wwf lungs WWF Campaign: Deforestation and Lungs 7
Causes of Deforestation
Agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation. Subsistence farming, in which farmers grow enough food to feed them and their families, utilizes 48% of cleared forest lands, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.8 Commercial crops account for 20% of deforestation, and large-scale cattle ranching for 12%. Surprisingly, wood extraction—including legal and illegal logging and charcoal production—accounts for only 19% of deforestation worldwide.