[pastor_elm]

except deforestation is no longer a requirement for development and really hasn't been for 100 years. Look at Japan and South Korea (67.00% and 63.20% forestation respectively). Indonesia is already down to 46.46%. Go look at Brazil outside of the Amazon. Mostly deforested already for farmland and it hasn't really brought the country into the 1st world. Agrarian societies are a dead end for development.

[RcouF1uZ4gsC]

For Japan's case at least, it seems there was significant deforestation followed by reforestation. I think that was the case in the US as well. It seems that poor countries trash their environment to develop and become rich (see United Kingdom, United States, China). Once they are rich they start caring more about the environment and do things like reforestation and other more environmentally friendly actions.

https://www.nippon.com/en/features/c03913/japan%E2%80%99s-fo...

[titzer]

Deforestation is quick, easy cash. Juicy trees. Verdant pasture. Mouths to feed. So local incentives kick in and whoosh go the trees.