Deforestation by continent

Main article: Deforestation
In decades since 1990, South America and Africa have shown the greatest loss of forest area, with global net loss in the 2010s still about 60% of the 1990s value.[1]

Rates and causes of deforestation vary from region to region around the world. In 2009, two-thirds of the world's forests were located in just 10 countries: Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, India, and Peru.[2]

Global annual deforestation is estimated to total 13.7 million hectares a year, similar to the area of Greece. Half of the area experiencing deforestation consists of new forests or forest growth. In addition to direct human-induced deforestation, growing forests have also been affected by climate change. The Kyoto Protocol includes an agreement to prevent deforestation, but does not stipulate actions to fulfil it.[2]

The rate of global tree cover loss has approximately doubled since 2001, to an annual loss approaching an area the size of Italy.[3]
Home to much of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil's tropical primary (old-growth) forest loss greatly exceeds that of other countries.[4]
A large percentage of global deforestation occurs in the tropics.
  1. ^ Global Forest Resources Assessment / 2020 / Key findings (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2020. pp. 2, 3. doi:10.4060/ca8753en. ISBN 978-92-5-132581-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2023. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b Al Gore: Our Choice, A plan to solve the climate crises, Bloomsbury 2009, Chapter 9 Forests 170-195; pages 174, 192, 184, 186, 192, 172
  3. ^ Butler, Rhett A. (31 March 2021). "Global forest loss increases in 2020". Mongabay. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. ● Data from "Indicators of Forest Extent / Forest Loss". World Resources Institute. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Chart in section titled "Annual rates of global tree cover loss have risen since 2000".
  4. ^ ● 2021 data: "Forest Pulse: The Latest on the World's Forests". WRI.org. World Resources Institute. June 2023. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023.
    ● 2022 and 2023 data: "Forest Pulse: The Latest on the World's Forests". WRI.org. World Resources Institute / Global Forest Review. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024.