The finding comes in its latest Global Forest Resources Assessment report (FRA 2020), which aims to turn the tide on deforestation, or the conversion of forest to other uses such as agriculture.
“The wealth of information on the world’s forests is a valuable public good for the global community to help facilitate evidence-based policy formulation, decision-making and sound investments in the forest sector,” said Maria Helena Semedo, the FAO Deputy Director-General.
Forest area decreasing
The global total forest area stands at some 4.06 billion hectares but continues to decrease, according to the report.
FAO estimates that deforestation has robbed the world of roughly 420 million hectares since 1990, mainly in Africa and South America.
The top countries for average annual net losses of forest area over the last 10 years, are Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Angola, Tanzania, Paraguay, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bolivia and Mozambique.
Sustainability at risk
However, there is good news as the rate of forest loss has declined substantially over the past three decades. The annual rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million hectares between 2015-2020, compared with 12 million during 2010-2015. Read more…
