Watersheds of the World - Extent of Original Forest Cover Lost
| Analytical Overview |
| The Original Forest and Current Forest extent maps were produced by the World Conservation Monitoring Center using many global and regional biogeographic maps. These maps were developed for inclusion in the World Resources Institute report, The Last Frontier Forests: Ecosystems and Economies on the Edge, published in 1997. |
Map Projection
Robinson
Map Description
This map shows the percentage of original forest cover lost in each basin. Forest cover loss, measured in square kilometers, was calculated as the difference between the extent of original and current forest. Nine basins have lost more than 500,000 square kilometers of original forest cover, including the Mekong, Ganges, Amazon, Paraná, Ob, Volga and Mississippi River basins. The Yangtze and the Congo have lost more than 1 million square kilometers of forest each. Original forest cover refers to an estimate of the extent of closed canopy forest in existence 8,000 years ago, assuming current climate conditions. Current forest cover refers to amount of closed canopy forest in existence today.
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Citation:
Revenga, C., S. Murray, J. Abramovitz, and A. Hammond, 1998. Watersheds of the World: Ecological Value and Vulnerability. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.
Sources:
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1996, Original Forest Map, Current Forest Map. Cambridge, UK:WCMC.