Nearly 500 million hectares (ha), the equivalent of around 750 million football fields, have been lost since 1990.
However, deforestation has slowed in all regions of the world over the past decade, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Deforestation refers to the loss of forest or its conversion to other uses, such as urban use or wasteland.
Every year for ten years, the planet has lost around 10.9 million hectares. of forest. This rate represents an improvement compared to the 13.6 million hectares lost each year during the previous period and the 17.6 million before that.
Who monitors the forests?
This encouraging trend was revealed Tuesday in the latest FAO forest assessment. report which is published every five years.
It provides comprehensive analysis of global and regional forest trends using data collected through remote sensing – an advanced process using imagery and satellites – and national reports.
Thanks to international agreements focused on combating climate change, such as the Paris Agreement, the UN promotes a collective approach to environmental protection.
Assessments such as the FAO Forest Report check whether countries are on track with the UN treaties and frameworks they have signed up to.
Qu Dongyu, director general of the agency, said the data produced by these assessments serves multiple purposes “from informing the global community about the state of forests and their changes, to supporting decisions, policies and investments related to forests and the ecosystem services they provide.”
How are forests preserved?
A fifth of the world’s forests are in legally established protected areas. 251 million hectares of additional protected forest since 1990 – according to the assessment. Asia has the highest share among all regions, with 26 percent forest covered.
Beyond protection orders, more than half of all forests are managed. This means that land is used either to produce wood, fiber and bioenergy, for soil and water protection and for biodiversity conservation, or for tourism, among other uses. In Europe, 94 percent of forests are managed.
If forests are managed, who owns them? As of 2020, 71 percent of the world’s forests are publicly owned. In North and Central America, indigenous peoples and local communities owned 41.6 million hectares of forest.
Fires, insects, diseases
Last year, the FAO reported the growing risk of forest fires and pests linked to climate change.
Fires remain a widespread threat, affecting an average of 261 million hectares of land each year, almost half of which is forested.
In 2020, an additional 41 million hectares of forest were damaged by insects, diseases and bad weather.
Contributing to forest monitoring and protection efforts, a Forest Lodge will promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable development at the upcoming UN COP30 climate conference next month in Brazil.
Originally published in The European Times.
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