The forest area represents a little less than 4 billion hectares, that is to say a third of the planet's surface area. This surface area is not spread equally. Over half of these forests are just in five countries: Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States of America and China.
Every year, 13 million hectares of forest disappear. That is just over twenty football pitches a minute. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations considers the rate to be « alarming ». (1)
But if one takes the natural extension of some forests and plantations created by man into account, the net loss is « only » 7.3 million hectares for the 2000-2005 period.
The overall rate of deforestation has slightly slowed down in the past few years, partly thanks to the efforts of environmentalists. This is also due to the increasingly larger areas of plantations, particularly in China, and to the fact that the areas that are easier or more p...
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China has undertaken ambitious reforestation initiatives that have increased its forest cover dramatically in the last decade.... ![]()