Facts on Forests Around the World
More than a decade of discussions on how to protect the world's forests
has resulted in substantial changes in the way forests are managed. Policies
and programs to help promote sustainable forest management have been devised
and have taken hold in many countries. Nevertheless, deforestation is continuing
at a rapid rate, particularly in the tropical forests of Africa and South
America.
Forest loss is caused by a complex set of social and economic pressures.
Among the major factors contributing to deforestation and forest degradation
are conversion of forests to farmland and poor forest management, including
over-logging, forest fires, and increased harvesting of wood fuels and
other forest products for household use.
Here are some facts:
Forests cover about 30 per cent of the world's total land area.
(A forest is considered an area with at least 10 per cent tree canopy
cover.)
The world's forest cover amounts to 3.9 billion hectares (1 hectare
equals approximately 2.5 acres).
47 percent of the world's forests are in the tropics, 33 percent in
the boreal zone (far north), 11 percent in the temperate zones, and 9
percent in sub-tropical areas.
The 94 million hectares of forest lost over the ten-year period,
represented about 2 per cent of the world's total forest cover, or an
area larger than Venezuela.
Two thirds of the world's forests are located in ten countries:
the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Australia,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Angola and Peru.
Most deforestation occurred in natural tropical forests, which
lost 14.2 million hectares a year over the last decade. Africa and South
America have suffered the most deforestation.
Africa, which lost 5.3 million hectares of forest per year in
the 1990s, was the region with the highest deforestation in the world.
Forests are a major factor in the climate change issue. Forest
ecosystems contain more than half of all terrestrial carbon, and account
for about 80 per cent of the exchange of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems
and the atmosphere. Deforestation in the 1980s may have accounted for
a quarter of all human-induced carbon emissions, the second greatest emitter
after fossil fuels.
Forest plantations comprise 5 percent of the world's forests. Asia has
the largest area of plantations, accounting for 62 per cent of the world
total. China accounts for 24 percent of that total and India, 18 per cent.
Plantations supply about 35 percent of the world's roundwood.
The area of forest plantations increased by an average of 3 million
hectares per year during the 1990s. Half of this increase was the result
of afforestation on land previously under non-forest land use, whereas
the other half resulted from conversion of natural forest.
It is estimated that 12 percent of the world's forests, or about 480
million hectares, are in protected areas.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme's Global Biodiversity
Outlook, about 60 percent, and possibly closer to 90 percent, of all species
are found in tropical forests.
Wood is the primary source of fuel in the majority of developing countries.
Up to 81 per cent of the wood harvested in the developing world is used
for fuelwood. In developed countries, fuelwood accounts for less than
10 percent of total fuel consumption.
About 2 percent of the world's forests, or 81 million hectares, are
certified as being managed in a sustainable manner, with about 92 percent
of these forests lying in temperate, industrialized countries.
Today, most countries are involved in international initiatives
related to sustainable forest management. About 150 countries were engaged
in 9 international initiatives to develop and implement criteria and indicators
for sustainable forest management.
Areas under forest management plans are also increasing. At least
6 percent of the total forest area in developing countries is covered
by a formal, nationally approved forest management plan, with duration
of at least five years. Some 89 percent of the forests in industrialized
countries are managed according to formal or informal management plans.
The UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) is the main intergovernmental forum to
formulate international forest policy, to facilitate implementation of
agreed action on forests, to foster a common understanding of sustainable
forest management, and to address international forest policy issues and
emerging areas of priority concern.
Sources: FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000 and
UNEP Global Biodiversity Outlook 2001.
|
