Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment

The report, titled “The State of the World’s Forests,” by Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) emphasizes persistent challenges from pests, wildfires, and climate change in addition to positive trends in the decline of deforestation.

  • According to the report, rates of deforestation have significantly decreased globally in recent decades.
  • Approximately 420 million hectares (ha) of forest were converted to different purposes between 1990 and 2020. But between 1990 and 2002, annual rates of deforestation dropped to 15.8 million hectares; between 2015 and 2020, they were 10.2 million hectares.
  • There is a favourable trend in forest conservation activities, as seen by the large decrease in the net rate of change in the forest area.

Distribution of Forest Areas

  • 31% of the Earth’s total area, or over 4.1 billion hectares, were covered by forests as of 2020.
  • Together, the United States, China, Brazil, Canada, and the Russian Federation make up 54% of the world’s forest area.
  • Approximately two-thirds of the world’s forest area is collectively contributed by Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Peru, and India. These countries are also major donors.

Progress in the Region and the Nation

  • A number of nations, including China, Australia, India, Chile, Vietnam, Turkey, the United States, France, Italy, and Romania, reported annual increases in their forested areas in 2020.
  • The Global Forest Resource Assessment 2025’s preliminary data shows that Indonesia’s deforestation decreased by 8.4% in 2021–2022—the lowest amount since 1990.
  • In the Legal Amazon zone, Brazil claimed a 50% drop in deforestation in 2023 over 2022.
  • Africa also demonstrated a decline in the yearly rates of deforestation between 2016–19 and 2020–22, both across individual sub regions and throughout the continent. 

Hazards posed by pests and wildfires

  • Even though there has been some progress in reducing deforestation, forests are still at serious risk from wildfires.
  • Approximately 383 million hectares of land were impacted by fires worldwide in 2023 alone, producing 6,687 megatons of carbon dioxide emissions. The annual emissions of fossil fuels from the European Union are more than double this amount.
  • Remarkably, prolonged droughts that boosted fuel use and fire severity in the boreal forest led to the 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions that resulted from these fires in 2021.

Pests are another danger to forests:

  • According to the Korea Forest Service, 12 million pine trees were lost between 1988 and 2022 in the Republic of Korea, China, and Japan as a result of the pine wood worm.
  • Approximately 25 million hectares of forest area in the United States are expected to be severely damaged by diseases and insects by 2027.

Mangrove Forests

  • The mangrove area worldwide was estimated to be 14.8 million hectares, with over 44% of that area being in South and Southeast Asia.
  • Between 2000 and 2010 and 2010 and 2020, there was a 23% reduction in the gross worldwide mangrove loss rate, but there was also a modest dip in the area gain rate.
  • These changes were caused by a number of factors, including rice farming, aquaculture, natural retraction, conversion to oil-palm plantations, and other agricultural uses.

Adaptability of Mangroves

  • Mangroves proved resilient in the face of these obstacles, as seen by their natural expansion surpassing the area lost to natural causes.
  • Between 2000 and 2020, the net change in mangrove area worldwide was negative; but, natural expansion surpassed losses by a significant amount.
  • Because of extreme weather events and rising sea levels, climate change continues to represent a serious threat to forests, particularly to mangrove ecosystems.
  • These modifications jeopardize the natural balance of forested areas and increase the susceptibility of nearby communities to calamities.

Reference: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/forests/state-of-the-worlds-forests-2024-global-efforts-curb-deforestation-but-threats-to-forests-from-wildfires-and-pests-remain 

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