By 2030 up to 170 million hectares ( 420 million acres ) of forest - equivalent to the combined size of Germany , France , Spain and Portugal - could be lost , conservationists have warned . The huge amount of global deforestation is expected to occur in less than a dozen global hostpots , based on current trends . Research by wildlife charity the WWF identified 11 'deforestation fronts ' where 80 per cent of projected global forest losses by 2030 could occur . By 2030 up to 170 million hectares ( 420 million acres ) of forest - equivalent to the combined size of Germany , France , Spain and Portugal - could be lost in just 11 hotspots , including the Amazon ( shown ) and eastern Australia , conservationists have warned . The areas are the Amazon , the Atlantic Forest and Gran Chaco , and the Cerrado in South America , the Choco-Darien in Central America , the Congo Basin , East Africa , eastern Australia , the Greater Mekong in South East Asia , Borneo , New Guinea and Sumatra . The fronts , which are at sustained and increased risk of deforestation , are home to indigenous communities that depend them for their livelihoods and endangered species such as orangutans and tigers , the WWF said . The Amazon . The Atlantic Forest and Gran Chaco . The Cerrado . The Choco-Darien . The Congo Basin . East Africa . Eastern Australia . The Greater Mekong . Borneo . New Guinea . Sumatra . But they are being lost to expanding agriculture , including livestock farming , palm oil plantations and soy production , as well as small-scale farmers , the WWF 's latest Living Forests report warned . Unsustainable logging and wood fuel collection is also causing forest degradation - while mining , construction of hydroelectric dams and other projects cause roads to be built that open new areas of forest to settlers and agriculture , the WWF warned . The conservation group is calling for action including expanding and strengthening protected areas , recognising the benefits forests provide and boosting schemes which provide incentives to countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation . WWF-UK is campaigning to close European Union loopholes which mean that products such as furniture , books or cards can be sold which have been made from illegally or unsustainably sourced wood . The fronts , which are at sustained and increased risk of deforestation , are home to indigenous communities that depend them for their livelihoods and endangered species such as orangutans and tigers , the WWF said . 80 per cent of projected losses will occur in just these 11 areas . Rod Taylor , director of the WWF 's global forest programme , said : 'Imagine a forest stretching across Germany , France , Spain and Portugal wiped out in just 20 years . 'We must tackle that risk to save the communities and cultures that depend on forests , and ensure forests continue to store carbon , filter our water , supply wood and provide habitat for millions of species . ' WWF analysis shows that more than 230 million hectares ( 570 million acres ) of forest could vanish by 2050 if no action is taken , with the organisation warning that forest loss must be reduced to near zero by 2020 to avoid dangerous climate change and economic losses . They are being lost to expanding agriculture ( example of a rainforest cleared in the Amazon shown ) , including livestock farming , palm oil plantations and soy production , as well as small-scale farmers , the WWF 's latest Living Forests report warned . Unsustainable logging and wood fuel collection ( shown in Australia ) is also causing forest degradation - while mining , construction of hydroelectric dams and other projects cause roads to be built that open new areas of forest to settlers and agriculture , said the WWF . WWF-UK 's chief adviser of forests , Will Ashley-Cantello , said : 'Deforestation needs to stop if we are to reverse biodiversity loss and combat climate change - which , if unchecked , will affect our quality of life . 'Managing forests sustainably could underpin sustainable development , poverty alleviation and a stable climate around the world . ' He added : 'Here in the UK you can still buy furniture , books , cards and other products made from illegally or unsustainably sourced wood . EU rules to prevent the exploitation of forests only cover half of traded products . 'The next UK government should lobby hard to end this nonsense . ' Thousands of square miles of rainforest is cleared in the Amazon each year to make way for farming land - a pattern of destruction that takes place all around the world . But despite this , the planet has got greener in the past decade , with the total amount of plant coverage increasing overall , according to one study . The increase is so noticeable that the world 's trees and plants now store almost four billion more tonnes of carbon than they did in 2003 . This is thanks to tree-planting in China , forest regrowth in former Soviet states because of abandoned farms , and more lush savannas because of higher rainfall . Scientists analysed 20 years of satellite data and found an increase in carbon , despite ongoing large-scale tropical deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia , according to research published in Nature Climate Change .
Up to 420 million acres of forest will be lost in the next two decades . The report says that if current trends continue, by 2050 there could be as much as a third less forested land than today, and up to 40 percent fewer trees overall.