The study was conducted by WWF, BirdLife International and Wildlife Conservation Society, using special satellite technology, that showed 59 million hectares of ‘new’ forest spaces since 2000. This is the result of a mixture of both active restoration (where trees are planted) and natural regeneration.
Rewilding plays a huge role in the growth of new forest areas through restoring woodland with very little subsequent intervention other than to protect the growing trees from disruption.
Millions of hectares of forest are lost to deforestation every year, so whilst this study provides hope for the regeneration of further forest land, the planet is not out of the woods just yet, with the number of trees lost annually far outweighing this 20 year regrowth.
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