture.

“Despite the widespread press attention, large-scale farming (i.e. soybeans) currently contributes relatively little to total deforestation in the Amazon. Most soybean cultivation takes place outside the rainforest in the neighboring cerrado grassland ecosystem and in areas that have already been cleared. Logging results in forest degradation but rarely direct deforestation. However, studies have showed a close correlation between logging and future clearing for settlement and farming.”

Data: Mongabay