Caring for Forests

Caring for Forests

By Dr Arvind Kumar

According to FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010, The world's forest biodiversity is threatened by a high global rate of deforestation and forest degradation as well as a decline in primary forest area. In many countries, however, there is a continued positive trend towards the conservation of forestbiological diversity via dedicated conservation areas. Globally, around 13 million hectares (ha) of forests were converted to other uses (including agriculture) or were lost through natural causes each year between 2000 and 2010. That is down from around 16 million ha per year during the 1990s.

A high rate of deforestation is causing damage to forest biodiversity.
More than one-third of all forests are classified as primary —accounting for 36 percent (1.4 billion ha) of the world's forest area but their area has decreased by more than 40 million ha — at a rate of 0.4 percent annually — over the last ten years. South America accounted for the largest proportion of the loss in primary forests, followed by Africa and Asia. Other threats to forest biodiversity include unsustainable forest management, climate change, forest fires, insect pests and diseases, natural disasters and invasive species — all of which are causing severe damage in some countries. FAO Assistant Director-General Eduardo Rojas’s advice is worth consideration: "The world's forests represent a vital source of forest biological diversity. This biodiversity is an important treasure, especially as forests will not just have to adapt to climate change but are also expected to help mitigate it. Greater investments in sustainable forest management are urgently required to better conserve and manage forest biodiversity."