Demand for rubber to make tyres is having a ‘ catastrophic ’ impact on the world ’ s forests , scientists have warned . Up to 21 million acres of jungle will be torn down to make way for rubber plantations in the next decade alone , according to researchers at the University of East Anglia . The demand is putting endangered gibbons , leopards and elephants in south east Asia at risk , a study published in the journal Conservation Letters says . A scene of devastation captured on Indonesia 's Borneo island . Endangered species in south east Asia at risk . Lead researcher Eleanor Warren-Thomas said : ‘ The tyre industry consumes 70 per cent of all natural rubber grown , and rising demand for vehicle and aeroplane tyres is behind the recent expansion of plantations . ‘ But the impact of this is a loss of tropical biodiversity . ‘ We predict that between 4.3 and 8.5 million hectares ( 10.6 - 21 million acres ) of new plantations will be required to meet projected demand by 2024 . The tyre industry consumes 70 per cent of all natural rubber grown , and rising demand for vehicle and aeroplane tyres is behind the recent expansion of plantations . ‘ This will threaten significant areas of Asian forest , including many protected areas. ’ She said many protected areas have already been lost to rubber plantations - including three-quarters of the Snoul Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia , which was cleared for rubber between 2009 and 2013 . Miss Warren-Thomas added : ‘ In Cambodia , forest areas earmarked for further rubber plantations contain critically endangered water birds like the White Shouldered Ibis , globally threatened mammals like Eld ’ s deer and Banteng , and many important primates and carnivores . ‘ Macaques and gibbons are known to disappear completely from forests which have been converted to rubber . 'our review shows that numbers of bird , bat and beetle species can decline by up to 75 per cent . ’
Up to 21 million acres of jungle will be torn down in the next decade alone . University of lush Anglia forests puts forest ecosystems at risk from logging . Rising demand for rubber exists for cars and planes driving worldwide .