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Deforestation could be 'imminent' if biofuel, wood & fuel demand rises at expected rates

A new report has suggested that deforestation is imminent if demand for biofuels, wood, and food continues to rise, the BBC reported.

The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) claims that there is only half of the extra land required to cope with increasing demand.

Andy White, co-author of the major report, Seeing People through the Trees, warned: "Arguably, we are on the verge of a last great global land grab."

He continued: "It will mean more deforestation, more conflict, more carbon emissions, more climate change and less prosperity for everyone."

According to the RRI, 515 million hectares of extra land will be needed for growing crops and trees by 2030.

The report states that in China, biofuel cultivation alone is expected to require an additional 13.3 million hectares of land by 2020.

Land required for crops is expected to grow exponentially too. In Brazil alone the area of land under cultivation for soy and sugarcane is expected to grow from 28 million hectares today to 88 to 128 million hectares by 2020.