Risk of intact forest landscape loss goes beyond global agricultural supply chains

The continued loss of unfragmented intact forest landscapes (IFLs) despite numerous global conservation initiatives indicates the need for improved knowledge of proximate and underlying drivers. Yet the role of non-agricultural activities in forest degradation and fragmentation has not received adequate attention. We focus on IFL loss caused by various economic activities and investigate the influence of global consumption and trade via the multi-regional input-output model. For IFL loss associated with the 2014 world economy, over 60% was related to final consumption of non-agricultural products. More than one-third of IFL loss was linked to export, primarily from Russia, Canada, and tropical regions to mainland China, the EU, and the United States. Of IFL loss associated with export, 51% and 26% was directly caused by logging and mining or energy extraction, respectively. The dispersed nature of IFL loss drivers and their indirect links to individual final consumers call for stronger government engagement and supply chain interventions.

Automated summary

Despite global conservation initiatives, unfragmented intact forest landscapes (IFLs) continue to be lost due to various economic activities. Non-agricultural products are major contributors to IFL loss, with over 60% linked to final consumption. Export, primarily from Russia, Canada, and tropical regions, accounts for more than one-third of IFL loss, with logging and mining as the major causes. It is crucial for governments to engage and intervene in supply chains to address the dispersed drivers of IFL loss and their indirect links to individual consumers.