What is deforestation and why is it a problem?
Deforestation is the term used when a natural forest is significantly damaged or destroyed by humans. This is usually done by bulldozers that push down trees or pull thick chains through a forest, or by poisoning with herbicides.
The key problem? We really need forests, and they are being wrecked at an alarming rate.
In fact, more than half of Australia’s forest and woodlands have been degraded or destroyed since Europeans arrived here.
Forests are living breathing ecosystems that produce fresh air, regulate the climate, store carbon and provide homes to billions of animals, including threatened species that are on the brink of extinction. To give you an idea of the scale of the problem, more than 7.7 million hectares of forest and woodland that were potential habitat for threatened species was bulldozed in Australia between 2000 and 2017. That’s an area bigger than Tasmania/lutruwita, gone in just 17 years.
For every 100 hectares of native woodland cleared, about 2,000 birds, 15,000 reptiles and 500 native mammals will die.
Every single year, deforestation in Australia leads to the injury, displacement and the deaths of 50 to 100 million native Australian animals.
The bulk of animals injured, displaced and killed by deforestation in Australia are reptiles. Image: Annette Ruzicka
Remember, this isn’t happening in isolation. Threatened species are facing various other pressures and deforestation makes them all worse.
As described by scientists who analysed the main pressures on Australia’s threatened plants and animals, “Habitat is the most fundamental need of species, and its continued loss will result in ongoing declines regardless of how well other threats are managed.” But deforestation isn’t just a problem for forest-dwelling animals.
Farms need healthy soils to grow crops, but bulldozing forests can bring about damaging processes like erosion that worsen soil quality. Over time, this can reduce the capacity of farms to produce food.
Deforestation also harms the climate. In Australia, our living, breathing forests lock up nearly 20,000 million tonnes of carbon, 98.9% of which is stored in native forests. Cutting down forests releases carbon into the atmosphere, and as a greenhouse gas, carbon contributes to global warming and the climate crisis.
Not only does deforestation release climate-wrecking carbon into the atmosphere, but it can also impact climate at a more local level. For example, when a forest is destroyed or degraded, there is a greater chance of drought occurring in the area.
Humans need forests too. They contribute to our basic needs provided by breathable air and a healthy climate and have proven health and wellbeing benefits. A review of 131 studies found that activities such as “forest-bathing” have beneficial therapeutic effects for people suffering from high blood pressure, stress, depression and anxiety. As further testament to the scale and many impacts of Australia’s deforestation problem, 256 leading scientists have signed an open letter calling on the federal government to put an end the destruction before the next election.
How and why are forests being destroyed?
Agriculture is the biggest driver of deforestation globally.
In Australia, more than half the landmass is used for sheep and cattle grazing. While this isn’t an issue in itself as most farmers are good land managers, the bulldozing of forests by a minority of beef producers is the main reason Australia is a global deforestation hotspot.
Most of Australia’s beef is exported, but the rest is sold in our major supermarkets and fast-food outlets. That’s why ACF is pushing these major corporations to get deforestation out of their beef supply chains and do more to support farmers who protect and restore nature.
ACF, Greenpeace and the Wilderness society outside the Coles AGM. Photos by Toby Davidson and Rashmika Jambu.
More often than not, deforestation in Australia goes unchecked and is not assessed under the national laws that are intended to protect nature.
It is often up to ACF and our community to identify and report deforestation. For example, in 2024, ACF exposed 50 deforestation cases in one week. On one Queensland beef property alone, 20 rugby fields’ worth of tropical rainforest had been bulldozed.
Bulldozed land at Red Range, NSW
Australian animals at risk from deforestation
In another case, community members helped ACF identify the illegal bulldozing of a critically endangered forest in New South Wales that provided habitat for koalas and glossy black cockatoos.
Deforestation is a key threat to Deforestation is a key threat to 60% of Australia’s listed threatened species.
At least 1,100 native vertebrate animals are ‘forest dependent’. This means, they literally need forests to survive, so deforestation is a threat to all of them.
Here are three examples of species that are directly in the firing line.
Koalas
Koalas are synonymous with the eucalyptus forests and woodlands of eastern Australia. Sadly, deforestation, mainly for the beef industry, is driving this iconic Australian animal towards extinction.
Between 2016 and 2021 in Queensland alone, 673,250 hectares of potential koala habitat was destroyed, mostly for agriculture. That’s more than four K’gari/Fraser Islands.
Deforestation is recognised as a ’severe’ and ’increasing’ threat to koalas. The species is on track to being extinct in New South Wales in 25 years without urgent government intervention.
Deforestation is a huge threat to the iconic koala. Photo: Aaron Stevenson
Swift parrots
Swift parrots need eucalyptus forests to survive, and the forests they depend on in southeastern mainland Australia and in Tasmania have been devastated by deforestation. Deliberate logging of swift parrot breeding habitat in Tasmania is still happening.
The fastest parrot in the world has now been reduced to around 500 individuals and is considered one of five Australian birds most likely to be extinct by 2041 if change isn't made to protect the forest where it breeds.
Swift parrots need trees, but logging is increasing in forest critical to the species’ survival Photo: Brendan Sydes
Greater gliders
Native forest logging, which is a form of deforestation, has also had a devastating impact on greater gliders. Even after the loggers have moved on, it takes time for forests to regrow and recover to a state that is suitable for the marsupial to live in. For example, after the mountain ash forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands were logged in the early twentieth century, greater gliders were not found there again until more than 38 years of regrowth.
Recognised as an endangered species in 2022, greater glider numbers have more than halved in just 21 years.
Greater gliders are endangered thanks in large part to the destruction of their forest homes. Photo: Josh Bowell
Regent honeyeaters
Regent honeyeaters were once common across eastern Australia, flocking in their thousands from central Queensland to the suburbs of Adelaide. Today, there are only a few hundred left.
The crash in regent honeyeater numbers is down to the bulldozing of their forest and woodland homes. Since Europeans arrived, around 90% of their preferred habitat has been destroyed, mainly to make way for agriculture and towns.
Like so many Australian animals, regent honeyeaters need forests. Experts recognise that, without the protection and restoration of habitat, all other efforts to conserve the regent honeyeater will be futile.
Queensland - leading the way in deforestation
While deforestation is a problem nation-wide, the main reason Australia is a deforestation hotspot is thanks to Queensland.
The Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) report released in 2024, showed that 323,676 hectares of forest and bushland in Queensland was degraded or destroyed in 2021-2022. 88% of this was for pasture.
To give you a clearer picture of where this places Queensland on a global scale, that’s 10 times more deforestation than there was in all of Indonesia for palm oil over a one-year period.
Research published in 2024 by the University of Queensland found that of the over 1.5 million hectares of vegetation bulldozed in Queensland and the Northern Territory alone in 2014-15 and 2019-2020, 65% was potentially not compliant with relevant laws, mainly Australia’s national nature laws. And 91% of this was for pasture.
Deforestation and the Australian economy
Australia’s economy is a nature dependent one. It needs healthy forests too.
Deforestation doesn’t make economic sense. It has negative impacts on soil, water and air quality and contributes to the climate crisis. Much of the Australian economy hinges on a safe climate and healthy nature to function.
In fact, about half of Australia’s GDP ($892 billion) is derived from sectors that have direct dependence on healthy, functioning ecosystems like forests.
The economic risks of deforestation are starting to be recognised by Australian financial institutions. For example, in 2023, Westpac became the first bank to commit to zero-deforestation for its loans to agriculture. This means, the bank will rule out lending money to beef, dairy and sheep farming that destroys Australia’s native forests.
Native forest logging, which is a form of deforestation, has been recognised as a burden on taxpayers. For example, in the 2019/2020 financial year the New South Wales taxpayer-owned Forestry Corp received $246 million in grants. Despite these massive handouts, its hard wood division (which is responsible for logging native forests) made a loss of more than $28 million.
How to help stop deforestation in Australia
We have the solutions to restore nature to better health. First, Australia must stop bulldozing the bush and we must put an end to deforestation.
ACF is working hard to stop deforestation at its source. We need big food companies like Coles and Woolworths to get deforestation out of their beef supply chains and banks to stop lending money to agriculture businesses who bulldoze forests.
Big food corporates and the Australian Government need to do more to support farmers who protect and restore forests on their properties. And Australia's federal government must create and enforce stronger national laws that prevent forests from being bulldozed.
With a federal election just around the corner, your candidates need to hear from you.
Sign the pledge to vote for climate and nature and send a clear message to those wanting to represent you: Stop bulldozing the bush and end deforestation.
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