Deforestation alert, more than 6 million hectares lost globally by 2024: here are the most surprising initiatives to reverse the trend

“The forest is a peculiar organism of limitless kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and generously bestows the products of its life and activity; it offers protection to all“: the Buddha‘s words resonate like lightning in a dark and stormy sky, considering the current situation and prospects related to the future of trees and forests around the world. On the occasion of today’s International Forest Day (Friday, March 21) comes confirmation from Espresso Communication, which conducted a series of research on major international industry publications on behalf of KONE, a leading multinational elevator and escalator company. First emerges the Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera, which revealed how in 2024 alone more than 6 million hectares of forests worldwide are lost.

The effects on the Planet? Countless and devastating, starting with climate change and the succession, at increasingly regular intervals, of extreme natural events. But that’s not all because, according to the Financial Times, deforestation also turns out to be a problem for human health because it can facilitate the spread of infections. A concrete example comes from Guinea, where deforestation has been associated with the Ebola epidemic that occurred a few years ago. Here are further insights from a recent analysis by Earth.org: tree felling alters biodiversity and facilitates the spread of pathogen-carrying vectors that often cause dangerous infections, such as dengue and malaria. But are there targeted and effective solutions to reverse the trend, promote reforestation and thus safeguard Earth’s health?

The answer is yes, and it comes from the world of markets. According to Business Research Insights, the asset of so-called “tree planting services”, or all those practices and activities useful to encourage reforestation and climate improvement, will exceed 1 billion euros in sales by 2032 (+200% over 2023) with a compound average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15%. Institutional bodies and entities also play a key role, such as the British government, which plans to maximize its “forest-oriented” funding, pushing up to more than £200 million. And what about companies? They are certainly not standing idly by. Joining the World Economic Forum‘s initiative, many companies and organizations around the world have set a goal to conserve, restore and grow about one trillion trees by 2030.

One example is KONE, which stands out for its strong green footprint. Among its many initiatives, KONE supports a number of reforestation and forest protection projects, especially in Italy: “Nowadays a company has to be not only efficient, but also prove to be a responsible reality both towards people and the Planet in which we live,” says Gilberto Crippa, Head of Customer Solution Engineering at KONE Italy & Iberica, “As a 360° sustainable organization, KONE collaborates with Etifor – an environmental consulting firm, spin-off of the University of Padua and a certified B corp Benefit Society – in the development of the reforestation and environmental improvement projects of the WOWnature initiative, with the aim of actively contributing to the fight against the global climate crisis and biodiversity loss. The trees we help grow will go on to absorb carbon dioxide. In this way we promote the mitigation of the greenhouse effect and the development of balanced and resilient ecosystems within Italy’s natural heritage.” In 2024 alone, KONE‘s support helped plant more than 3,500 trees in the Italian territory.

They follow up Gilberto Crippa‘s words with new indications related to emerging technologies that will be increasingly incisive in the fight against deforestation. EnviroNews Nigeria, for example, focuses attention on so-called “biogas technologies,” which are extremely useful in limiting tree felling. How? Biogas can be produced through waste sources such as garbage and manure and offers not only a viable alternative to firewood but also an extremely clean source of energy. The fight against the massive, and sometimes uncontrolled, felling of trees is also addressed by Business Insider, which analyzes the strategic role of drones. Indeed, these devices are used to restore forests subject to fire or natural disasters. In addition, there are drones remotely guided by a live pilot, capable of transporting and later planting an average of 1,000 to 2,000 trees per hectare. Last, could the much-popular artificial intelligence possibly have been missing? Absolutely not. In fact, as Earth.com explained, there are machine learning algorithms that store vast amounts of data and, thanks to them, it is possible to predict possible deforestation risks, identify illegal logging activities and, in the end, model the impacts of climate change on forests, thus prompting professionals and volunteers to implement proactive and consolidated tree conservation strategies.