Yesterday was published the findings of FRA - 2010
SERGIO 03/25/2010
FAO publishes the findings of the Global Forest Resources Assessment
March 25, 2010, Rome
- Deforestation in the world, mainly the conversion of tropical forests agricultural land has declined over the past ten years but continues at an alarming rate in many countries, FAO said today.
Worldwide, has been converted to other uses or natural causes lost 13 million hectares of forest per year between 2000 and 2010, compared with 16 million hectares per year during the decade of 1990, as the main conclusions the most comprehensive forest survey conducted by FAO to date: the
Forest Resources Assessment 2010 world. The study covers 233 countries and territories. Brazil and Indonesia, which recorded the largest losses of forest in the 90, have significantly reduced their rates of deforestation. In addition, ambitious tree planting programs in countries as China, India, USA and Viet Nam - combined with the natural expansion of forests in some regions - have added more than seven million hectares of new forests each year. As a result, the net loss of forest area has declined from 8.3 million hectares per year of the decade of 1990 to 5.2 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2010. The world's total forest area to just over 4 000 million hectares or 31 percent of the total land area. The annual net loss of forests (ie the sum of the loss minus the sum of the increases in forest area) in 2000-2010 is equivalent to a surface similar to Costa Rica.
The greatest losses in South America and Africa
South America and Africa had the highest net annual loss of forests in the period 2000-2010, with 4 and 3.4 million hectares respectively. Pacific also registered a net loss, due in part to the severe drought in Australia since 2000.
other hand, Asia recorded a net gain of about 2.2 million hectares per year over the last decade, mainly because of the afforestation on a large scale in China, India and Viet Nam, which has increased its forest area in almost four million hectares per year over the past five years. However, the conversion of forested lands to other uses continued high rates in many countries.
In North and Central America, forest area remained fairly stable, while in Europe continued to grow, albeit at a slower rate than before.
"For the first time, we are able to demonstrate that the rate of deforestation has decreased worldwide as a result of a series of coordinated efforts locally and internationally," said Eduardo Rojas, Director General of the FAO Forestry Department.
"Countries have not only improved their policies and forest legislation, forest have also allocated for use by local communities and indigenous peoples, and for the conservation of biodiversity and other environmental functions. It is a welcome message in 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, "said Rojas.
" However, he added, the rate of deforestation is still very high in many countries and areas of primary forests - forests undisturbed
by human activities - are diminishing, so that countries should intensify their efforts to improve management and conservation. "
Forests and Climate Change
Forests play an important role in mitigating climate change. Store a large amount of carbon. When a forest is cleared and converted to another use, carbon is released back into the atmosphere. "A lower rate of deforestation and the creation of new forests have helped to reduce the high carbon emissions from forests caused by deforestation and forest degradation," said Mette Wilkie Løyche, Assessment Coordinator.
"But we need to look ahead because the big tree-planting programs in China, India and Viet Nam, largely responsible for recent increases in forest area, completed in 2020, "he added." This means we have a short period to implement effective and permanent measures to significantly reduce current rates of deforestation and forest degradation. Without these interventions, we risk a sudden return to high rates of net forest loss and carbon emissions from forests, which we had in the 1990's, "he said.
Assessments FAO global forest resources is issued every five years. More than 900 specialists from 178 countries have participated in the Evaluation of Forest Resources 2010. The full report of this evaluation will be made public in October 2010.
main conclusions
Other key findings of this report were:
Brazil lost an average of 2.6 million hectares of forest annually in the last ten years compared to 2.9 million hectares 90. The figures for Indonesia amounted to 0.5 and 1.9 million hectares per year, respectively.
- The area of \u200b\u200bforests in national parks, wilderness areas and other legally protected areas has increased by more than 94 million hectares since 1990 and currently amounts to 13 percent of the total forest area.
- Forests are a major global carbon sinks. Store some 289 gigatons (Gt) of carbon in trees and other vegetation. Carbon stored in forest biomass, deadwood, litter and soil is more - together - that all the carbon in the atmosphere. Globally, an estimated carbon stocks in forest biomass decreased by 0.5 Gt per year in 2000-2010, mainly due to the reduction of the total forest area.
- fires, pests and diseases are causing increasing damage to forests in some countries. On average, about one percent of global forest area is significantly affected each year by wildfires. Insect pests damaged 35 million hectares of forest each year. Extreme weather events such as storms and blizzards and earthquakes also caused severe damage during the last decade.
- Since 2000, seventy-six countries have developed or updated their forest policies since 2005, sixty-nine countries - mainly in Europe and Africa - have enacted or amended their forest laws.
- Data collection for the Evaluation of global forest resources is becoming more comprehensive and accurate. The new data and additional information on afforestation and natural expansion of forests in the past 20 years have enabled more accurate estimate rates of deforestation and loss of natural causes. The new global estimates for 1990-2000 (Nearly 16 million ha per year) is higher than the previous one, because it now also includes deforestation in countries that have experienced a net increase in forest area.
- A remote sensing survey of forests, led by FAO, with sampling of about 13 500 points, each observed over a period of 15 years, the end of 2011 will provide even more accurate data on global and regional rates of deforestation .
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