While the world is still losing its forests — an estimated million hectares have been lost to deforestation since Yet the report also found that the rate of net forest loss has significantly slowed , from an annual average of 7.
The assessment is the U. But what do these numbers mean? While the assessment is a lesson in not missing the forest for the trees, experts from the forestry research community highlight the importance of keeping a watchful eye on the latter too.
National forest inventories, remote sensing, scientific studies and expert estimates inform the data that the correspondents submit to FAO.
The assessments have had substantial effects on international policymaking over the years. In order to give a holistic view on the state of global forests, also their structure and health status should be considered. Improved remote sensing technology is helping to give a closer vantage point. Satellites and drones increasingly have the capacity to give more detailed assessments of forests, down to gains and losses of individual trees.
Many governments use these technologies to collect their data, and to that end, the U. Ownership of forests remains a fundamental issue to minimizing their risks. The report found that 22 percent of forests are privately owned , a substantial increase since , but land tenure issues are far from being resolved. For 5 percent of all forests, official claim — public or private — is still foggy, and often areas that are under ownership, public or private, are still contentious in claim.
Africa, as the numbers show, is major sore spot. But the COVID pandemic has raised awareness around the definitive links between forest and ecosystem degradation and spread of zoonotic diseases , among other impending crises that can result from widespread biodiversity loss and general decline in environmental health. I have therefore excluded these categories so we can focus on how habitable land is used.
Today, only 4 billion hectares are left. The world has lost one-third of its forest — an area twice the size of the United States. The global population at this time was small and growing very slowly — there were fewer than 50 million people in the world. The amount of land per person that was needed to produce enough food was not small — in fact, it was much larger than today. But a small global population overall meant there was little pressure on forests to make space for land to grow food, and as wood for energy.
If we fast-forward to when the global population had increased more than ten-fold, to million. The amount of land used for agriculture — land to grow crops as well as grazing land for livestock — was expanding. You will notice in the chart that this was not only expanding into previously forested land, but also other land uses such as wild grasslands and shrubbery. The turn of the 20th century is when global forest loss reached the halfway point: half of total forest loss occurred from 8,BC to ; the other half occurred in the last century alone.
This emphasises two important points. First, it reiterates that deforestation is not a new problem: relatively small populations of the past were capable of driving a large amount of forest loss. By , there were 1. Low agricultural productivity and a reliance on wood for fuel meant that large amounts of land had to be cleared for basic provisions. The Congo Basin Forest is home to thousands of unique species of plants and animals.
The diverse array of wildlife species— including Elephants, Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Rhinos, and countless others— are beloved around the world, but increasingly endangered. There are also over species of orchids that are endemic to the basin.
Historians believe the Congo has been inhabited for over 50, years, and there are still indigenous tribes here that live hunter-gatherer lifestyles. It has some of the highest rainfall rates in Kenya, and contains the largest water catchment area in the country. There are numerous rivers originating from the forest, which then feed large lakes including Lake Victoria. The Man Forest was traditionally inhabited by the hunter-gatherer civilization of the Ogiek people, but immigration has led to the clearing of much of the forest for settlement.
This and human activities such as logging has led to the deforestation of more than a fourth of the area since In , there was a memorable political argument over the forced eviction of peoples in order to preserve the forest. This would be good for the forest, but there are concerns over the ethics of the evictions, which are still going on in recent years. The Cross-Niger Transition Forests of Nigeria cover 8, square miles of tropical forest and savanna woodlands. Or, at least it used to.
Now, it is one of the most densely populated areas of Africa and most of the forest has been removed, leaving only grassland. The main trees in the area are the Afzelia which is native to Africa and often cultivated for timber and the Borassus aethiopum palm tree. On the northern part of the island of Borneo, Kinubalu National Park encompasses an area of roughly square miles.
Kinabalu National Park is famous for its namesake mountain, which, at 13, feet, is the tallest one between New Guinea and the Himalayas.
With elevations ranging from less than feet up to Mount Kinabalu , the park boasts an extremely diverse and distinctive collection of plants and animals, including over species of orchids. Habitats in Kinabalu vary from tropical lowlands and hill rainforest to sub-alpine forest, which has an incredible mix of plants found in the Himalayas, Australia, and China. The forest is named after the sundari tree, the most populous in the area.
This area is famously home to the Bengal Tiger , and is one of the last protected spaces in Bangladesh for them to live. But the mangrove boasts many other notable animal residents as well, including wild boars, Ganges river dolphins , cobras, Indian pythons, and crocodiles. Additionally, the beautiful forests of Sumatra are still home to numerous nomadic rainforest people who hunt and gather. In fact, it represents the most rapidly deforested area in the history of the planet.
Some estimates suggest that over half of it has been felled in recent years in the name of creating rubber, paper, and palm oil plantations. Though many NGOs are fighting to save these forests, industrialization and corruption are continuing to prove formidable adversaries.
It has more than 50 rare plant species, and there are several endangered animal species, including Asian elephants , Indo-Chinese tigers, and gibbons. The climate of Xishuangbanna is very humid. Annual precipitation fluctuates from 40 to 80 inches a year. The terrain has lots of hills, with lush, verdant basins between them.
It also has many river crossings, namely the Lancang River system. The Daintree River, cutting through the rainforest , is replete with animals, with particular highlight given to the crocs and pythons.
While the Amazonian rainforest may technically have more diverse plant life, Daintree has the greatest number of rare flora of all the beautiful forests on this list. It consists of 50 separate reserves that total over , hectares, or , acres.
Gondwana was a supercontinent that began to break up during the Jurassic period. So the name is a reference to the fact that the supercontinent was covered in similar rainforests. About 2 million people visit the reserves annually, and in it became a World Heritage Site because of its evolutionary history, geological and biological processes, and biodiversity.
At just over a meager , square miles, the forests of New Guinea are the third-largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon and Congo basin. These beautiful forests are home to many mammals that are completely unique to the island. New Guinea also has the highest mountains east of the Himalayas.
The lowland forests are the most diverse, with the tallest canopy. It earned its UNESCO distinction for being a rare example of the old growth forests that once stretched across Europe , as well as a vital wildlife corridor. In terms of animals, this beautiful forest is home to three different packs of Wolves, Bison, Wild Boar, and a variety of rare bird species.
Some of the trees, which include oak, ash, spruce, etc. A source of true pride, especially for Poland, this forest has been under protection since the s.
It was once declared a royal hunting ground. During the Soviet era, it was used as a retreat for elites. However, keeping it protected has not been without challenges. Taiga is the Russian name that is used globally for the biggest forest in the world. The Tiaga Biome is a nearly continuous belt of coniferous forest that stretches through the far northern reaches of Europe, Asia, and North America. Here, the winters are long and brutal, while the warmer seasons only have a maximum of frost-free days.
Evergreens such as spruce, fir , and pine dominate the relatively untouched landscape.
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