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| Forest facts and key issues |
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Useful facts
In this section:
The value of forests- From the dense boreal forests of the north, through temperate woodlands to the lush tropical forests of the equatorial belt, forests cover some 30 per cent of the Earth's surface. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
- Forests are the most important terrestrial reservoir of biological diversity, containing as much as two-thirds of all plant and animals species. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage and Restore the World's Forests
- Millions of rural people depend on forests for their livelihoods - for food, fuel, building material, medicinal plants and clean water. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
- More than 2,000 tropical forest plants have been identified by scientists as having anti-cancer properties. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
Habitat loss- Almost half the planet's original forests have disappeared - and of those remaining, only around 10 per cent are protected. UNEP/WCMC
- More than 200 million hectares of natural forests have been lost in the past 15 years. That's an area twice the size of South Africa, four times the territory of Spain, seven times that of Malaysia. World Resources Initiative
- 14.6 million hectares of natural forest are lost each year - an area larger than England. This is a rate of 30 hectares every minute. Forests for Life: Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forest
Declining species - The WWF Living Planet forest index, which includes 319 species populations, shows an average decline of about 12 per cent from 1970 to 1999.Living Planet Report 2004
- Extinction among birds and mammals is estimated to be occurring at rates exceeding 100 times natural rates. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
Visit the endangered species section of the Research Centre for more information.
Hurting the poor- Often it is the poor who bear the brunt of forest depletion and degradation. Forests are essential to the lives and livelihoods of most of the 1.2 billion people who live in extreme poverty around the world. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
Visit the international development and poverty section of the Research Centre for more information.
Illegal logging- The trade in illegally extracted timber is a multi-million dollar industry going on in more than 70 countries. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
- The World Bank estimates that the loss of revenues due to illegal logging costs governments in the developed world $5 billion annually, with a further $10 billion lost to the economies of less developed countries. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
Help eradicate illegal logging.
Forest fires- Each year, fire destroys between 6 and 14 million hectares of forest. The resulting loss and degradation is roughly equal to that caused by destructive logging and conversion to agriculture combined. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
- Severe forest fires, such as those in Indonesia in 1997/1998 and Australia in 2001/2002, create critical levels of pollution. The health of as many as 75 million people may have been adversely affected by the Indonesian fires, with some 40,000 receiving hospital treatment. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
Climate change- Global warming alters the ability of trees to survive and puts an estimated one third of the world's forests at risk. Global Warming: Impacts on Forests by Nigel Dudley and Adam Markham.
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that at least one-third of the world's remaining forests may be adversely affected by changing climate, especially in the boreal zone where the warming will be greatest.
Visit the climate change section of the Research Centre for more information.
Consumption- Every year, the world consumes approximately 1.6 billion cubic metres of wood. The US is by far the largest consuming country, using almost a third of the total - 15 times that of the average person in China. WWF, The Forest Industry in the 21st Century, 2001
- 90 per cent of industrialised wood is produced in 25 countries. WWF, The Forest Industry in the 21st Century, 2001
- Since 1980, 370 million hectares of tropical forest - an area larger than the size of India - have been cleared for plantations, agriculture, pasture, mining or urban development. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
- Oil palm and soy constitute the largest raw material base for the rapidly expanding edible oil market. In Malaysia, for example, oil plantations have increased from 240,000 hectares in 1967 to 3.3 million hectares in 1999. WWF 2002. Forests for Life - Working to Protect, Manage & Restore the World's Forests
- The UK currently imports 80 per cent of its timber from 70 countries at a cost of about £8 billion. Forestry Commission/1999 trade flow data
- In 2001 £326 millions-worth of FSC wood products were sold in the UK.
- By the end of 2000, 18 million hectares of forest had obtained FSC certification in 30 countries. Approximately 10,000 FSC product lines are on sale to the public. Forest Stewardship Council
- In total, ethical concerns could be backed, at a conservative estimate, by over £8 billion of consumers' money (UK). Cooperative Bank, Who are the ethical consumers? 2000
- The Cooperative Bank study concluded that there will be continued growth of ethical markets and that the total potential ethical market in the UK could rise from around 30 per cent to at least half the population. Cooperative Bank, Who are the ethical consumers? 2000
Key issues
In this section:
Forest crime and the illegal timber trade- Forests in the UK enjoy relatively good protection. All of the state-owned forests in the UK are now FSC certified. Illegal logging is non-existent and forest conservation is something we all take for granted. For this reason people might think the illegal timber trade is a problem limited to developing countries with poor law enforcement and high level corruption, far from our shores, the EU or even the Western Hemisphere.
This couldn't be further from the truth. UK domestic forests only satisfy 15 per cent of the UK's annual timber consumption needs - a massive 37million cubic metres. The other 85 per cent is imported from 70 other countries at a cost of over £5 billion. This dependence on imports means that the UK relies heavily on laws being effectively enforced in the countries from which it procures its wood to reduce the possibility of purchasing illegal timber. However, last year WWF research showed that nearly 10 per cent of the UK's total imports of timber, pulp and paper actually came from illegal sources. We showed how these imports were often made from wood taken illegally from some of the most precious forests on Earth, including the Amazon, Congo Basin and from the forests of Indonesia, now suffering from the heaviest level of illegal deforestation seen anywhere in the world today. Find out more about illegal logging by downloading the PDF WWF-UK: Fighting forest crime.
Forest conversion- Forest conversion is a dramatic process in which natural forest landscapes are replaced by other land-uses. This carries with it severe environmental and social costs arising from indiscriminate forest clearing, uncontrolled burning, and disregard for the rights and interests of local communities. The growth in production of oil palm and soy is one of the main driving forces. Global demand for edible oils is likely to rise substantially in the next decade, with most of the production growth in tropical countries. Unless significant changes are made to the policies and practices governing edible oil plantations, forest conversion will continue at an alarming rate, posing a threat to some of the world's most important remaining forests and freshwater ecosystems. This in turn will affect the livelihoods of forest-dependent people and the survival of endangered elephants, rhinos, tigers, great apes and other species.
Forest fires- Over the past decade, the frequency and intensity of forest fires has become an issue of global concern. WWF estimates that in 1997 and 1998 alone, more than 14 million hectares of forests were burnt worldwide. These forest fires are expected to increase in number and size, and will be exaggerated by climate change and the climate phenomenon El Niño. Reasons for human-caused forest fires include large-scale land clearing activities, inappropriate logging and land clearing methods, and land acquisition by large companies without enough consideration for the rights of local people, leading to disputes often ended through fire. At the moment, action to combat forest fires only takes place when they are burning, with rare attempts made to address the underlying causes. WWF supports community involvement in forest and fire management where the use and management of fires affects livelihoods positively, but expects governments to take the lead in developing effective strategies for dealing with fires that threaten wider areas or whole regions.
Climate change- Of all the threats to forests, climate change is the most far-reaching. Its impacts will be felt to varying degrees across nearly every forest and woodland in the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that forests are "highly sensitive to climate change". Forest ecosystems are also predicted to be among the top two biomes most affected by climate change. Forests absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere and release it as they decay or are destroyed or burned. While the models vary considerably, the Hadley Centre, part of the UK Meteorological Office, estimates that up to one third of the world's forests will be negatively affected by climate change by 2050. With 178 countries having agreed, under the Kyoto Protocol, to be part of a global effort to reduce the emissions that cause global warming, WWF wants to ensure that this treaty acts as a strong lever for promoting the restoration of forests and their biodiversity.
For more information on forest issues visit WWF International's forests section
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WWF-UK > Research > Issues > Forests > Facts and key issues
