The deforestation rate globally declined between 2015 and 2020, according to the Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2020. This decline is a result of sustainable management measures worldwide.

Possible prelim question:

Q. The Global Forest Resources Assessment Report recently seen in news is published by-

a) UN-FAO

b) UN Forum on Forests

c) International Union of Forest Research Organizations

d) None of these

Global Forest Resources Assessment

• The Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) reports on the status and trends of the world’s forest resources.
• It is led by the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
• The FRA reports the extent of the world’s forest area as well as other variables, including land tenure and access rights, sustainable forest management (SFM), legal and institutional frameworks for forest conservation, and sustainable use.

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Highlights of the 2020 report

• The rate of forest loss in 2015-2020 declined to an estimated 10 million hectares (mha), down from 12 million hectares (mha) in 2010-2015, according to the FRA 2020.
• The FRA 2020 has examined the status of, and trends in, more than 60 forest-related variables in 236 countries and territories in the period 1990–2020.
• The world lost 178 mha of forest since 1990, an area the size of Libya, according to the report.
• However, the rate of net forest loss decreased substantially during 1990–2020 due to a reduction in deforestation in some countries, plus increases in the forest area in others through afforestation.
• The largest proportion of the world’s forests were tropical (45 per cent), followed by boreal, temperate and subtropical.

Data on losses and gains

• The world’s total forest area was 4.06 billion hectares (bha), which was 31 per cent of the total land area. This area was equivalent to 0.52 ha per person.
• Among the world’s regions, Africa had the largest annual rate of net forest loss in 2010–2020, at 3.9 mha, followed by South America, at 2.6 mha.
• On the other hand, Asia had the highest net gain of forest area in 2010–2020, followed by Oceania and Europe.
• However, both Europe and Asia recorded substantially lower rates of the net gain in 2010–2020 than in 2000–2010.
• Oceania experienced net losses of forest area in the decades 1990–2000 and 2000–2010.
• More than 54 per cent of the world’s forests were in only five countries — the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States of America and China.
• The highest per cent of plantation forests were in South America while the lowest was in Europe.

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