A new international study has found that deforestation has caused the premature deaths of around 500,000 people over the past two decades. Researchers in Brazil, Ghana and the UK compared non-accidental mortality rates with temperature rises in regions where tropical forests have been cleared.
While earlier studies highlighted the role of forest loss in driving local warming, this is the first to quantify its human cost. According to Professor Dominick Spracklen of the University of Leeds, the findings send a clear message: “Deforestation kills.” He noted that many people may be surprised, as the immediate local dangers of cutting down forests are often overshadowed by the global climate debate and the drive for agricultural expansion.
One striking example is Mato Grosso in Brazil, where vast areas of forest have been destroyed to make way for large-scale soya plantations. Farmers in the region are now pushing to lift the soy moratorium in the Amazon, raising concerns of further clearance.
Spracklen stressed that protecting forests would save lives and also support agriculture. He explained that intact canopies reduce heat stress, regulate rainfall, and enhance farming conditions. These forests aren’t idle – they are working ecosystems that provide essential benefits to local communities as well as to the planet.