“Around the world, forests are shrinking due to deforestation, urban development and climate change, but in Europe that trend has been reversed. …Large areas of the continent have seen a forest boom that means today more than two-fifths of Europe is tree-covered. Between 1990 and 2015, the area covered by forests and woodlands increased by 90,000 square kilometres - an area roughly the size of Portugal.”
— Europe bucks global deforestation trend, Johnny Wood/World Economic Forum July 25, 2019
Economic growth is often bad for the environment, what with all the devouring of natural resources, destroying wild habitat, and emitting greenhouse gases it entails. But economic growth can also unleash developments that at least partially undo the damage already done and be a force for environmental good.
Poor people don’t have the luxury to care about the critters or the planet - other than as a means to their own survival and aspirations. But the more comfortable do have that luxury. And part of what makes them comfortable is cheap food, which is made possible via the intensification of agriculture - thanks to economic growth!
The intensification of agriculture means less land needed per unit of food and more land available for forests. And that is what has happened in the most developed countries, including the United States. Check it out:
Per the above chart, the amount of forest area in the US has been stable for the last 100 years, despite a relentless increase in population and GDP. This same scenario could play out in less developed countries, but they’ll need some help. More on that in a later post