Around 54% of the world’s forests are found in only five countries (Brazil, Canada, China, Russia and the United States of America) (1). Deforestation is prevalent in the tropical climatic domain, where 45% of the world’s forests are located (1) (6). This is mainly because tropical countries are major exporters of forest commodities (13). Commodity-driven deforestation is the largest contributor to global forest loss, followed by shifting agriculture, wildfire and urbanization (2) (7). Common forest commodities include coffee, chocolate, soy, palm oil and timber. Scientists revealed that 29-39% of carbon emissions are driven by international trade, and suggested that deforestation is accelerated by global demand for commodities (14). The study by Hoang and Kanemoto (2021) calculated “deforestation footprints” of individual countries and found that consumption patterns of G7 countries drive an average loss of 3.9 trees per person per year in 2015 (13). Another study by Pendrill et al. in 2019 stated that high-income countries accounted for 40% of imported deforestation in 2013, meaning that they were responsible for 12% of global deforestation that year (15). In light of these findings, developed countries are driving deforestation overseas through consumer choices.

Developed countries, along with China and India, have increased their imported deforestation from forests, despite their efforts in obtaining net forest gains within their borders (13). Their trading partners are mainly tropical countries, including Brazil, Madagascar, Argentina, Indonesia and Côte d’Ivoire (13). According to FAO Global Resource Assessment 2020, Africa was found to have the highest annual deforestation rate in 2015–2020 (4.41 million hectares), followed by South America (2.96 million hectares) and Asia (2.24 million hectares) (16). Brazil recorded the largest annual net loss of forest area between 2010-2020 (1496 hectares per year), followed by Democratic Republic of the Congo (1101 hectares per year), and Indonesia (753 hectares per year) (16).

Brazil has the world’s largest tropical forest area, which makes the country a major exporter of soy and beef (13). Forests in the country were cleared for agriculture and grazing due to the consumption pattern of the EU-27 nations, the US and China (13). Brazil, and other tropical countries such as Indonesia and Mexico, have changed their forest cover for forest commodities faster than they reduced their net forest losses through strategic forest management (13). International trade promotes socio-economic development in a country; given that developing countries have a comparatively weaker financial foundation than that of developed countries, farmers heavily rely on international buyers to earn a living and improve their livelihoods.

Although converting forests to agricultural lands has been farmers’ way of living, its associated climate-risks should not be neglected. Converging evidence indicates that deforestation has exacerbated global warming and induced climate change. In 2000 to 2010, temperatures in deforested tropical and temperate regions increased approximately 0.38 and 0.16 degree Celsius respectively (8). Temperature changes driven by deforestation are resulted from the modifications in albedo (i.e. the amount of sunlight reflected by a surface back to the atmosphere), and evapotranspiration (i.e. transpiration and evaporation of water into the atmosphere) (9). Furthermore, deforestation is also associated with a decline in rainfall frequency and intensity (10). In Brazil, there are observations showing a decreasing rainfall frequency and increasing intensity within deforested areas of land (11). Higher occurrence of extreme weather events is observed in areas with declining forest cover. Frequent and longer floods happened in 1990-2000 as forest cover in countries of tropical regions decreased (12). Decline in forest cover causes greater water run-off in heavy rainfall events as soil infiltration and canopy interception are reduced. We should be highly alerted that every country will be affected by adverse effects of climate change, especially vulnerable countries who are prone to extreme weather events.

Countries involved in forest product export, and those who import vast amounts of forest products, need to be more conscious of how they are contributing to global deforestation, and thus climate change. Policy makers should formulate stricter guidelines on supply chains by improving transparency, stakeholders engagement, and financial support for tropical regions, and reform zero-deforestation policies through cooperation between nations. Another viable option is to encourage farmers to adopt new farming practices that favours sustainable development, such as agroforestry. Agroforestry system is an integration of forests into agricultural land uses which has been gaining significant research interest in recent years owing to their various benefits including economic diversification, climate change mitigation, improved soil and water quality, and enhanced biodiversity. They are particularly crucial to smallholder farmers as they could maximize crop yields and economic revenue. Every measure mentioned above must ensure farmers and their communities have the skills and knowledge to participate in sustainable supply-chain management, and engage them at the center of the government’s policy and decision-making processes.