Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005

15 KEY FINDINGS

KEY FINDINGS

Forests cover 30% of the total land area

The total forest area in 2005 is just under 4 billion hectares, corresponding to an average of 0.62 ha per capita. But the area of forest is unevenly distributed. For example, 64 countries with a combined population of 2 billion have less than 0.1 ha of forest per capita. The ten most forest-rich countries account for two-thirds of the total forest area. Seven countries or territories have no forest at all, and an additional 57 have forest on less than 10 percent of their total land area.

Total forest area continues to decrease – but the rate of net loss is slowing

Deforestation, mainly conversion of forests to agricultural land, continues at an alarmingly high rate – about 13 million hectares per year.

At the same time, forest planting, landscape restoration and natural expansion of forests have significantly reduced the net loss of forest area. The net change in forest area in the period 2000-2005 is estimated at -7.3 million hectares per year (an area about the size of Sierra Leone or Panama), down from – 8.9 million hectares per year in the period 1990-2000.

Africa and South America continued to have the largest net loss of forests.  Oceania and North and Central America also had a net loss of forests. The forest area in Europe continued to expand, although at a slower rate. Asia, which had a net loss in the 1990s, reported a net gain of forests in the period 2000-2005, primarily due to large-scale afforestation reported by China.

Primary forests account for 36% of forest area -but 6 million hectares are lost or modified each year

On a global average, more than one-third of all forests are primary forests (defined as forests of native species where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and where the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed). The rapid decrease of primary forest area reported for the 1990s continued in 2000-2005. This decrease stems not only from deforestation, but also from modification of forests due to selective logging and other human interventions.

A number of countries registered positive change rates in the area of primary forests, including several European countries and Japan. This is possible because forests with no human interventions can evolve over time to meet the definition of primary forests used in FRA 2005.

Plantation forests are increasing but still account for less than 5% of total forest area

Forests and trees are being planted for many purposes and at increasing rates. Plantation forests – a subset of planted forests defined as those consisting primarily of introduced species – make up an estimated 3.8 percent of the total forest area, or 140 million hectares. Productive plantations, primarily established for wood and fibre production, account for 78 percent of the plantation forests, and protective plantations, primarily established for conservation of soil and water, for 22 percent. The area of plantation forests has increased by about 2.8 million hectares per year during 2000-2005, 87 percent of which are productive plantations.

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