8 Incredible Forests That Are Disappearing Before Our Eyes

Let’s be real here – those vast expanses of forest covering our planet aren’t just pretty scenery. They’re absolutely fundamental to life as we know it.

Did you know a single tree produces around 220 pounds of pure oxygen annually? Just one acre of trees generates enough oxygen for 18 people throughout the entire year. That same acre absorbs carbon dioxide equivalent to what’s emitted by a car driving over 26,000 miles! And that’s just the beginning of what forests do for us.

Forests act as natural barriers against climate change and global warming. They’re home to millions of plant and animal species worldwide and even provide shelter for thousands of indigenous tribes. But beyond their environmental importance, forests have tremendous economic value as a primary source of timber, which plays a crucial role in numerous industries.

Despite their vital role in maintaining Earth’s balance, forest areas have been shrinking at an alarming rate over recent decades. Why? Because the world has prioritized their economic value over their environmental benefits. In other words, we’ve decided money matters more than oxygen. (Crazy, right?)

To put things in perspective: before the Industrial Revolution, forests covered approximately 60 million square kilometers of Earth’s surface—about 40% of all land area. Today, only about 30 million square kilometers remain. That means half of the world’s forests have completely disappeared.

Primorye Forest: Russia’s Hidden Gem

Tucked away in Russia’s Primorsky Krai region in the far east of the country lies the Primorye Forest, one of the largest and most diverse forests on the planet. This remarkable forest hosts an extraordinary collection of animals, including the Siberian tiger, Eurasian lynx, and Amur leopard. It’s one of the last major habitats on Earth where Siberian tigers still roam free.

The forest is also home to the largest owl species in the world—the Blakiston’s fish owl—and contains plant species found nowhere else on Earth.

What makes Primorye particularly interesting is that it’s classified as a temperate rainforest, but its climate varies dramatically between seasons. In summer, it enjoys tropical weather, while winter brings extremely cold conditions. This climate diversity has contributed to the remarkable variety of plants and animals that call it home.

During the last Ice Age, while most northern regions were covered in ice, this area remained relatively ice-free, creating a unique evolutionary pocket. Thanks to its remote location and conservation efforts by the former Soviet Union, the forest has maintained most of its area and features. Today, Primorye Forest covers approximately 13,000 square kilometers.

Burmese Forest: A Shadow of Its Former Glory

Once among the largest rainforests in Southeast Asia, the Burmese Forest is now merely a shadow of its former self. Between 1990 and 2010 alone, it lost more than 74,000 square kilometers of area, and it continues to shrink steadily. What remains today represents the remnants of one of Earth’s oldest forests.

The region has enjoyed a stable climate throughout its history, especially given its proximity to the equator and the Pacific and Indian Oceans. As ice spread from the North and South Poles throughout Earth’s history, many surrounding animals sought refuge in this forest, resulting in incredible biodiversity.

The forest is rich with unique and diverse species, including Asian elephants, Bengal tigers, and pangolins. It’s also home to numerous primates such as lemurs, macaques, and gibbons.

Today, the remaining forest covers approximately 233,000 square kilometers. Reports suggest that without conservation measures, the entire forest could disappear within just a few years.

Valdivian Forest: South America’s Hidden Wonder

Located primarily in Chile and extending into parts of Argentina, the Valdivian Forest might not be the first that comes to mind when thinking about South American forests, but it’s among the continent’s most spectacular and one of the world’s largest.

The Valdivian is among the newest forests on Earth—its land was completely covered by ice until about 17,000 years ago. The forest’s climate varies significantly as you move from north to south: the northern regions are warm and dry, while the southern portions are more humid and resemble temperate rainforests.

Coniferous trees like pine dominate the forest landscape, alongside bamboo. Most animals in the forest are notably small, including the kodkod (the smallest wild cat in the Americas), the pudú (the world’s smallest deer species), and the colo-colo (also known as the “mountain monkey”).

While parts of the Valdivian Forest are protected, the majority is open to logging—often excessive logging. The forest currently covers about 248,000 square kilometers.

Borneo Forest: Ancient Treasure at Risk

Located on Asia’s largest island and the world’s third-largest island, Borneo, this forest—like the Burmese Forest—is among Earth’s oldest forests. It contains a diverse array of animals and plants, including thousands of plant species endemic to the forest alone. The area boasts over 2,000 orchid species and one of the world’s strangest and rarest flowering plants: Rafflesia arnoldii.

As for wildlife, the forest is home to rare and endangered species like the Sumatran rhinoceros, with only about 275 individuals remaining in the wild. It also houses the critically endangered Bornean orangutan.

Despite the importance and rarity of its plants and animals, the Borneo Forest faces severe reduction as trees are cleared for agricultural land. Today, the remaining forest area is approximately 290,000 square kilometers.

New Guinea Rainforest: A Pristine Wilderness

Similar to the Borneo Forest in location, the New Guinea Rainforest sits on one of the world’s largest islands. Unlike Borneo, however, this tropical rainforest enjoys greater protection and has lost much less of its area over time.

The forest contains between 5% and 10% of all animal and plant species on Earth. Despite its geographical proximity to Borneo, New Guinea’s wildlife differs significantly, sharing more similarities with Australia’s fauna. The forest is home to tree kangaroos, cuscus, monitor lizards, and birds of paradise.

For scientists, this forest represents a goldmine as large portions remain unexplored, offering tremendous opportunities for discovering new animal and plant species. However, researchers face challenges with the forest’s indigenous tribes—there are over 1,000 tribes with a similar number of languages. Among these, approximately 44 tribes remain completely isolated from the outside world, allowing no strangers to enter their territories.

The New Guinea Rainforest has maintained its area and features to this day, covering approximately 545,000 square kilometers.

Congo Basin Forest: Africa’s Green Heart

Although the Congo Basin Forest primarily surrounds the Congo River, it extends into seven other African countries. It’s home to some of Africa’s most important and famous animals, including chimpanzees, mountain gorillas, and bonobos, not to mention giants like hippos and the largest land animals on Earth—African forest elephants.

The forest is incredibly dense, making it difficult for people to traverse, though this isn’t an issue for the more than 150 tribes who live within it. While this forest doesn’t have the same biodiversity as others on this list, it’s rich in valuable resources like oil, gold, and diamonds.

Although the Congo Basin Forest has the lowest deforestation rate globally, it suffers from frequent fires. In just one week in August 2019, the region recorded more than 6,900 fires, partly due to drought and climate change, and partly due to human-caused fires intended to clear land for agriculture.

Experts predict the forest area will continue to decrease in coming years, especially as investors enter to extract oil and diamonds. The Congo Basin Forest covers 1.78 million square kilometers, making it the world’s fifth-largest forest and the second-largest rainforest.

The Taiga: Earth’s Forest Giants

The world’s fourth, third, and second largest forests are, respectively, the Scandinavian-Russian taiga, Eastern Siberian taiga, and Northern Canadian forest. Collectively known as the taiga, these forests represent the largest biome on land outside the ocean world.

The taiga covers approximately 17 million square kilometers, or about 11.5% of Earth’s total land area. While the Scandinavian-Russian taiga is the smallest of the three siblings, it’s still the largest biome in Europe, covering most of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, parts of the Scottish Highlands, and some areas of European Russia. This forest has roughly equal numbers of spruce, pine, and silver fir trees, and covers 2.156 million square kilometers.

The Eastern Siberian taiga lies entirely within Russian borders and is dominated by Siberian larch trees, covering 3.9 million square kilometers.

The Northern Canadian forests cover most of Canada’s interior, Alaska, and parts of the northern United States. White spruce trees dominate this forest, which spans approximately 4.2 million square kilometers.

Wildlife across all three forests is remarkably similar, including reindeer, moose, various bear species (brown, black, Asian, and polar), Canadian lynx, wolverines, beavers, and foxes. Despite this array of animals, the taiga is actually one of the least diverse forests relative to its massive size. This is primarily because most taiga regions were covered by ice sheets for millions of years.

The taiga forests alone absorb more carbon dioxide annually than all other world forests combined. Although countries previously attempted to protect their taiga forests, they’ve recently begun viewing them as vast resources for economic and industrial development. The taiga represents 30% of the total forest area on Earth.

The Amazon: The Undisputed King of Forests

With your eyes closed, you could probably name the world’s largest forest: the Amazon rainforest. Spanning nine different countries, with Brazil claiming the lion’s share at 60%, the Amazon is larger than all the world’s remaining rainforests combined.

It’s not just the largest forest but also the most diverse on the planet. Of the millions of known plant and animal species, at least half live within the Amazon—not counting species we haven’t yet discovered. Estimates suggest the Amazon contains 390 billion trees from 16,000 different species.

Animals spread throughout the Amazon include jaguars, anacondas, anteaters, spider monkeys, iguanas, macaws, toucans, and many more.

Despite its immense size, the Amazon was once much larger. Throughout its 55-million-year history, the forest covered most of North and South America. As temperatures decreased over the ages, the forest’s area shrank to its current form. Natural factors over time haven’t reduced the forest’s area nearly as much as human intervention has.

The rate of fires the Amazon faces annually is almost inconceivable. The forest has already lost 20% of its total area—about 800,000 square kilometers—mostly to make way for grazing and agriculture, not to mention investors entering the land to explore for natural resources like oil.

Of the total forest area, only 1.73 million square kilometers are protected, where tree removal or burning is prohibited. This protected area accounts for less than half of the forest’s total estimated size of 5.5 million square kilometers.