South America and Africa experienced the largest losses of forests, with 4 and 3.4 million hectares per year respectively. Deforestation decreased in the last ten years, especially that involving the conversion of tropical forests into agricultural land, according to the “2010 Global Forest Resources Evaluation”, the most comprehensive forest-related study conducted by FAO to date.
This report, made up of data gathered in 233 countries and territories, states that between 2000 and 2010 13 million hectares per year have been lost due to natural causes or converted to other uses. This contrasts the 16 million hectares per year lost during the 1990 decade. The net loss of forest area has fallen from 8.3 million hectares per year in the 1990s to 5.2 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2010.
The world’s total forest surface amounts over 4 billion hectares, 31% of the planet’s land area. The annual net loss of forests (the sum of the loss minus the sum of increases in forest area) in the period 2000-2010 amounts to an area similar to that of Costa Rica, according to the FAO analysis.
South America and Africa experienced the largest annual net loss of forests in the period 2000-2010, with 4 and 3.4 million hectares respectively. Oceania also recorded a net loss, partly due to the severe drought present in Australia since 2000.
On the other side, Asia recorded a net gain of about 2,2 million hectares per year in the last decade, mainly because of the reforestation programs held in China, India and Vietnam, which increased their total forest surface in almost 4 million hectares annually during the last five years. However, conversion of forest areas to other uses continued to increase in several countries.
In North and Central America, the forest area remained stable, whereas in Europe it kept its growing rate, although slower than the previous one. Finally, Brazil and Indonesia, the countries with the biggest forest losses in the 1990s have managed to considerably reduce their deforestation rates.
“For the first time we are capable of demonstrating that the deforestation rate has decreased globally as a result of a series of coordinated local and international efforts,” stated Eduardo Rojas, general director of the Forest Department of the FAO. “Countries have not only improved their forest-related policies and legislation, but also allocated forests for the use of local communities and indigenous people, and for the conservation of biological diversity and other environmental functions. This is a welcome message in 2010, the International Biodiversity Year,” said Rojas.
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