When a forest is degraded it still exists, but it can no longer function well. It becomes a shell of its former self; its health declines until it can no longer support people and wildlife by, for example, filtering the air we breathe and water we drink or providing animals with food and places to live. Forest degradation, in terms of land mass, is an even bigger problem than deforestation: about 6.5 million square miles of forest are at high risk of degradation in the next 10 years.
There are a few main drivers of forest degradation. One is climate change: higher temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns increase the risk and severity of forest fires, pest infestation, and disease. But the main cause of forest degradation is unsustainable and illegal logging. It’s a multi-million-dollar industry, built on the increased demand for cheap lumber, paper products, and fuel.
When not done responsibly, loggers bulldoze roads into forests, extract as many high-value trees as possible, and drag the wood back out of the forest to sell. A forest degraded by illegal and unsustainable logging will have bare clearings, a spiderweb of roads, ravaged vegetation and undergrowth, and trenches carved into the forest floor.
Forest degradation is also a stepping-stone to deforestation. Once one logging company starts making roads deep into a forest, others follow behind. More loggers will come, but also miners, ranchers, and farmers who would not otherwise have had access.
