Angelina Jolie Is Demanding World Leaders End This Issue Immediately

When it comes to humanitarian efforts in Hollywood, no one does it better than Angelina Jolie. The Academy Award-winning actor — who rose to fame in films such as "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," and "Wanted" — has long been pursuant in the field of humanitarianism since her "Tomb Raider" days.

The 2001 film, which skyrocketed Jolie to superstardom, was filmed in Cambodia. It was there where Jolie fell in love with the idea of helping others through charitable causes, as she bore witness to a country just recovering from the war-torn Khmer Rouge regime. Seeing poverty, social conflict, and humanitarian crises spurred an internal change within Jolie, who had grown up in both New York and Los Angeles (via Britannica). In an interview with Vanity Fair, Jolie described the people of Cambodia as "kind and warm and open, and ... very complex." She further added, "You drive around here you can see a lot of people with many things, but not often expressing happiness. You go there, and you see the families come out with their blanket and their picnic to watch a sunset."

Since then, Jolie has actively engaged in humanitarian efforts, primarily in causes relating to children, abuse survivors, and the protection of refugees. Now, she's taking aim at another problem rattling society to its core.

Deforestation has long been a detrimental issue for civilization. Trees are an integral part of not only society, but also a functional ecosystem. In fact, they produce oxygen through photosynthesis, and according to the USDA, "One large tree can provide a day's supply of oxygen for up to four people." As "trees absorb and store carbon dioxide," the World Wildlife Fund notes that, "if forests are cleared, or even disturbed, they release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases."

Now, Angelina Jolie is calling for an end to it. Taking to Instagram on November 17, the actor, who also works as a Special Envoy for the United Nations, shared a carousel of photos on Instagram spotlighting deforestation. In the caption, she promoted the launch of "a biodiversity survey with Flora & Fauna International," which will "map the plants and animals still in the forest of Cambodia's Samlout district ... for their protection and conservation."

The efforts come as they "do not yet know how much endangered wildlife remains," but "it's just one example of the devastating impact of deforestation globally – and why world leaders must be held to their promises." She also noted the "tens of thousands of hectares of pristine forest lost to illegal logging, land encroachment and poaching" in Cambodia, which is experiencing "one of the fastest rates of forest loss" worldwide. Jolie is not alone, as world leaders at COP26 have banded together to end deforestation by the year 2030.