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Keeping Forests usable

Mountain forest

This is the 2007 draft on forests. You will get the newest version here.

Forests are relevant to climate, air quality and water balance, because of their high biodiversity and bioproductivity, and, moreover, they are a direct source for food.

Affected people and foundations of life: 4.6 billion people depend on forests for their water (MA [Millennium Ecosystem Assessment] 2005, 29). Deforestation has risen the risk of malaria in Africa and South America by increasing the habitat suitable for mosquitoes that transmit malaria (MA 2005, 114). The global area of forests has been halved over the past three centuries. In the nineties 12 million hectares of tropical rainforest were lost annually (in Africa 0.7% per year), while in temperate and boreal zones, forest cover expanded by 3 million hectares per year, especially by plantations. (MA 2005, 29, 33.) 18-25% of greenhouse gas emissions each year originate in deforestation. Half of deforestation (6 million hectares a year) occurs in primary forests, which make up 36% of the world's forests. (UN [United Nations] 2007, 23.)

Targets/goals: to reverse the loss of forest cover worldwide by sustainable forest management (target of UNFF [United Nations Forum on Forests] 2006, 3).

Trend: + The net loss of forests has reduced in the last years to 7.3 million hectares annually (equivalent to the area of Panama; UN 2007, 23; UN 2006, 16). To reach the target of UNFF, net loss has to be reduced to zero.

Measures: Sustainable forestry is to be extended (UN Declaration on Forest Principles 1992, etc. [and so on]). Trading of illegally felled timber has to be supervised and restricted. Poverty reduction, soil protection, and access to modern energy can open up alternatives to depletion. Recycling of paper can be expanded, and wasting of paper reduced.


Annotations: For numeric names the short scale is used:
1 billion = one thousand million = 109 = 1 000 000 000

Sources

Draft (2007)

Photo credit: © David Anderson, Centre College