The state of forest resources in countries world-wi de has reached a critical point; never before have forest ecosystems been so greatly and r apidly affected by human activities as during last decades. Large stretches of the world’s forests, that have served in the subsistence and development of humankind, have been converted to other uses particularly agriculture or are severely degraded. The net change in total forest between 1990 and 2000 approximates a loss of 9.4 million ha y-1 world-wide, leaving 3,682 million ha of natural forest and 187 million ha of forest plantations in the year 2000 (see table 1). Most of these losses (14.2 million hectar es y-1) occurred in tropical countries due to deforestation and land use conversion (FAO 2 001) and contributed to the unequal distribution of forest resources over the different continents (see figure 1).
Publication year
2005
Authors
Schuren S H G; Snelder D J; Masipiquena A B; Lasco R D
Language
English
Keywords
rural development, storage, trees
Geographic
Philippines
