However, deforestation is a global problem that won't be overcome by individual actions, and will require large-scale efforts by nations' leaders and social organizations to change course and reduce forest destruction.

​

​

Forests can also be restored, through replanting trees in cleared areas or simply allowing the forest ecosystem to regenerate over time. The goal of restoration is to return the forest to its original state, before it was cleared. The sooner a cleared area is reforested, the quicker the ecosystem can start to repair itself. Afterward, wildlife will return, water systems will reestablish, carbon will be sequestered and soils will be replenished.

​

​

Efforts to replant deforested areas are taking place every day. Unfortunately, some replanting is done with the goal of quickly growing trees to be exploited in the short-term by the logging industry. These often consist of monotypic plantations (less resilient, more appealing to harmful environmental management practices) such as eucalyptus or pines. This is no small effort: there are 1.3 million square km of these plantations on Earth.

​

​

At the same time, efforts to stop deforestation using more ecological management practices are also underway thanks to forest protection NGOs, eco-villages, UN initiatives and workgroups, and national governments such as New Zealand’s.

​

​

In 2020, more than 100 countries pledged to end and reverse deforestation by 2030, signing an agreement at the 26th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. A dozen countries that signed the pledge promised to provide $12 billion between 2022 and 2025 to mitigate the damage to forests from wildfires, to restore land and to assist Indigenous communities, The Guardian reported on Jan. 3. Other donors in the private sector pledged $7.2 billion, to support the development of agriculture strategies that do not rely on deforestation.

​

​

According to OECD, the human population is expected to continue to increase and reach over 9 billion people by 2050. At the current rate of consumption, and with more people inhabiting Earth, the need for more space to grow food and extract natural resources is only likely to increase – depending, of course, on tech development such as artificial foods. As the demand for food or raw materials like cotton or minerals increases, so does the need to turn forests into farmland, pastureland, or mining spots.

​

​

Everyone can do their part to curb deforestation:-

​

​

• Spread Awareness: Teach your family, friends or colleagues what deforestation is and why it is happening, the causes and consequences of deforestation, and what solutions individuals, consumers and organizations can adopt.

 

• ​Leaving Fossil Fuels and Palm Oil

​​

• Fighting illegal logging and limiting logging in old-growth forests

 

• Protecting forested areas by creating laws and policies that ensure forests are kept protected and restored and betting on land practices such as wildfire corridors

​

• Reforming trade agreements, starting to value differently products obtained through deforestation, and creating incentives for the use of sustainable forestry certifications such as FSC

​

• Educating local communities and tourists about the need to protect forests and develop and enrol in ecotourism activities.​​​