Cattle cool down and drink water at a man-made reservoir in the mountains near Ignacio, Colorado June 11, 2014. The land where the cattle graze is leased from the Forest Service by third-generation rancher Steve Pargin. Several times a year, he and a crew
IN PHOTO: Cattle cool down and drink water at a man-made reservoir in the mountains near Ignacio, Colorado June 11, 2014. The land where the cattle graze is leased from the Forest Service by third-generation rancher Steve Pargin. Several times a year, he and a crew led by his head cowboy, David Thompson, spend a week or more herding cattle from mountain range to mountain range to prevent them from causing damage to fragile ecosystems by staying in a single area too long. Picture taken June 11, 2014. Reuters/Lucas Jackson

Washington-based Center for Global Development has predicted that an India-sized piece of tropical forest could soon be gone if the current trend of deforestation continues. Using the data from satellite imagery, the researchers have further concluded that the complete elimination of 289 million hectares of tropical forest can take place by 2050.

Based on the data and satellite imagery collected from over 100 countries, the researchers figured out the total area of the tropical forests that could be under threat of deforestation. The study, conducted by the team from the Center for Global Development, further suggests that the accelerating climate change could potentially result in some serious impact to the tropical forests.

The researchers have estimated that if the deforestation continues at the same pace, another 169 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide could be added to the atmosphere by 2050. The estimated amount of carbon dioxide is equivalent to the gas released by 44,000 coal-powered plants, if ran continuously for over a year.

The environmental economist and study researcher, Jonah Busch, believes that one of the cheapest ways to fight climate change is to reduce the tropical deforestation. Busch further suggests putting a tax on carbon emissions to ensure that the countries around the globe are making an effort to protect their indigenous forests.

“The biggest driver of tropical deforestation by far is industrial agriculture to produce globally traded commodities, including soy and palm oil,” said Busc in a statement. The study predicts that if no efforts are taken to make a change to the current situation, then the rate of deforestation is bound to increase between 2020 and 2030, and expected to accelerate at around 2040.

The Guardian reports that the study also cites examples of cases where effective control measures have been taken to manage deforestation, without impacting the total economic growth within the country. For example, Brazil was successful in controlling the deforestation in the Amazon forest by almost 80 per cent through strict satellite monitoring and law enforcement.

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