30 November 2011, Rome - A new, satellite-based survey released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provides a more accurate picture of changes in the world's forests, showing forest land use declined between 1990 and 2005.
The findings of a global remote sensing survey show the world's total forest area in 2005 was 3.69 billion hectares, or 30 percent of the global land area.
The new findings suggest that the rate of world deforestation averaged 14.5 million hectares per year between 1990 and 2005, which is consistent with previous estimates. Deforestation largely occurred in the tropics, likely attributable to the conversion of tropical forests to agricultural land.
On the other hand, the survey shows that worldwide, the net loss in forest area between 1990 and 2005 was not as great as previously believed, since gains in forest areas are larger than previously estimated.
Read more on the FAO website
Photo credits : CC BY-SA 2.0 - Alexandre Prévot
As we head into the final quarter of the International Year of Forests 2011, the FAO would like to invite you to submit a photo of the forests that you know and love. Therefore they are asking you to send a photo that shows your connection to the forest. They want to get an impression or image which best explains what the forest means to you and why you decided to devote your life to serve forests. They would like to get a better idea of you, the people who work in forests and what links you to the forest.
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BOGOR, Indonesia (20 October, 2011)_While women in many of Brazil’s extractive reserves do not play a large role in decision-making processes, a recent study conducted by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and National Council of Extractivist Populations (CNS) has found that Amazonian women are pushing for greater roles in generating income from forest products and safeguarding areas that serve as a principal source of food and medicine for their families.
BOGOR, Indonesia (13 October, 2011)
The Orang Rimba are an indigenous people living in Jambi, Indonesia in a forested area that is under conflict. They believe that God manifests inside animals in the forest, one is God Mergo – “God Tiger” – whom they worship. They never used to have a permenant home, whenever they felt there was bad luck or a death occured they would move through the forest usually in groups of around 30 people. Their houses often came in the shape of “rumbia” – a kind of coconut tree, whose leaves they used as their roof. Since the Orang Rimba believe they are part of nature, part of the forest, sometimes they go so far as to sleep under the stars, unprotected. Despite living and depending on the forest this way, we haven’t heard any stories of the Orang Rimba coming into conflict with animals like the Sumatran tiger, or hunting them for their fur.
