EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Three-quarters is driven by agriculture. Beef production is responsible for 41% of deforestation; palm oil and soybeans account for another 18%; and logging for paper and wood across the tropics, another 13%.

Detailed explanation-2: -Agriculture is the main driver of deforestation. Eighty per cent of global forest loss is due to converting forests to farmland to produce agricultural commodities, such as beef, palm oil, soy, cocoa, rubber, coffee and timber which are largely exported.

Detailed explanation-3: -The single biggest direct cause of tropical deforestation is conversion to cropland and pasture, mostly for subsistence, which is growing crops or raising livestock to meet daily needs. The conversion to agricultural land usually results from multiple direct factors.

Detailed explanation-4: -Subsistence farming is responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for 32%; logging is responsible for 14%, and fuel wood removals make up 5%. Experts do not agree on whether industrial logging is an important contributor to global deforestation.