Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation between 1990 and 2023 - A global meta-analysis

Deforestation and forest degradation are continuing at alarming rates globally and are thereby contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequities. Governments have recognized that without halting deforestation, reaching global climate targets and the Sustainable Development Goals will hardly be possible, and have made respective commitments and developed dedicated policies. However, there has been no recent comprehensive analysis on the proximate causes and underlying drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. We address this gap through a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation worldwide between 1990 and 2023. We identified 234 relevant articles covering 63 countries, mainly in the tropical biome. Our findings show that deforestation is primarily caused by commercial agriculture including livestock (83 %) and to a lesser extent by wood extraction (52 %) and subsistence farming (50 %). On the other hand, forest degradation is primarily caused by wood extraction (100 %) for subsistence. However, the share of studies with a focus on degradation (n = 23) was very low, revealing that much research is still needed in this field. In most cases, underlying drivers play a key role and consist of a combination of economic, demographic, and political factors. We recommend that deforestation-related policies and commitments account for these driving factors and that they are tackled alongside the direct causes. • We provide the first comprehensive global forest loss review of the past 30 years. • Deforestation research largely concentrates on tropical regions. • Commercial agriculture including livestock is the main cause of deforestation. • Forest degradation is driven by (non-commercial) wood extraction. • Economic factors are the most important underlying drivers of forest loss.