The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 (FAO, 2010), noted that the overall rate of deforestation remained alarmingly high, although the rate was slowing. Major trends in the extent of forests, and changes in the rates of forest loss, as well as the current state of productive and protective forests, show disparities between the six regions: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Near East and North America. The highest forest area worldwide was found in Europe, primarily because of the vast swaths of forest in the Russian Federation, while Latin America and the Caribbean had the highest net forest loss over the last decade.
Africa: Although continued forest loss was reported in Africa, the overall trend in net forest loss in the region slowed between 1990 and 2010. The area of planted forests was increasing in Africa, in particular in West and North Africa. There were notable increases in the area designated for conservation of biodiversity, mostly as a result of changes in the designation of some forests in Central and East Africa. However, there were declines in productive forest areas.
Asia and the Pacific: The extent of forests in Asia and the Pacific has changed dramatically over the past two decades. In the 1990s, the region experienced a net forest loss of 0.7 million hectares per year, while in the last decade the forest area increased by an average of 1.4 million hectares per year. The planted forest area also substantially increased through afforestation programmes, mainly as a result of programmes in China, India and Viet Nam. The area of primary forests decreased in all Asia and the Pacific sub-regions in the last decade, despite the fact that the area designated for conservation of biodiversity increased in the same period. With the exception of the South Asia and Oceania sub-regions, the area of productive forests declined over the last decade.
Europe: Europe contained the largest area of forests compared with other regions, totalling 1 billion hectares. Europe’s forest area continued to grow between 1990 and 2000, although the overall rate of increase slowed during the last decade. The Russian Federation, which contained 80 percent of Europe’s forest area, showed minimal declines in forest area after 2000. The rate of expansion of planted forest area also decreased in the last decade when compared with global trends. The area designated for productive functions declined in the 1990s, although this trend reversed in the last decade. Wood removals in Europe also showed variable trends over the last 20 years and have declined as a result of the 2008–2009 recession in Europe, which lowered demand for wood.
Latin America and the Caribbean: Nearly half of the Latin American and Caribbean region was covered by forests in 2010. Forest area declined in Central and South America over the last two decades, with the leading cause of deforestation being the conversion of forest land to agriculture. Although the overall planted forest area was relatively small, it expanded at a rate of 3.2 percent per year over the last decade. The region contained over half of the world’s primary forests (57 percent), which was mostly located in inaccessible areas. About 14 percent of all forest area in the region was designated primarily for production. Wood removals continued to rise with more than half removed for woodfuel.
The Near East: The Near East region has a small forest area, with 26 countries in the region categorized as low forest cover countries. The region showed a net gain in forest area over the last decade. Planted forest area increased by about 14 percent in the region in the last 20 years, particularly as a result of expansion of these areas in West Asia and North Africa. During the last decade, the area of primary forests has remained largely stable, with Sudan containing the largest area of primary forest. The Near East saw a decline in the area designated for productive functions in the 1990s, although the trend reversed slightly in the last decade.
North America: North America showed a slight increase in forest area between 1990 and 2010. The planted forest area also increased, and the region showed a relatively stable, positive trend in the level of biomass it contained. This region accounted for about 25 percent of global primary forests. The area of forest designated primarily for soil and water conservation was less than in other regions, as the management of these areas is largely embedded in national and local laws and other forest management guidance.
About 10 percent of wood was removed for wood-fuel, with the remaining amount removed for industrial round-wood. Employment trends in the United States of America and Canada’s forest sectors showed a decline over the last decade.
Climate change mitigation and adaptation: Over the last few years, forestry has become a critical part of the international climate change agenda. Governments have already agreed on the potential importance of REDD+, and have provided large financial resources to initiate pilot activities. Nevertheless, the long-term sustainability of climate change and forestry activities will depend on a number of factors, including effective forest governance, secure forest carbon tenure and equitable benefit sharing, and integration of adaptation actions into climate change policies and projects, among others.
Details: State of the World’s Forests (PDF)
IFER research team assists the society (government agencies, international and local NGOs, logging companies, etc.) in the sustainable management of the forest resources. Our research includes:
- Investigating forest inventory scenarios and developing inventory design for national forest inventories, regional and local forest inventories
- Developing forest management scenarios that may allow to reduce the impact of logging and forest management on the remaining carbon stocks
- Developing allometric models that may allow to estimate with accuracy the biomass and carbon pools from the forest
- Developing forest management models for REDD+ initiatives
- Investigating the contribution of Central Africa forests and other tropical forests in the global carbon budget and respond to the question of the missing sink.
For further question concerning this research and/or request for collaboration, contact Dr. Adrien Djomo.