Deforestation is the logging and burning of trees in a forested area. There are several reasons for doing so: trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and are used by humans while cleared land is used as pasture, plantations of commodities and human settlement. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation, has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. Also deforested regions often degrade into wasteland.

Disregard or unawareness of intrinsic value, and lack of ascribed value, lax forest management and environmental law allow deforestation to occur on such a large scale. In many countries, deforestation is an ongoing issue which is causing extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification and displacement of indigenous people.

However, among countries with a per capita GDP of at least $4,600, net deforestation rates have ceased to increase.

Causes of anthropogenic deforestation

In simple terms, deforestation occurs because forested land is not economically viable. Increasing the amount of farmland, woods are used by native populations of over 200 million people worldwide.

The presumed value of forests as a genetic resources has never been confirmed by any economic studies. As a result owners of forested land lose money by not clearing the forest and this affects the welfare of the whole society. From the perspective of the developing world, the benefits of forest as carbon sinks or biodiversity reserves go primarily to richer developed nations and there is insufficient compensation for these services. As a result some countries simply have too much forest. Developing countries feel that some countries in the developed world, such as the United States of America, cut down their forests centuries ago and benefited greatly from this deforestation and that it is hypocritical to deny developing countries the same opportunities: that the poor shouldn't have to bear the cost of preservation when the rich created the problem.

Aside from a general agreement that deforestation occurs to increase the economic value of the land there is no agreement on what causes deforestation. Logging may be a direct source of deforestation in some areas and have no effect or be at worst an indirect source in others, due to logging roads enabling easier access for farmers wanting to clear the forest: experts do not agree on whether logging is an important contributor to global deforestation. Some believe that logging helps reduce deforestation because in developing countries, logging reserves are far larger than nature reserves. Similarly there is no consensus on whether poverty is important in deforestation. Some argue that poor people are more likely to clear forest because they have no alternatives, others that the poor lack the ability to pay for the materials and labour needed to clear forest. Claims that that population growth drives deforestation is weak and based on flawed data, with population increase due to high fertility rates being a primary driver of tropical deforestation in only 8% of cases. The FAO states that the global deforestation rate is unrelated to human population growth rate, rather it is the result of lack of technological advancement and inefficient governance. There are many causes at the root of deforestation, such as the corruption and inequitable distribution of wealth and power, population growth and overpopulation, and urbanization. Globalization is often viewed as a driver of deforestation.