In absolute figures, the Amazon region has been the champion of forest destruction since the 1970s, and Brazil has always been responsible for the lion’s share of this development. Given the continental size of the Amazon forest area, however, other regions and countries have deforested much larger percentages of their remaining forests. From 2000 to 2010 the Amazon lost 216,000 km2, an area equivalent to 90% of the United Kingdom.16 In spite of this, dense humid forest still covered more than 5.8 million km2 in the Amazon basin in 2010.17 It must be added, though, that a significant proportion of this forest has been affected by human activities, displaying varying degrees of forest degradation.

Year: 2015

From collection: State of the Rainforest

Cartographer: GRID-Arendal