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FOREST
CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY
Tropical
Forests Falling
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Forest
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10/09/01
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY by Forests.org
Below
is a thorough summary of the major new "State of the World's
Forests
2001" report from the FAO, which is available in its entirety
online
at: http://www.fao.org/forestry/FO/SOFO/sofo-e.stm . "During
the
1990s, the loss of natural forests was 16.1 million hectares per
year,
of which 15.2 million occurred in the tropics," the FAO said. Of
the
15.2 million hectares of natural forest lost annually in the
tropics,
14.2 million were converted to other land uses and one
million
were converted to forest plantations.
Deforestation was
highest
in Africa and South America, while the countries with the
highest
net loss of forest area between 1990 and 2000 were Argentina,
Brazil,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Mexico,
Nigeria,
the Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Continued loss of forests at
these
rates threatens the World's ecological sustainability and
outright
existence.
g.b.
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Title: Tropical Forests Falling Across Africa,
South America
Source: Copyright 2001 Environment News Service
(ENS)
Date: October 8, 2001
ROME,
Italy, October 8, 2001 (ENS) - Tropical countries are losing
their
forests at a very high rate, the United Nations Food and
Agriculture
Organization (FAO) warned in a new issue of the "State of
the
World's Forests 2001," published Wednesday.
The
major causes for the loss and degradation of forests are -
conversion
to other land uses such as agriculture, pests and diseases,
fire,
overexploitation of forest products for industrial wood and
fuelwood,
poor harvesting practices, overgrazing, air pollution and
storms,
the UN agency reported.
"During
the 1990s, the loss of natural forests was 16.1 million
hectares
per year, of which 15.2 million occurred in the tropics," the
FAO
said in its biannual report. One hectare equals roughly 2.5 acres.
Deforestation
was highest in Africa and South America. "The countries
with
the highest net loss of forest area between 1990 and 2000 were
Argentina,
Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia,
Myanmar,
Mexico, Nigeria, the Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe," the FAO
reported.
Those
with the highest net gain of forest area during this period are
China,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and the United
States.
The
findings are based on the FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment
2000,
the most recent and comprehensive assessment of the status and
trends
of forest resources worldwide. For the first time, the FAO
published
a global forest map on the distribution and location of
forests.
Of the
15.2 million hectares of natural forest lost annually in the
tropics,
14.2 million were converted to other land uses and one
million
were converted to forest plantations.
Outside
tropical countries, 0.9 million hectares of natural forest
were
lost per year, of which slightly more than half were converted to
forest
plantations and the rest were converted to other land uses.
Natural
forest expansion was estimated at 3.6 million hectares
annually
in the past decade, of which 2.6 million hectares were in
non-tropical
countries and one million hectares in the tropics.
"Forest
expansion has been occurring for several decades in many
industrialized
countries, especially where agriculture is no longer an
economically
viable land use," FAO said.
Plantations
contributed to the gain in forest area, with 1.9 million
hectares
of new plantations per year in tropical countries and 1.2
million
hectares in non-tropical areas. Future increases in demand for
wood
are predicted to be met largely by forest plantations, the FAO
predicts.
Bans
and restrictions on commercial logging have in some countries
contributed
to the conservation of natural forests, the FAO says. But
in
other countries, "they have negatively affected the forest sector
and
local communities or have simply transferred the problem of
overharvesting
to other countries. The decision to use bans should be
based
on a thorough analysis of their potential effects and of
alternative
means to achieve the same results," the report cautions.
The
concept of sustainable forest management continues to gain
momentum
around the world, FAO noted. "As of 2000, 149 countries were
involved
in international initiatives to develop and implement
criteria
and indicators for sustainable forest management, although
the
degree of implementation varies considerably. Furthermore,
interest
in forest certification increased; the total global area of
certified
forests grew to 80 million hectares by the end of 2000."
But
only two percent of the world's total forest area is under
sustainable
management. "Most certified forests are located in a
limited
number of temperate countries, and not in tropical countries
where
unsustainable timber harvesting practices are a contributing
factor
to forest degradation," the FAO says.
An
estimated 12 percent of the world's forests are under protected
area
status.
Efforts
to improve forest management will only be successful if forest
crime
and corruption can be reduced, the report stressed. "Illegal and
corrupt
activities threaten the world's forests in many countries,
particularly
but not exclusively in forest rich developing countries."
In some
cases, and as a consequence of trade liberalization and
globalization,
illegal logging and trade appear to be growing, the
report
said.
Illegal
forest practices include - the approval of illegal contracts
with
private enterprises by public servants, harvesting of protected
trees
by commercial corporations, smuggling of forest products across
borders,
and processing forest raw materials without a license.
High
timber values, low salaries of government officials, broad
discretionary
powers of local forestry officers, poor objective
information,
a large number of poorly designed regulations and the
improbability
of harsh punishment create a favorable environment for
forest
crime and corruption, the FAO warns.
"However,
recent years have witnessed some encouraging developments.
Non-governmental
organizations and private sector institutions have
launched
effectively campaigns against illegal activities and
corruption
and have triggered action to combat them.
Some
governments have the political will for reducing illegal
activities
and corruption in the forest sector. These countries have
made
headway in overcoming the resistance of entrenched and powerful
vested
interests, the FAO notes. The keys for combating illegal
activities
are improved monitoring systems, simpler laws and their
strict
enforcement.
The
1990s were marked by periods of severe drought, setting the stage
for
devastating wildfires to occur in practically every corner of the
world,
the FAO reports. Millions of hectares burn annually in dry West
Africa,
large areas of Africa south of the Equator, central Asia,
southern
South America and Australia. For example, during the 2000
fire
season an estimated 200 million hectares south of the equator in
Africa
burned.
Policy
makers are beginning to realize that continued emphasis only on
emergency
response will not prevent large and damaging fires in the
future.
Emergency preparedness and response programmes must be coupled
with
better land use policies and practices. Working towards forestry
practices
with community involvement is an important strategy to
better
conserve natural resources while reducing the impacts of
wildfires.
Commenting
on forest based wildlife in developing countries, the FAO
report
noted that "unsustainable hunting, especially commercial
hunting,
is the major cause of what is known as the empty forest
syndrome
- the elimination of most of the animal life by hunting."
Meat
from wild animals, known as bushmeat, has long been a staple of
rural
people in many parts of the world but, with urbanization, the
demand
for bushmeat is increasingly being met by commercial hunters
and
traders.
A
bushmeat crisis has evolved in equatorial Africa, the FAO report
confirms.
The forests of tropical Africa are rich in primate species,
which
are particularly vulnerable to overexploitation because they
breed
slowly and often have small populations.
"About
15 primate species are believed to be threatened by the
bushmeat
trade. The number of chimpanzees in Africa is believed to
have
declined by 85 percent during the 20th century," the FAO says.
"Other
species threatened by the bushmeat trade include the forest
elephant,
the water chevrotain, six duiker species, the leopard and
the
golden cat."
The
State of the World's Forests 2001 report is available online at:
http://www.fao.org/forestry/FO/SOFO/sofo-e.stm
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