In order for our planet to remain healthy, we need forests to regulate the water cycle and stabilize soils. Forests absorb carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, modify climate and cool air, and provide a habitat for millions of species of plants and animals. By providing water cycle regulation, soil conversion, and biodiversity, forests are vital to maintaining healthy ecosystems. Forests are the earth’s lungs.

Almost 30 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by forests, which is 4 billion hectares. Over these last five years, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, we have lost approximately 37 million hectares of forest. Some of reasons why we are cutting down forests is because of the demand for wood and to make way for farms. Each year the earth losses about 7.3 million hectares of forest.

http://www.earth-policy.org/Indicators/Forest/2006_data.htm#table1

Out of all the continents, Africa has lost the most amount of forests. Between 1990 and 2005, Africa has lost 64 million hectares. South America, coming in second, has accelerated the deforestation process in these last five years. Since 2000, they are losing 4.3 million hectares annually. Brazil’s recent loss of 16 million hectares is reflected in this acceleration. If this rate of deforestation continues the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, will be cut down to 60 percent of 2050, its current size.

Amazon Rainforest

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/River_in_the_Amazon_rainforest.jpg

 

Asia has gained a net 5 million hectares in these last five years. This gain is due to the massive reforestation effort in China. They have planted 20 million hectares of trees between 2000 and 2005. This growth rate is a result of China’s logging ban, a policy enacted after widespread deforestation the lest the countryside vulnerable to severe floods in 1998 in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River valley. As China gains forests, South and Southeast Asia lost over 14 million hectares of forest in the last five years. Indonesia is losing 2 million hectares a year due to cutting and all of their natural forests could disappear in 10 years in the give way to timber and oil-palm plantations.

Forest area in North America has been stable. The continent has been at 675 million hectares for the past 15 years. Since 1990, Central America has lost over 5 million hectares and Europe has gained 12 million hectares. While gains in forest areas are in industrial countries who lead the way in conserving their own forests, developing countries bear the brut of deforestation because of the demand for wood.Forests are cleared for the growth of food and energy crops, grazing cattle, and meeting the demand for wood. In 2004, a total of 3.4 billion cubic meters was used to harvest global wood. More than half of the timber production is harvested illegally.

Forest plantations produce roughly 35 percent of the annual wood harvest. Since 2000, plantation area has accelerated causing an increase of 2.8 million hectares a year. Sill, plantations cannot offer the same biodiversity and vitality that a natural forest can. Plantations are a way of offsetting future deforestation by developing on lands that are already clear of trees.

In order to keep our natural forests intact, we must reduce consumption of virgin wood products. Sustainable forestry depends on shifting from clear cutting to selective cutting of mature trees while maintaining the social economic benefits enjoyed by forest inhabitants and other stakeholders. This year, the Forest Stewardship Council had certified some 68 million hectares in 66 countries as sustainable.

In order to keep forests flourishing and keep our planet healthy we must learn to reduce the consumption of forest resources. We have to do it or else we will be left regulating the water cycle and stabilizing soils, something that a tree was made to do.

http://www.enn.com/aff.html?id=1211

http://www.earth-policy.org/Indicators/Forest/2006.htm

http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/forest_benefits.php

http://www.peopleandplanet.net/docphp?id=1480&section=1

http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html