Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute.
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines a forest as, "Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban use." Using this definition, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 found that forests covered 4.06 billion hectares, or approximately 31 percent of the world's land area in 2020.
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation but also after clearcutting. Two important purposes of reforestation programs are for harvesting of wood or for climate change mitigation purposes.
Deforestation in Thailand refers to the conversion of its forested land to other uses. Deforestation numbers are inexact due to the scope of the issue. According to the Royal Forest Department (RFD) in 2019, Thai forests cover 31.6% of Thailand's landmass. The department claims that forest coverage grew by 330,000 rai in 2018, an area equivalent in size to the island of Phuket. A year earlier, an academic claimed that, since 2016, forested area has declined by 18,000 rai, a significant improvement over the period 2008–2013, when a forested million rai were lost each year. In 1975, the government set a goal of 40% forest coverage—25% natural forest and 15% commercial forest—within 20 years. To achieve that target in 2018, 27 million rai would have to be afforested.
Deforestation in Nigeria refers to the extensive and rapid clearing of forests within the borders of Nigeria. This environmental issue has significant impacts on both local and global scales.
Deforestation is a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystems in Costa Rica. The country has a rich biodiversity with some 12,000 species of plants, 1,239 species of butterflies, 838 species of birds, 440 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 232 species of mammals, which have been under threat from the effects of deforestation. Agricultural development, cattle ranching, and logging have caused major deforestation as more land is cleared for these activities. Despite government efforts to mitigate deforestation, it continues to cause harm to the environment of Costa Rica by impacting flooding, soil erosion, desertification, and loss of biodiversity.
Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental issues in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's current forest cover as of 2017 was 29.7%. In the 1920s, the island had a 49 percent forest cover but by 2005 this had fallen by approximately 26 percent. Between 1990 and 2000, Sri Lanka lost an average of 26,800 ha of forests per year. This amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 1.14%. Between 2000 and 2005 the rate accelerated to 1.43% per annum. However, with a long history of policy and laws towards environmental protection, deforestation rates of primary cover have decreased 35% since the end of the 1990s thanks to a strong history of conservation measures. The problem of deforestation in Sri Lanka is not as significant in the southern mountainous regions as it is in northern and lowland southern Sri Lanka, largely due to the nature of environmental protection.
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.
Wilmar International Limited is a Singaporean food processing and investment holding company with more than 300 subsidiary companies. Founded in 1991, it is one of Asia's leading agribusiness groups alongside the COFCO Group. It ranks amongst the largest listed companies by market capitalisation on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), being the second largest as of September 2010. It was ranked 211th in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2020. It was ranked 3rd in the World's Most Admired Company by Fortune in 2019.
Deforestation in Indonesia involves the long-term loss of forests and foliage across much of the country; it has had massive environmental and social impacts. Indonesia is home to some of the most biologically diverse forests in the world and ranks third in number of species behind Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Gishwati Forest is a forest in the north-western part of Rwanda, not far from Lake Kivu. It is part of Gishwati–Mukura National Park. The area's forests were largely intact in 1978, and substantial forest cover still remained in 1986. During the Rwandan genocide, wave after wave of refugees arrived in Gishwati Forest and began clearing it, often for subsistence farming. By 2001, only a small circular patch of native forest remained, 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of the forest's original 250,000. In addition to tremendous loss of biodiversity, the region experiences soil erosion and degradation and landslides. Reforestation efforts in the past few years have increased the remnant native forest to about 2,500 acres (10 km2). Large tea estates occupy the central and northern parts of the reserve.
Deforestation in Borneo has taken place on an industrial scale since the 1960s. Borneo, the third largest island in the world, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, was once covered by dense tropical and subtropical rainforests.
Oba Hills Forest Reserve is a reserve in Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria, that covers about 52 km2 of hilly terrain with deep gorges. Oba Hill Forest Reserve is a small enclave encompassing three hills with a wide valley running in between. A large teak plantation is there on its western side, covering about 12% of its total area beyond the hills. Only coppices are left on the over-exploited plantation. According to a UICN report from 2003, about 12% of the reserve had been planted with teak. Some chimpanzee sightings had been reported, and in 1999, a dead chimp was offered for sale in a local market. A 2009 report said that almost all of the reserve had been converted to plantations and farms, with only two gullies remaining forest-covered. It is now believed that chimpanzees are nearly extinct in the reserve.
Akumadan is the capital of Offinso North, a district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It has a population of about 20000. Akumadan township is well known for its agricultural activities. All sorts of food crops can be planted on its soil but tomatoes is the largest crop. 90 percent of natives above 18 years are tomato farmers. They produce more tomatoes than any other town in Ghana. It has a dam that helps to irrigate some farmlands within its reach during dry seasons. Cassava, pepper, onion, garden eggs, plantain, maize etc. are also abundant. A company called Fomghana has acquired a large area of land for planting trees near a river that irrigates it. Recently, the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo formally opened a Greenhouse project. Its poised to train young people in Agric Technology.
The Bakossi National Park (BNP) is a protected area within the Bakossi Forest Reserve, created by a decree in early 2008. The park covers 29,320 hectares, and was justified on the basis of preserving plant diversification.
Eden Reforestation Projects (Eden) is a nonprofit NGO that works in developing countries to rebuild natural landscapes destroyed by deforestation. Eden works directly with communities experiencing extreme poverty resulting from the deforestation and destruction of the land that sustains them. The organization employs thousands of local community members and provides them with the education and tools necessary to plant, grow, and protect to maturity, millions of trees each year. Eden currently plants approximately 15 million trees a month, and in 2020 reached over 423 million trees planted of which over 225 million are mangrove trees.
Deforestation is a primary contributor to climate change, and climate change affects forests. Land use changes, especially in the form of deforestation, are the second largest anthropogenic source of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions, after fossil fuel combustion. Greenhouse gases are emitted during combustion of forest biomass and decomposition of remaining plant material and soil carbon. Global models and national greenhouse gas inventories give similar results for deforestation emissions. As of 2019, deforestation is responsible for about 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation are accelerating. Growing forests are a carbon sink with additional potential to mitigate the effects of climate change. Some of the effects of climate change, such as more wildfires, insect outbreaks, invasive species, and storms are factors that increase deforestation.
Rwoho Forest Reserve is a protected area located to the south of Bugamba Central Forest Reserve in Rwampara and Isingiro districts in south western Uganda. The reserve covers extensive high ground and numerous valleys, including the majority of the Kyezo valley's western watershed. Rwoho Forest Reserve has an area of 91 square kilometers and is maintained on behalf of the Government of Uganda by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) under the National Forestry Authority and Tree Planting Act 8/2003.
Bugamba Central Forest reserve is a natural forest located in the Rwampara district, in southwestern Uganda. It has been referred to as an intensive soil conservation zone. The Reserve is one of the few softwood plantations where spacing is practiced. It is managed and is maintained on behalf of the Government of Uganda by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) under the National Forestry Authority and Tree Planting Act 8/2003.
Reforestation in Nigeria employs both natural and artificial methods. Reforestation involves the deliberate planting of trees and restoring forested areas that have been depleted or destroyed. It involves a planned restocking of the forest to ensure sustainable supply of timber and other forest products. Reforestation, in essence, involves replenishing forests to guarantee a consistent and sustainable supply of timber and various other forest resources. This objective can be accomplished through either natural regeneration techniques or artificial regeneration methods. Both of these approaches have been utilized in the reforestation efforts within Nigeria's forests. At the initiation of the reforestation program in Nigeria, the natural regeneration approach was chosen for two primary reasons. Firstly, it aimed to preserve the rainforest in its original state by allowing it to regenerate naturally from the existing seed bank in the soil. Secondly, and of significant importance, this method was selected due to budgetary constraints, as there were insufficient funds available to establish plantations through direct means.
