Annual changes in forest area |
The global forest area reduced by around 8.3 million hectares (0.2%) per year between 1990 and 2000 and by around 5.2 million hectares (0.1%) per year between 2000 and 2010 (Table 9.2).
The forest area has reduced in most regions since 1990, except for Europe (where the area increased in both decades) and Asia (where the area reduced between 1990 and 2000 but has increased by more between 2000 and 2010).
|
Region |
1990-2000 |
2000-2010 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(thousand ha) |
(%) |
(thousand ha) |
(%) |
|
|
Europe |
||||
|
UK |
18 |
0.68 |
9 |
0.31 |
|
EU-271 |
732 |
0.51 |
517 | 0.34 |
|
Total Europe |
877 | 0.09 | 676 | 0.07 |
|
Africa |
-4 067 | -0.56 | -3 414 | -0.49 |
|
Asia |
-595 | -0.10 | 2 235 | 0.39 |
|
North and Central America |
-289 | -0.04 | -10 | 0.00 |
|
Oceania |
-36 | -0.02 | -700 | -0.36 |
|
South America |
-4 213 | -0.45 | -3 997 | -0.45 |
|
World |
-8 323 | -0.20 | -5 211 | -0.13 |
Source: FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010.
Notes:
1. Cyprus is included in EU-27 total but is part of FAO's Asia region.
These figures are outside the scope of National Statistics
Between 2000 and 2010, the largest decrease in forest area was in Brazil (2.6 million hectares per year on average) and the largest increase was in China (3.0 million hectares per year on average) (Figure 9.3).
Figure 9.3 Countries with largest changes in forest area, 2000-2010
Source: FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010.
Notes:
1. Countries with changes of at least 0.4 million hectares per year only.
These figures are outside the scope of National Statistics