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World deforestation rates and forest cover statistics, 2000-2005 New deforestation figures show Nigeria has worst rate of forest loss Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com November 16, 2005 November 17, 2005 [update] Monday, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its 2005 Global Forest Resources Assessment, a regular report on the status world's forest resources. Overall, FAO concludes that net deforestation rates have fallen since the 1990-2000 period, but some 13 million hectares of the world's forests are still lost each year, including 6 million hectares of primary forests. Primary forests -- forests with no visible signs of past or present human activities -- are considered the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet. Industrial logging, clearing and forest conversion for agriculture, fuelwood collection by rural poor, and forest fires -- often purposely set by people -- are considered the leading causes of deforestation. South America South America -- where large tracts of the Amazon rainforest are being cleared for cattle ranches and soybean plantations -- suffered the largest net loss of forests between 2000 and 2005 of around 4.3 million hectares per year. Scientists are concerned that forest loss could escalate in the Amazon due to increasingly dry conditions. This year the Amazon suffered the most severe drought on record, leaving rivers dry and communities stranded. Tens of thousands of fires burned. Africa
FAO figures also show Africa is more dependent on bushmeat -- wild animals captured as food -- than other tropical regions. Bushmeat availability has increased with the construction of logging roads in the rainforest and a number of well-known species including gorillas, chimpanzees, and monkeys are considered at highest risk. There is growing concern among health experts that bushmeat consumption may be linked to the outbreak of unusual tropical diseases including the Ebola virus and Marburg, which broke out earlier this year in Angola. Primates are known to be carriers of these diseases. Central America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia lead deforestation rates The regions with the highest tropical deforestation rate were Central America -- which lost 1.3% or 285,000 hectares of its forests each year -- and tropical Asia. Tropical Asia --
Plantations offsetting natural forest Due to a significant increase in plantation forests, forest cover has generally been expanding in North America, Europe and China while diminishing in the tropics. Plantations help offset the loss of natural forests but essentially result in an overall decline in global biodiversity as single species plantations replace their biologically richer natural counterparts. The United States The United States has the seventh largest annual loss of primary forests in the world, according to FAO. In the 2000-2005 period, the United States lost an average of 831 square miles (215,200 hectares, 2,152 square kilometers or 531,771 acres) of such lands which are sometimes termed "old-growth forests."
Overall, when plantations are added to the picture, the US gained a net 614 square miles (159,000 hectares) of forest per year. The FAO report suggests America's primary forests are losing ground to modified natural, seminatural, and plantation forests. Earlier this year, the government revoked President Clinton's 2001 "Roadless Area Conservation Rule" that protected 58.5 million acres of undeveloped national forest, in effect opening more than 90,000 square miles of forests to road construction, logging and industrial development. UN figures contested
Despite the criticism, industry experts say that FAO has the best figures available across virtually all countries in the world. Mila Alvarez, who tracks forest trends for World Resources Institute and Global Forest Watch (globalforestwatch.org), told the New York Times "The F.A.O. is doing the best it can given what the governments are providing." Alvarez says the World Resources Institute and other organizations are developing a way to use satellite imagery to analyze forest changes and to verify government estimates. More deforestation information: Nigeria has worst deforestation rate, FAO revises figures More deforestation news deforestation blog (11/19/2008) An indigenous rights' group has sounded the alarm over a new threat to an uncontacted tribe in Paraguay. Brazil to use body-heat sensing technology to find uncontacted Amazon tribes (11/19/2008) Brazil will use a plane equipped with body-heat sensing technology to locate tribes in the Amazon rainforest, reports the Associated Press. California joins effort to fight global warming by saving rainforests (11/19/2008) California has joined the battle to fight global warming through rainforest conservation. In an agreement signed yesterday at a climate change conference in Beverly Hills, California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger pledged financial assistance and technical support to help reduce deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia. The Memorandum of Understanding commits the California, Illinois and Wisconsin to work with the governors of six states and provinces within Indonesia and Brazil to help slow and stop tropical deforestation, a source of roughly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Malaysia's indigenous people to get land rights for first time (11/19/2008) Malaysia's government will for the first time grant ownership rights of land farmed by indigenous people, reports the Associated Press, but some may see the legal change as a scheme to promote oil palm expansion. Illegal drug use destroys rainforests (11/18/2008) Colombian officials have re-iterated their claim that cocaine use in rich countries is driving deforestation in Colombia, reports The Guardian. Please note: mongabay.com features thousands of pages on deforestation. Good places to start include:
Forest Tables All area figures are in hectares. Worst deforestation rate of primary forests, 2000-2005. All countries.
Highest average annual deforestation of primary forests, 2000-2005, by area. All countries
Highest average annual deforestation of primary forests, 2000-2005, by area. Tropical countries
Most primary forest cover, 2005. All countries
Most primary forest cover, 2005. Tropical countries
Most "tropical rainforest", 2005. These rankings are estimates.
Most number of native tree species, 2005. All countries
The Democratic Republic of Congo should be on this list, but FAO does not have figures for this war-torn country. Highest total forest cover as a percentage of total land cover, 2005. All countries
Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests Highest total forest cover as a percentage of total land cover, 2005. All tropical countries.
Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests Highest total forest cover as a percentage of total land cover, 2005. All tropical countries excluding small islands
Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests Total forest cover, 2005. All countries
Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests Total forest cover, 2005. Tropical countries
Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests More deforestation information:
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Clear-cutting of rainforest in Peru. Tropical deforestation is a major concern to ecologists. They warn that the loss of biodiversity has unknown consequences. Photo: Rhett A. Butler
Worst deforestation rate of natural forests, 2000-2005
Highest deforestation of natural forests, 2000-2005. All countries. Credits: R. Butler
Gold-mining operation the Peruvian Amazon. Scientists are concerned over the global impact of deforestation in the tropics. The loss of forests adds the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to the atmosphere while affecting local rainfall. Photo: Rhett A. Butler
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