Understanding the socio-economic causes of deforestation: a global perspective

Frontiers in Forests and Global Change

Forests and Global Change

Julia-Maria Fink¹  Simona Primasova¹  Daniel Benes¹  Eliska Jiraskova¹  Petr Prochazka¹  Lukas Kobera¹  Jaroslav Cerveny¹  Jana Soukupova²  Lubos Smutka²  Josef Abrham²  Petra Sanova² 

[1]Department of Economics, Czech University of Life Science, Prague, Czechia

[2]Department of Trade and Finance, Czech University of Life Science, Prague, Czechia

关键词: deforestation;    afforestation;    economic development;    social development;    forest area;    GDP;   

DOI  :  10.3389/ffgc.2023.1288365

 received in 2023-09-04, accepted in 2023-10-05,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionThis paper investigates the links between deforestation and key economic, social, environmental, and geographical variables. We focus on per capita GDP, total forest cover, and the population across a diverse sample of countries from five continents for the last three decades.MethodsThis study utilizes a regression model using panel data to show the impact of key economic, and social variables on deforestation. Also, set of dummy variables is introduced in the paper. To enable the investigation, we use a set of dummies to capture their influence. The random effect specifications are used in this investigation. The research focuses on a period ranging from 1990 to 2020.ResultsResults show how different socio-economic variables influence deforestation. For example, disruptive events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial crisis had a negative effect on forest area development across all models. GDP per capita has different impact depending on the size of a country. Former colonies seem to have more deforestation.ConclusionsThe global environmental challenges posed by human activities and their impact on the state of forest have become increasingly evident. It is necessary to undertake policy and governance reforms to establish a solid legal framework, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and foster transparency and accountability. The promotion of sustainable agriculture and agroforestry practices can substantially alleviate pressure on forests. Furthermore, it is necessary to mitigate disruptive events like pandemics by establishing specific strategies and creating contingency plans.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Prochazka, Abrham, Cerveny, Kobera, Sanova, Benes, Fink, Jiraskova, Primasova, Soukupova and Smutka.