Can the loss of a rainforest be compensated?

How deforestation can be stopped is a central theme at the ongoing UN Climate Conference (COP30), which is being held in the Amazon to drive home the importance of rainforests in arresting climate change, according to Brazilian president Lula da Silva.

- Jayashree Nandi and Abhishek Jha

A kapok tree, with a height of more than 40 metres, at Combu island in Brazil. It is called the tree of life by the Amazonian tribes and has spiritual significance to them. JAYASHREE NANDI/HT PHOTO

Satellite images can show us where, and how high and dense these critical ecosystems are.

The Global Forest Canopy Height tool, with 10m spatial resolution, tells us where the densest and tallest (and often oldest) rainforests are — in Brazil's Amazon, in Africa’s Congo basin, and in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. In India, they are in the northeast, the Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Andaman and Nicobar region has dense forests of canopy height of over 25 to 30m in many regions. According to a paper published in Nature in 2023, only 5% of the global landmass is covered by trees taller than 30m and only 34% of these are located in protected areas.

But satellite data has limitations — it gives a sense of what is at stake but tends to underrate canopy height and density.