The ecological and economic values of forests are enormous--they support up to 90 percent of known terrestrial species, store 283 gigatonnes of carbon, and provide a livelihood for over one billion people worldwide. In the past decade alone, roughly 130 million hectares of forest has been lost, an area larger than the combined size of France and Spain. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recently pledged to plant one billion trees during 2007 with the cooperation of communities, business and industry, civil society organizations, and governments. Although the Plant for the Planet: Billion Trees Campaign is not enough to offset current rates of deforestation, it reflects a practical and symbolic step towards protecting and restoring global forests.
The World's Forests, 2005
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2005. Global Forest Resources Assessment
Forests and Climate Change
Forests play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle by sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) through photosynthesis and releasing it through respiration. The total quantity of carbon stored in forests and forest soils is roughly 150 percent of that in the atmosphere, meaning that the global warming potential of forest loss is high. Deforestation currently accounts for one-quarter of all manmade CO2 emissions. The primary driver of deforestation worldwide is conversion to agricultural land, although in some regions of the world, harvesting timber for fuel wood is also a significant contributor.
Annual Deforestation in the Amazon and Resulting CO2 Emissions
http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/annual_deforestation_in_the_amazon_and_resulting_co2_emissions
Map Designer: UNEP/GRID-Arendal
Planting One Billion Trees
UNEP's Billion Trees Campaign was inspired by 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, who has planted more than 30 million trees in 12 African countries though her Green Belt Movement. The campaign recognizes four important areas for planting:
- degraded natural forests and wilderness;
- farms and rural areas;
- sustainably managed forest plantations; and
- urban settings.
RELATED LINKS:
Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005
EarthTrends
Forests, Grasslands, and Drylands Searchable Database
Fragmenting Forests: The Loss of Large Frontier Forests
