The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe, finds that ~17.4 million km2 of forest has high landscape-level integrity (with a score from 9.6–10), compared to ~14.6 million with medium integrity (6–9.6) and ~12.2 million km2 with low integrity (0–6).
The FLII finds that most remaining high-integrity forest landscapes are found in Canada, Russia, Rocky Mountains, Alaska, the Amazon, the Guianas, southern Chile, Central Africa, and New Guinea. Low integrity forests, on the other hand, are found in Western and Central Europe, the American Southwest, South-East Asia west of New Guinea, the Andes, much of China and India, the Albertine Rift, West Africa, Mesoamerica, and the Atlantic Forests of Brazil.
The results are meant to help decision-makers at all levels achieve their commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). [1]
An ecosystem is considered to have integrity when its structure, composition, and ecological processes are within their natural range. [6]
172 countries have been ranked: [7]
Country | Mean FLII | Low integrity (km2) | Medium integrity (km2) | High integrity (km2) | Total forest area (km2) | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seychelles | 10 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 68 | |
Sudan | 9.8 | 1 | 72 | 495 | 569 | |
Guyana | 9.58 | 4,162 | 40,817 | 147,413 | 192,391 | |
South Sudan | 9.45 | 5,083 | 59,389 | 146,218 | 210,691 | |
Suriname | 9.39 | 6,796 | 25,031 | 107,954 | 139,781 | |
Mongolia | 9.36 | 520 | 11,915 | 27,407 | 39,841 | |
Central African Republic | 9.28 | 30,161 | 139,350 | 379,097 | 548,608 | |
Botswana | 9.13 | 13 | 187 | 372 | 572 | |
Gabon | 9.07 | 11,780 | 118,348 | 120,852 | 250,979 | |
Russian Federation | 9.02 | 739,484 | 2,245,281 | 5,137,079 | 8,121,843 | |
Canada | 8.99 | 480,206 | 1,027,386 | 2,968,268 | 4,475,860 | |
Congo | 8.89 | 24,512 | 124,215 | 158,184 | 306,911 | |
Kyrgyzstan | 8.86 | 329 | 2,819 | 2,761 | 5,909 | |
Peru | 8.86 | 85,793 | 190,547 | 509,720 | 786,061 | |
Afghanistan | 8.85 | 90 | 1,475 | 977 | 2,542 | |
Bhutan | 8.85 | 1,620 | 16,769 | 10,140 | 28,529 | |
Papua New Guinea | 8.84 | 37,294 | 183,415 | 216,355 | 437,064 | |
Vanuatu | 8.82 | 734 | 5,322 | 4,448 | 10,504 | |
Venezuela | 8.78 | 64,650 | 170,792 | 351,112 | 586,554 | |
Tajikistan | 8.65 | 34 | 137 | 130 | 301 | |
Bolivia | 8.47 | 78,745 | 280,532 | 272,007 | 631,284 | |
Namibia | 8.43 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 36 | |
Angola | 8.35 | 105,487 | 284,054 | 315,895 | 705,436 | |
Fiji | 8.35 | 1,753 | 10,802 | 3,594 | 16,148 | |
Colombia | 8.26 | 150,737 | 272,442 | 428,320 | 851,499 | |
Kazakhstan | 8.23 | 6,068 | 18,926 | 15,294 | 40,288 | |
Palau | 8.09 | 45 | 333 | 9 | 387 | |
North Korea | 8.02 | 8,374 | 40,156 | 8,410 | 56,939 | |
Cameroon | 8 | 66,191 | 181,336 | 119,263 | 366,789 | |
Equatorial Guinea | 7.99 | 3,982 | 17,595 | 5,007 | 26,585 | |
Georgia | 7.79 | 6,982 | 17,803 | 9,784 | 34,570 | |
Brunei Darussalam | 7.71 | 1,102 | 2,842 | 1,498 | 5,442 | |
Comoros | 7.69 | 284 | 1,149 | 82 | 1,515 | |
Iran | 7.67 | 3,361 | 12,930 | 2,162 | 18,453 | |
Ecuador | 7.66 | 48,822 | 77,585 | 73,492 | 199,900 | |
DRC | 7.56 | 533,118 | 935,508 | 727,983 | 2,196,608 | |
Micronesia | 7.55 | 8 | 35 | 0 | 43 | |
Brazil | 7.52 | 1,374,902 | 1,354,961 | 2,338,101 | 5,067,963 | |
Zambia | 7.5 | 96,969 | 164,376 | 110,822 | 372,167 | |
North Macedonia | 7.42 | 2,034 | 7,090 | 459 | 9,583 | |
Pakistan | 7.42 | 2,090 | 7,859 | 1,139 | 11,088 | |
Lesotho | 7.4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | |
Chile | 7.37 | 56,849 | 41,971 | 93,537 | 192,357 | |
Bahamas | 7.35 | 741 | 1,935 | 399 | 3,075 | |
Nepal | 7.23 | 13,785 | 41,992 | 3,760 | 59,538 | |
Australia | 7.22 | 117,672 | 239,624 | 103,852 | 461,148 | |
Argentina | 7.21 | 98,249 | 189,966 | 72,557 | 360,772 | |
Solomon Islands | 7.19 | 6,871 | 15,310 | 3,149 | 25,329 | |
Myanmar | 7.18 | 129,745 | 220,188 | 96,924 | 446,857 | |
Ethiopia | 7.16 | 52,652 | 84,430 | 44,397 | 181,479 | |
Mali | 7.16 | 451 | 996 | 140 | 1,586 | |
Somalia | 7.16 | 347 | 1,384 | 46 | 1,777 | |
China | 7.14 | 533,800 | 974,431 | 301,051 | 1,809,282 | |
Tanzania | 7.13 | 123,997 | 159,712 | 122,812 | 406,521 | |
New Zealand | 7.12 | 34,503 | 44,155 | 35,334 | 113,992 | |
Senegal | 7.11 | 847 | 2,456 | 162 | 3,465 | |
Timor-Leste | 7.11 | 1,783 | 7,008 | 47 | 8,838 | |
India | 7.09 | 117,992 | 254,792 | 54,428 | 427,211 | |
Cyprus | 7.06 | 388 | 1,026 | 18 | 1,432 | |
Norway | 6.98 | 39,343 | 67,383 | 16,627 | 123,352 | |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 6.95 | 91 | 221 | 0 | 312 | |
Mozambique | 6.93 | 150,665 | 189,362 | 115,379 | 455,406 | |
Mexico | 6.82 | 193,908 | 280,445 | 121,842 | 596,195 | |
Albania | 6.77 | 2,426 | 5,256 | 122 | 7,805 | |
Uzbekistan | 6.77 | 214 | 227 | 199 | 640 | |
Morocco | 6.74 | 2,260 | 4,076 | 451 | 6,787 | |
United States | 6.65 | 1,328,079 | 1,144,693 | 658,645 | 3,131,417 | |
Sao Tome and Principe | 6.64 | 31 | 140 | 0 | 171 | |
Trinidad and Tobago | 6.62 | 1,478 | 2,176 | 418 | 4,072 | |
Greece | 6.6 | 14,548 | 27,833 | 1,078 | 43,459 | |
Indonesia | 6.6 | 535,370 | 509,018 | 431,973 | 1,476,361 | |
Azerbaijan | 6.55 | 4,820 | 7,189 | 1,534 | 13,543 | |
Montenegro | 6.41 | 2,949 | 4,778 | 82 | 7,809 | |
Paraguay | 6.39 | 78,538 | 102,626 | 29,877 | 211,041 | |
Turkey | 6.39 | 43,043 | 68,243 | 3,516 | 114,801 | |
Taiwan | 6.38 | 8,786 | 14,547 | 1,453 | 24,786 | |
Cabo Verde | 6.37 | 27 | 38 | 0 | 65 | |
Panama | 6.37 | 25,420 | 21,310 | 14,605 | 61,336 | |
Cambodia | 6.31 | 30,143 | 31,939 | 16,349 | 78,431 | |
Turkmenistan | 6.31 | 5 | 33 | 0 | 37 | |
Zimbabwe | 6.31 | 9,450 | 14,417 | 1,644 | 25,511 | |
Nigeria | 6.2 | 64,621 | 65,355 | 24,307 | 154,283 | |
Chad | 6.18 | 5,261 | 6,016 | 1,910 | 13,187 | |
Saint Lucia | 6.17 | 235 | 316 | 0 | 551 | |
Belize | 6.15 | 7,004 | 7,957 | 2,744 | 17,705 | |
Bulgaria | 6.09 | 18,884 | 26,325 | 847 | 46,057 | |
South Korea | 6.02 | 25,060 | 32,009 | 888 | 57,956 | |
Thailand | 6 | 86,276 | 89,326 | 33,612 | 209,214 | |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5.99 | 13,387 | 17,031 | 574 | 30,993 | |
Romania | 5.95 | 38,395 | 48,394 | 607 | 87,395 | |
Philippines | 5.91 | 91,820 | 100,831 | 8,393 | 201,044 | |
Togo | 5.88 | 5,064 | 4,522 | 1,076 | 10,662 | |
Benin | 5.86 | 4,724 | 3,698 | 1,769 | 10,191 | |
Sri Lanka | 5.83 | 20,.541 | 22,390 | 1,613 | 44,544 | |
Japan | 5.8 | 135,783 | 133,480 | 16,005 | 285,268 | |
Malawi | 5.74 | 12,514 | 12,167 | 2,396 | 27,078 | |
Guinea-Bissau | 5.7 | 9,274 | 8,702 | 855 | 18,831 | |
Laos | 5.59 | 92,986 | 80,564 | 19,252 | 192,801 | |
Armenia | 5.46 | 1,894 | 1,681 | 3 | 3,577 | |
Mauritius | 5.46 | 567 | 478 | 0 | 1,045 | |
Bangladesh | 5.45 | 10,013 | 7,251 | 1,947 | 19,211 | |
Cuba | 5.4 | 22,605 | 18,460 | 1,632 | 42,697 | |
Sweden | 5.35 | 174,415 | 109,779 | 23,494 | 307,687 | |
Vietnam | 5.35 | 82,551 | 75,353 | 9,588 | 167,492 | |
Serbia | 5.29 | 17,513 | 14,112 | 516 | 32,141 | |
Algeria | 5.22 | 7,418 | 6,044 | 81 | 13,543 | |
Kosovo | 5.19 | 2,628 | 1,775 | 47 | 4,450 | |
Tunisia | 5.14 | 1,354 | 987 | 0 | 2,340 | |
Finland | 5.08 | 144,310 | 83,572 | 9,294 | 237,176 | |
Jamaica | 5.01 | 5,362 | 3,249 | 158 | 8,770 | |
Malaysia | 5.01 | 130,825 | 91,957 | 21,499 | 244,281 | |
South Africa | 4.94 | 45,489 | 34,968 | 3,196 | 83,653 | |
Croatia | 4.92 | 15,732 | 10,522 | 379 | 26,633 | |
Guinea | 4.9 | 81,702 | 54,877 | 2,895 | 139,475 | |
Libya | 4.85 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 17 | |
Liberia | 4.79 | 51,975 | 31,162 | 11,025 | 94,163 | |
Antigua and Barbuda | 4.72 | 114 | 92 | 0 | 206 | |
Costa Rica | 4.65 | 27,164 | 12,838 | 4,164 | 44,167 | |
Madagascar | 4.63 | 120,340 | 66,584 | 11,922 | 198,846 | |
Gambia | 4.56 | 181 | 85 | 0 | 266 | |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 4.55 | 95 | 50 | 0 | 145 | |
Ghana | 4.53 | 57,519 | 28,901 | 2,160 | 88,580 | |
France | 4.52 | 161,987 | 49,496 | 74,121 | 285,604 | |
Burundi | 4.5 | 6,882 | 3,841 | 46 | 10,769 | |
Liechtenstein | 4.5 | 59 | 42 | 0 | 101 | |
Honduras | 4.48 | 57,899 | 23,802 | 3,692 | 85,392 | |
Andorra | 4.45 | 170 | 49 | 0 | 219 | |
Uganda | 4.36 | 77,303 | 36,381 | 7,507 | 121,190 | |
Slovakia | 4.34 | 17,615 | 8,165 | 0 | 25,781 | |
Spain | 4.23 | 82,770 | 46,013 | 133 | 128,916 | |
Grenada | 4.22 | 221 | 86 | 0 | 308 | |
Eswatini | 4.21 | 5,054 | 2,501 | 14 | 7,569 | |
Kenya | 4.2 | 28,427 | 13,558 | 4,702 | 46,686 | |
Dominican Republic | 4.19 | 19,890 | 9,364 | 518 | 29,772 | |
Israel | 4.14 | 170 | 85 | 0 | 255 | |
El Salvador | 4.05 | 8,837 | 2,947 | 0 | 11,784 | |
Haiti | 4.01 | 7,116 | 2,831 | 12 | 9,959 | |
Guatemala | 3.85 | 58,572 | 18,764 | 5,592 | 82,928 | |
Rwanda | 3.85 | 5,665 | 2,170 | 619 | 8,454 | |
Slovenia | 3.78 | 11,065 | 3,791 | 0 | 14,856 | |
Lebanon | 3.76 | 541 | 115 | 0 | 656 | |
Italy | 3.65 | 79,403 | 26,858 | 25 | 106,286 | |
Cote d'Ivoire | 3.64 | 158,010 | 41,005 | 7,288 | 206,303 | |
Syria | 3.64 | 841 | 282 | 0 | 1,123 | |
Belarus | 3.63 | 77,870 | 20,847 | 91 | 98,808 | |
Nicaragua | 3.63 | 65,356 | 17,646 | 4,858 | 87,860 | |
Uruguay | 3.61 | 11,793 | 3,998 | 0 | 15,791 | |
Iraq | 3.59 | 104 | 9 | 0 | 113 | |
Austria | 3.55 | 36,666 | 12,422 | 21 | 49,109 | |
Switzerland | 3.53 | 13,636 | 4,412 | 10 | 18,058 | |
Ukraine | 3.3 | 89,540 | 20,183 | 176 | 109,900 | |
Estonia | 3.05 | 24,473 | 4,832 | 52 | 29,358 | |
Jordan | 2.79 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
Sierra Leone | 2.76 | 52,512 | 11,858 | 640 | 65,010 | |
Germany | 2.28 | 122,168 | 11,307 | 0 | 133,475 | |
Hungary | 2.25 | 18,729 | 2,047 | 0 | 20,776 | |
Poland | 2.24 | 101,886 | 7,103 | 0 | 108,989 | |
Moldova | 2.2 | 3,113 | 202 | 0 | 3,315 | |
Latvia | 2.09 | 38,164 | 2,137 | 0 | 40,301 | |
Czechia | 1.71 | 32,161 | 1,611 | 0 | 33,772 | |
United Kingdom | 1.65 | 29,149 | 2,917 | 35 | 32,101 | |
Lithuania | 1.62 | 24,554 | 930 | 0 | 25,484 | |
Belgium | 1.36 | 8,803 | 297 | 0 | 9,099 | |
Luxembourg | 1.12 | 1,170 | 0 | 0 | 1,170 | |
Singapore | 1.11 | 170 | 2 | 0 | 172 | |
Dominica | 1.06 | 531 | 2 | 0 | 533 | |
Ireland | 0.92 | 5,283 | 96 | 0 | 5,378 | |
Portugal | 0.82 | 25,966 | 553 | 0 | 26,519 | |
Netherlands | 0.6 | 5,250 | 72 | 0 | 5,322 | |
Egypt | 0.56 | 4,772 | 218 | 69 | 5,059 | |
Denmark | 0.5 | 5,756 | 31 | 0 | 5,787 | |
San Marino | 0.01 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
Countries with high mean FLII (8-10) Countries with medium mean FLII (5-7.99) Countries with low mean FLII (0-4.99) |
The index was authored by a global team of forest conservation experts, including: [1]
Environmental issues in Mali include desertification, deforestation, soil erosion, drought, and inadequate supplies of potable water. Deforestation is an especially serious and growing problem. According to the Ministry of the Environment, Mali’s population consumes 6 million tons of wood per year for timber and fuel. To meet this demand, 4,000 square kilometers of tree cover are lost annually, virtually ensuring destruction of the country’s savanna woodlands.
Kazakhstan, has serious environmental issues such as radiation from nuclear testing sites, the shrinking of the Aral sea, and desertification of former agricultural land. These issues are due in large part to Kazakhstan's years under the Soviet Union.
Like other countries in the Soviet sphere of influence, Bulgaria strongly emphasized heavy industry and intensive agriculture but did not mitigate the environmental consequences of such a policy. As a result, in the early 1990s an estimated 60 percent of agricultural land was polluted by fertilizers and pesticides, two-thirds of rivers were polluted, and two-thirds of primary forests had been leveled.
Major environmental issues in Bolivia include managing its forests, preserving the country's levels of biodiversity, maintaining ecologically important protected areas, coping with the effects of climate change, and dealing with the environmental consequences of agriculture, mining, oil and gas development, and transportation infrastructure. Bolivia’s history of slash-and-burn agriculture, overgrazing, and industrial pollution has caused significant concern among environmentalists. Soil erosion, made worse by seasonal flooding, and contaminated water supplies are Bolivia’s most pressing environmental problems. The National Service for Protected Areas, established in 1998, currently manages 21 protected areas.
As in many neighboring countries, most environmental issues in Ethiopia relate to deforestation and endangered species.
Environmental issues in Iran include, especially in urban areas, vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents which contribute to poor air quality. A report by the United Nations Environment Programme ranked Iran at 117th place among 133 countries in terms of environmental indexes. Water scarcity is a serious issue, and the country is also threatened by climate change.
Environmental issues in Paraguay include deforestation.
Like most former republics of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan experienced rapid economic development which has led to an increasingly negative impact on the environment, including the inefficient usage of natural resources. The government of Azerbaijan has aimed to increase environmental protection and ensure rational utilization of natural resources, and has introduced a number of important laws, legal documents and state programs in order to improve the ecological situation in the country. However, these precautionary laws have not been as effective as they were meant to be. Transparency has been a consistent issue in Azerbaijan, as NGOs who are given legal authority to collect data from the oil refineries are often blocked or dismissed, and their information is gathered unofficially. Domestic oil producers have often evaded the regulations, and have not prevented oil leaks into the Caspian Sea. In the next 30 years, Azerbaijan will produce more oil than it produced during the last century, and currently there is little coordination or environmental precaution in the oil drilling operations. There is also a lack of communication with neighboring countries bordering the Caspian Sea.
It has been estimated that before European settlement, forests in the United States mainland, covered nearly 1 billion acres (4,000,000 km2). Since the mid-1600s, about 300 million acres (1,200,000 km2) of forest have been cleared, primarily for agriculture during the 19th century."
Environment of Côte d'Ivoire
The environment of Trinidad and Tobago reflects the interaction between its biotic diversity, high population density, and industrialised economy.
This page lists the issues that the United Kingdom currently has that are related to the environment, such as pollution and contamination.
Like other island nations, Antigua and Barbuda faces unique environmental issues created by its proximity to the ocean, and small size. These include pressures on water resources, natural ecosystems, and deforestation more generally.
The Environment of Ecuador contains almost 20,000 species of plants, 1,500 species of birds, 341 species of mammals and more than 840 species of reptiles and amphibians. It includes World Heritage Sites like the Galápagos Islands, and magnificent parks such as the Yasuni National Park.
Environment of the Netherlands
Cuba has an environment which includes very wide variety of different natural habitats and is home to large number of species, many of them endangered. Since the arrival of European settlers Cuba has suffered from deforestation as a result of more and more forest area being taken over by humans to use them for agricultural production. Cutting down trees for firewood and to obtain materials for building has contributed to the loss of forests and extinction of some species. Environmental awareness has since increased in Cuba and in the late 1990s and in the 2000s Cuban government has started new programs to protect the environment and to increase forest coverage.
There are a number of known environmental issues in the post-communist country of Albania. Issues include air and water pollution, poor waste management infrastructure and deforestation. The Albanian environmental movement includes around 40 active non-government organisations.
Senegal's environmental issues are varied. According to the CIA world factbook pressing problems exist with: diminishing wildlife populations which are threatened by poaching, deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification, and overfishing.
Annually, Angola loses about 124,800 hectares or 0.20% per year. In 1990-2010, the country had lost about 2,496,000 hectares or 4.1% in total.
The forests of Canada are located across much of the country. Approximately half of Canada is covered by forest, totaling around 2.4 million km2. Over 90% of Canada's forests are owned by the public. About half of the forests are allocated for logging.