For the first time, fires, not agriculture, are the leading driver of tropical forest loss, with fire alone accounting for almost 50% of loss last year. That is according to data provided by Global Forest Watch, revealing that 6.7 million hectares of tropical forests were lost in 2024, more than double the 2023 losses, an area that is twice the size of Belgium or Taiwan.
The figures are based on analysis from the University of Maryland’s GLAD Lab and published on the Bezos Earth Fund-backed World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch platform, revealing the toll fire-fuelled deforestation is now taking on the climate and at-risk communities.
“This level of forest loss is unlike anything we’ve seen in over 20 years of data,” according to Elizabeth Goldman, the co-director of Global Forest Watch. “It’s a global red alert – a collective call to action: “It’s every country, every business and every person who cares about a liveable planet. Our economies, our communities, our health – none of it can survive without forests,” Goldman said.
And whilst there are bright sparks in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia which has halted and reversed primary loss (by 11%), of more than 20 countries with the largest primary forest area, 17 now have higher forest loss than when they signed the Glasgow Leaders Declaration in 2021, promising to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030.
The research reveals that the world saw a more than 5% increase in total tree loss, with 30 million hectares of forests lost last year. This loss—an area that equates to the size of Italy—was primarily driven by intense forest fire seasons in Canada and Russia. It marked the first time major fires raged across tropical and boreal forests since Global Forest Watch started keeping records.
Goldman and researchers from more than 50 countries said the alarming loss of tropical forests—critically important to ecosystems worldwide—amounts to an area nearly the size of Panama, with forests vanishing at a rate of 18 football fields every minute: “Fires emit 4.1 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases, four times more emissions than all commercial air travel in 2023,” according to a Global Forest Watch press release yesterday.
Of the tree losses, Brazil, the country with the largest area of tropical forest, accounted for 42% of tropical forest loss, with fires, fueled by the worst drought on record, causing 66% of that loss – a figure thay is sixfold increase from 2023, and includes the Amazon which experienced its highest rate of loss since 2016.
And whilst losses from other causes also rose by 13%—thanks to soy and cattle farming—both are much lower than peaks in the early 2000s and under Bolsonaro: “Brazil has made progress under President Lula, but the threat to forests remains,” according to Mariana Oliveira, the Director of the Forests and Land Use Program at WRI Brasil. “Without sustained investment in community fire prevention, stronger state-level enforcement, and a focus on sustainable land use, hard-won gains risk being undone,” Oliveria said.
And then there is Bolivia, which last year outpaced the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in becoming the country with the second-highest rate of forest loss. Skyrocketing more than 200% from 2023, Global Forest Watch reveals that Bolivia lost more than 1.5 million hectares of forests last year, more than half due to poorly managed fires, often used clear land for soy, cattle and sugarcane, which became megafires due to heavy drought.
“The fires that tore through Bolivia in 2024 left deep scars — not only on the land, but on the people who depend on it,” said Stasiek Czaplicki Cabezas, Bolivian researcher and Data Journalist for Revista Nomadas, adding that damage could take centuries to undo. “Across the tropics, we need stronger fire response stems and a shift away from policies that encourage dangerous land clearing, or this pattern of destruction will only get worse.”
Meanwhile, in Colombia, primary forest loss increased by almost 50%. However, unlike elsewhere in Latin America, fires were not the primary cause…instead, non-fire-related loss rose by 53%, owing to a breakdown in peace talks, including illegal mining and coca production: “In 2023, Colombia saw the biggest drop in primary fo” est loss in 20 years, proving that when government and communities work together, real change is possible,” said Joaquin Carrizosa, Senior Advisor, WRI Colombia, who said the rise in loss is a setback but shouldnt discourage policymarkers.
And in Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo (ROC) saw their highest levels of primary forest loss on record. In the ROC, primary forest loss surged 150%, with fires causing 45% of the damage, worsened by unusually hot and dry conditions. Whilst in the DRC, poverty, reliance on forests for food and energy and ongoing conflict driven by rebel groups have fueled instability and led to increased land clearing, further driving forest loss: “The high rates of forest loss in the DRC reflect the tough realities our communities are facing — poverty, conflict and a deep reliance on forests for survival,” according to Teodyl Nkuintchua, Congo Basin Strategy & Engagement Lead, WRI Africa.
Dr Matt Hansen, professor at the University of Maryland and Co-Director of the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) Lab said one of the major trends from the research was the emergence of fire in the few ‘High Forest, Low Deforestation’ countries, like the Republic of Congo: “This new dynamic is outside of current policy frameworks or intervention capabilities and will severely test our ability to maintain intact forests within a warming climate,” he said.
Achieving the Glasgow Leaders Declaration from 2021 remains a pipedream…
To meet the goal of halting forest loss by 2030, the report said the world needs to cut deforestation by 20 per cent each year starting now. But in 2024, tropical forest loss increased by 80 per cent: “Countries have repeatedly pledged to halt deforestation and forest degradation,” said Kelly Levin, chief of science, data, and systems change at the Bezos Earth Fund.
“Yet the data reveal a stark gap between promises made and progress delivered.”
Rod Taylor, director of forests and nature conservation at WRI, added: “Forest fires and land clearing are driving emissions, while the climate is already changing faster than forests can adapt. This crisis is pushing countless species to the brink and forcing Indigenous Peoples and local communities from their ancestral lands.”
According to the report, the path forward requires stronger fire prevention, deforestation-free supply chains, support for Indigenous land stewardship and greater political will, especially from countries that made bold commitments at climate summits but are failing to follow through.
