The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has unequivocally determined that the supply for the world's forest products-Earth's forestland-is shrinking at an unsustainable rate. Surveying satellite data, the FAO determined that net forest loss-which is partially offset by afforestation and natural expansion-totaled 72.9 million hectares of forestland between 1990 and 2005.
Over 15 Years, Earth Lost 72.9 Million Hectares of Forestland
As of 2005, total forestland area was 3.69 billion hectares, or about 30 percent of the global land area.
To reach its conclusions, the FAO analyzed high-resolution satellite data. This process differed from past comprehensive reports based on country-by-country reports using a wide variety of sources.
"Deforestation is depriving millions of people of forest goods and services that are crucial to rural livelihoods, economic well-being and environmental health," said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry. In the U.S., forest products account for $100 billion in GDP, or the annual total value of good produced and services provided in a country, according to the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wis.
Forestland was converted to other uses at the highest rate in South America, followed by Africa. Asia, led by replanting efforts in China, recorded a net gain in forestland during the survey period, while "slight net increases" were also registered in subtropical, temperate and boreal regions.
The reason for the lag in reporting the survey results is that analysis of the data-gathered by NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS)-took four years and involved more than 200 researchers from 102 countries. A video interview with Adam Gerrand, FAO forestry officer for remote sensing, in which he discusses the survey, can be viewed here.
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