Forest Dieback Crisis

Forest dieback is no longer a localized or temporary phenomenon. Since the late 2010s, repeated heatwaves and drought episodes have weakened trees across vast areas, triggering cascading effects: insect populations explode in stressed forests, fungal pathogens spread faster, and tree mortality outpaces natural regeneration. The consequences are systemic. Timber economies that sustain rural communities are collapsing as salvage wood floods markets at depressed prices. Biodiversity is declining as habitats disappear. Soil erosion increases on deforested slopes. And critically, forests that once absorbed atmospheric CO₂ are now releasing it, accelerating the very climate change that is causing their decline. This issue brings together communities worldwide who are witnessing forest dieback in their regions. By sharing observations, data, and solutions across borders, we can learn faster and act more effectively than any single region working alone.