Carbon emissions from forest degradation may be as much of a problem as those from full-scale deforestation, says a new review into the state of the world's tropical forests.

The Carbon Brief reports on the findings of a review conducted by the International Sustainability Unit which found that the steady deterioration of forests across places such as the Amazon and Borneo could be responsible for 6-14% of all human-caused emissions.

"Deforestation has been the top issue for years,” says Nigel Sizer, global director of the forests programme at the World Resources Institute. “But now with growing interest in forest and landscape restoration, there is a surge of interest in degradation, potential for natural regeneration, agroforestry and other approaches to help recover productivity as well as biomass and biodiversity."

The review highlights the need for a re-evaluation of forest policy which has been largely focused on halting deforestation.

While deforestation in areas such as the Amazon emits between 2.9 and 3.3 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide every year (around 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions), the degradation of tropical forests releases between 2.2 to 5.39 gigatonnes into the atmosphere (around 6-14% of global emissions.).

The authors of the review acknowledge that measuring the rate of emissions from forest degradation is “a particularly imprecise art”, however they believe these emissions may have accelerated over the past decade and previously been under-counted, or in some cases under-stated.

Read the full story: Forest degradation as bad for climate as deforestation, says report

Download Tropical Forests: A Review