High-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation

Yunxia Wang (), Peter M. Hollingsworth, Deli Zhai, Christopher D. West, Jonathan M. H. Green, Huafang Chen, Kaspar Hurni, Yufang Su, Eleanor Warren-Thomas, Jianchu Xu and Antje Ahrends ()
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Yunxia Wang: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Peter M. Hollingsworth: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Deli Zhai: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Christopher D. West: University of York
Jonathan M. H. Green: University of York
Huafang Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kaspar Hurni: University of Bern
Yufang Su: Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences
Eleanor Warren-Thomas: Bangor University
Jianchu Xu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Antje Ahrends: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Nature, 2023, vol. 623, issue 7986, 340-346

Abstract: Abstract Understanding the effects of cash crop expansion on natural forest is of fundamental importance. However, for most crops there are no remotely sensed global maps1, and global deforestation impacts are estimated using models and extrapolations. Natural rubber is an example of a principal commodity for which deforestation impacts have been highly uncertain, with estimates differing more than fivefold1–4. Here we harnessed Earth observation satellite data and cloud computing5 to produce high-resolution maps of rubber (10 m pixel size) and associated deforestation (30 m pixel size) for Southeast Asia. Our maps indicate that rubber-related forest loss has been substantially underestimated in policy, by the public and in recent reports6–8. Our direct remotely sensed observations show that deforestation for rubber is at least twofold to threefold higher than suggested by figures now widely used for setting policy4. With more than 4 million hectares of forest loss for rubber since 1993 (at least 2 million hectares since 2000) and more than 1 million hectares of rubber plantations established in Key Biodiversity Areas, the effects of rubber on biodiversity and ecosystem services in Southeast Asia could be extensive. Thus, rubber deserves more attention in domestic policy, within trade agreements and in incoming due-diligence legislation.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06642-z

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