One third of the Earth's surface
As Forests cover around 4 billion hectares, just under a third of global land, according to a report published in 2022 by FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This represents almost the total accumulated area of Russia, Canada, the United States and the countries of the European Union.
ADVERTISING
More than a third of the forests (34%) are primary forests, where there are no traces of human activity. Most are found in Brazil, Canada and Russia.
Moreover, 7% of the world's forest area is made up of forests planted by man.
Although forests are present in all climates, almost three-quarters are concentrated in tropical (45%) and boreal (27%) zones.
ADVERTISING
Biodiversity Sanctuary
"Forests are home to most of terrestrial biodiversity“, according to FAO. Specifically, they are home to “80% of amphibian species, 75% of bird species and 68% of mammal species”, in addition to “a good part of the 60.000 tree species on the planet”.
But forests are also the habitat whose fauna and flora are most threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species.
Among the species classified by the IUCN as vulnerable, threatened or extinct, forests contain three quarters (75%) of the fungi, two thirds (66%) of the plants and almost half (45%) of the animals.
ADVERTISING
carbon trap
Forests are a key factor in combating climate change because they contain 662 billion tons of carbon (2020), despite deforestation.
Although the forest area is decreasing, the carbon captured by forests has remained stable over the last 20 years, in particular “thanks to reforestation and better forest management”.
An economic lever
The forestry sector directly contributed US$663 billion (around R$3,4 trillion) to the global economy in 2015 and, “if all economic effects are taken into account”, contributed more than US$1,52 trillion (around R$7,91 trillion) for national economies, according to FAO. An increase of 17% in four years.
ADVERTISING
Forests, through the production of cellulose, paper, furniture and solid wood products, generate around 1% of global employment, that is, 33 million jobs.
Worrying situation in Brazil
While the rate of deforestation slows, “10 million hectares of forests were eliminated every year during the period 2015-2020,” according to FAO. Reforestation and natural expansion of forests, estimated at 5 million hectares per year, have not been enough to compensate for these losses.
The countries that lost the most forests between 2001 and 2021 were Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States and Indonesia, according to the Global Forest Watch (GFW) platform.
ADVERTISING
However, the situation is more worrying in Brazil and Indonesia, because losses mainly affect primary forests and are, for the most part, permanent.
In fact, this is not temporary deforestation related to forests or fires, but forests affected in the long term by agriculture, mining or city expansion.
(To AFP)
Read also
