Forests may be Growing Back

Forests may be Growing Back



March 2007 - The world’s forests are 
shrinking yearly overall, yet a United Nations report released 
Tuesday shows that in some regions of the world, centuries of 
deforestation are being reversed due to effective forest 
management and economic prosperity. 
Asia and the Pacific are now showing an increase in forest 
area, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's 
State of the World’s Forests report, issued at the opening of 
the 18th Session of the FAO's Committee on Forestry meeting in 
Rome. 
"Many countries have shown the political will to improve 
forest management by revising policies and legislation and 
strengthening forestry institutions," said FAO Deputy 
Director-General David Harcharik. 
Forest in China's Wanglang Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province 

"Increasing attention is being paid to the conservation of 
soil, water, biological diversity and other environmental 
values," he said, noting that over 100 countries have 
established national forest programs. 
In Asia and the Pacific, forest area increased from 2000 and 
2005, reversing the trend of previous decades. 
Although deforestation accelerated in Southeast Asia, this was 
offset by new large forest plantations in China. 
Europe and North America also demonstrated gains in forest 
area. 
The United States reported an annual increase of forest area 
of 0.12 percent in the 1990s and 0.05 percentfrom 2000 to 
2005. 
Canada reported no change in forest cover over the 15 year 
period from 1990 to 2005, and Mexico reported a decrease of 
0.52 percent per year from 1990 to 2000 which slowed to a 
decrease of 0.40 percent per year from 2000 to 2005. 
Evidence is mounting that forests will be profoundly affected 
by climate change, such as increasing damage to forest health 
caused by the greater incidence of fire, pests and diseases. 
Fire engulfs a forest and homes in British Columbia, Canada. 

At the same time, the FAO reports, new investments in forests 
to mitigate climate change lag behind the optimistic 
expectations of many following the entry into force of the 
Kyoto Protocol in 2005. 
Ten countries account for 80 percent of the world’s primary 
forests, of which Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and 
Brazil saw the highest losses in primary forest in the five 
years running from 2000 to 2005. 
Harcharik pointed out that countries facing the most serious 
challenges in achieving sustainable forest management are 
those with the highest rates of poverty and civil conflict. 
Forests cover roughly four billion hectares, or 30 percent, of 
the planet's land. 
The FAO reports that in the 15 year period between 1990 and 
2005, the world lost three percent of its forests, an average 
of 0.2 percent each year. 
In the five years between 2000 and 2005, 57 countries reported 
an increase in forest area while 83 claimeda decrease. 
Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean faced the highest 
losses in forest area. 
African forests, accounting for 16 percent of the world’s 
total, lost nine percent between 1990 and 2005. 
Logging of hardwood in the West African country of Cameroon 

Latin America and the Caribbean, with 47 percent of the 
world’s forests, saw an increase in the annual net loss 
between 2000 and 2005, from 0.46 percent to 0.51 percent. 
The FAO expects that forest management will improve in both 
regions, due to political support and commitment to stemming 
deforestation in Africa and newly formed Latin American 
networks to fight fires and improve current management 
mechanisms. 
Economic growth contributes to curbing deforestation by 
improving conditions for sustainable forest management, the 
report says. Strengthened forest institutions and increased 
participatory decision-making will also help to protect 
forests. 
However, illegal logging is growing in some areas, and forests 
are also threatened by insects and diseases. The spread of 
pests, to which forests are vulnerable, is facilitated by 
transport, travel and trade. 
The State of the World's Forest 2007 Report is online at: 
http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0773e/a0773e00.htm 





 

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