Agriculture-driven tropical deforestation

The document finds that while agriculture drove 90-99% of tropical deforestation between 2011 and 2015, only 45-65% of that land became productive agriculture. It argues that international supply chain measures are limited because one-third to one-half of agriculture-driven deforestation does not result in actively managed land, and approximately three-quarters of agricultural expansion into forests is driven by domestic demand, particularly for beef and cereals.

• Between 2011 and 2015, agriculture was the primary driver of tropical deforestation, accounting for 90% to 99% of occurrences, yet only 45% to 65% of the deforested land was converted into productive agriculture within a few years.
• Policies targeting deforestation-free international supply chains have limited effectiveness because one-third to one-half of agriculture-driven deforestation does not lead to the creation of actively managed agricultural land.
• Domestic demand in producer countries drives approximately three-quarters of agricultural expansion into forests, with a particular emphasis on cereals, beef, and deforestation across Africa.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2022). Agriculture-driven tropical deforestation. https://www.sei.org/publications/agriculture-driven-tropical-deforestation

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Agriculture-driven tropical deforestation. 2022. https://www.sei.org/publications/agriculture-driven-tropical-deforestation.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Agriculture-driven tropical deforestation |date=8 September 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/agriculture-driven-tropical-deforestation |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2022agriculturedriven, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Agriculture-driven tropical deforestation}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/agriculture-driven-tropical-deforestation}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }