System for Cyclical Use of Forest and Wood Resources

Table I Change in Forest Area , 1990-2000

Region Total Forest
(1,000 ha)		 Forest cover change , 1990-2000
Annual change
(1,000 ha)		 annual rate of change
(%)
1990 2000
Africa

702,502

649,866

-5,262

-0.8

Asia

551,448

547,793

-364

-0.1

Oceania

201,271

197,623

-365

-0.2

Europe

1,030,271

1,039,251

881

0.1

North and
Central America


555,002


549,304


-570


-0.1

South America

922,731

885,618

-3,711

-0.4

World total

3,963,429

3,869,455

-9,391

-0.2

Sources: FAO, "State of the World's Forests 2001"

Notes: 1) Totals are inconsistent due to rounding.
2) In State of the World's Forests 2001 (SOFO2001), for both developed and developing countries, forest is defined as "land with a tree canopy cover of more than 10 percent and area of more than 0.5 ha." In SOFO2001 the forest area in 1990 is also calculated according to this definition. However, in State of the World's Forests 1999 (SOFO1999), the definition of forest for developed countries is "land with tree crown cover (stand density) of more than about 20 percent of the area," while that for developing countries is "ecosystem with a minimum of 10 percent crown cover of trees and/or bamboos." Therefore, the forest area in 1990 in SOFO2001 is different from that in SOFO1999.

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