Such statistics are causing growing concern as the world goes into the United Nation’s annual climate summit.
“Of course, deforestation is a key contributor to climate change.
“Despite the many efforts taken by countries to safeguard and sustainably manage them, forests continue to be under threat.
The UK government, which is leading the summit, has included forestry as one of the key issues for discussion.
These pressures have led to huge sections of rainforests being destroyed – areas that are rich in biodiversity and able to capture large amounts of carbon.
However, any attempt to tackle imported deforestation at COP26 is more likely to be a first step rather than a full-blown initiative.