Even though forests are often very important to households, there is surprisingly little knowledge on the actual level of household forest income and the role of such income in maintaining livelihoods. The evidence regarding the role of forests in allowing households to move out of poverty is scant and mixed; there are examples indicating that income from forests allows households to accumulate assets and escape poverty. However, by wa...

Conversion to agriculture, including the recent expansion in the area devoted to oil palm plantations, continues to be the main cause of forest loss in Southeast Asia.

835 ha of forest disappear every hour, the equivalent of 1140 football pitches.

The largest importers of forestry products in general remain the developed countries, led by the United States, Japan and the Euro pean Union. The Russian Federation has recently emerged as the larg est exporter of industrial roundwood, accounting for 35 per cent of global trade in 2004. In the same year, China became the world’s top importer of industrial roundwood and, at the same time, a major exporter of wood panels, paper and carto...

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) there are at present just under 4 billion hectares of forest in the world, covering in all about 30 per cent of the world’s land area (FAO 2006a).

Carbon stocks in land based ecosystems are distributed irregularly between tropical and northern latitudes but are mostly concentrated in forest ecosystems and wetlands. Recent research suggests tropical forests play an even more important role in absorbing carbon than previously thought, taking up 1 Gt of carbon every year, or about 40 per cent of the total for land based absorption (Britton et al. 2007).

The net change in forest area (loss and gain) describes the sum of all changes in forest area over a specific period of time (including reductions due to deforestation and disasters, and increases due to afforestation and expansion of forests during the period).

Through processes of respiration and through the decay of organic matter or burning of biomass, forests release carbon. A carbon ‘sink’ is formed in the forest when the uptake of carbon is higher than the release. The conversion of forested to nonforested areas in developing countries has had a significant impact on the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the tmosphere, as has forest degradation caused by over-exploitation of forests for timber ...

Demand for land for production of biomass for energy is putting increasing pressure on forests. Energy security concerns, high oil prices and climate mitigation policies aimed at replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, have all led to a greater interest in biofuels. The transport sector is using increasing quantities of ethanol, mainly produced from sugar cane, corn and cassava, as a substitute for petrol (gasoline), and biodiese...

Decreases and increases in forest area, 1940-2005. Costa rica has recently recorded a change from having a net loss of forests to having a net gain in forest area.

In Central Africa, species under threat from poaching include elephants and rhinos. Rhinoceros horn is used in traditional Asian medicine, believed to reduce fevers and even prevent loss of life. Other parts of the rhino, including the skin and bones, are also used for their supposed medicinal qualities. Demand for rhino horn has increased substantially in recent years.

Fuelwood and charcoal from forests have long provided energy for heating, cooking and industry. Almost 90 per cent of the wood harvested in Africa, and 40 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, is used for fuel (FAO 2006a). Wood pellets, typically produced in North America and Europe from sawdust and other timber by-products, are increasingly used in stoves, boilers and power stations (Peksa-Blanchard et al. 2007)

In 2005, 2.8 per cent of total global forest cover was made up of productive forest plantations, amounting to an area of approximately 110 million hectares (FAO 2006a). According to the FAO, there was an increase of approximately 40 per cent in the area of the world’s forests plantations with productive functions in the 15 years from 1990. Studies indicate that this growth – a marked trend in recent years – is set to continue (e.g., MA...

Changes in area covered by forest, 1990-2005.

Forests can regulate groundwater levels and increase drainage of soils where the water table is close to the surface. If there are salts in the upper soil layers, then removal of forests can result in raised groundwater levels and the movement of salts into the rooting zone of plants (FAO 2008c).

The Amazon is now part of a national and international economy which, through globalization, is responding to market demands, accelerating the rate at which agricultural crops and cattle ranching are replacing or impoverishing native forests.

The micro-climate associated with forest areas is often a critical factor in growing cash crops. In East Africa, tea is grown in areas adjacent to montane forests where conditions for tea production are optimal due to constant moisture levels, air temperatures between 10° and 30° C and soil temperatures between 16° and 25° C. The high moisture levels in these montane forests combined with the high heat capacity of water reduces the day...

Around the world, conflicts and wars are, directly and indirectly, taking a toll on forests and the communities that rely on them for their livelihood. Dense forests in remote areas provide safe haven for refugees fleeing from conflict, which can result in overexploitation of forest resources.

Carbon stocks in forest areas comprise carbon in living and dead organic matter both above and below ground including trees, the understorey, dead wood, litter and soil. According to the latest projections, changes in climate will mean that by 2050 the world’s ecosystems, including all its important forests, will be releasing more carbon than they are capable of absorbing.