A Cut to Global Deforestation areas in Asia and Europe grew, according to the

FAO.

There’s reason to be very optimistic,

God news for nature lovers and tree
huggers all over the world. A new study
conducted by the United Nation (UN) shows the
speed of global deforestation is showing signs
of slowing down because of new planting and
natural forest extension.
said Hosny EI-Lakany, FAO’s assistant directors –
general for forestry. Deforestation is going
downand maybe it will go further down in
future, he said.
Amazon Leading the Way?

From 8.9 million hectares (22 million
acres) net loss every year from 1990 to 2000,
the number dropped to 7.3 million over the last
five years, according to figures from the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In Brazil, home of the largest rainforest
in the world, the government reported that
deforestation of the Amazon reforest has fallen
by 50 percent this year, claiming it is the result
of new protection policies.

The agency, however, said any Despite this development, environment

celebration is premature, claiming the world’s groups still warn is too soon to be sure there
forests are still being destroyed “at an alarming has been a long-term reversal in the destruction
rate.” of the world’s largest rainforest.

The deforestation continues at an According to Brazilian Environment

alarming rate, but thanks to efforts in planting
new trees and restoring degraded lands as well
as natural [forest] expansion in some regions,
the net loss in little lower, said Mette Loyche
Wilkie, co-coordinator of agency’s Global Forest
Resource Assessment.
Wilkie said that deforestation, mainly
the conversion of forest to agriculture land,
continued at rate of about 13 million hectares
(32 million acres) per year.
Alarming Loss
Minister Marina Silva, some 9,000 sq km (3,475
sq miles) with more than 18,000 sq km (6,950
sq miles) in 2003 to 2004.
Silva said she believed this fall was fall
was the result of not only greater government
control but also because of more emphasis on
sustainable development projects.
ILLEGAL LOGGING CRACKDOWN
Environmental groups, while welcoming
the fall,

More than half of the world’s forest

areas is found in the Russian Federation, Brazil,
Canada, US and China combined, FAO said.

According to Wilkie, the decrease of

forest area was mainly due to deforestation or
natural disasters that made the land incapable
of regenerating on its own.

The five – year report, which covered

229 countries, found that forest cover about 30
per cent of that total land area ; nearly four
billion hectares (9.9 billion hectares acres).
Deforestation was most extensive in South
America, where an average of 4.3 million
hectares (10.6 million acres) were lost annually
over the last five years, followed by Africa with
four million hectares (9.8 million acres), the
Rome- based agency said.

North America and Oceania saw smaller

forest losses over the same period, while forest