World loses South Africa-sized forest area in 25 years: UN

Author: REUTERS

The world has lost forests the size of South Africa over the past 25 years, a decline of more than 3 percent, although the rate of forest loss has significantly slowed, a report by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said.

A growing global population and increased demand for food and land are driving deforestation, although the FAO said the rate of global forest area change has slowed by more than 50 percent since 1990.

“The biggest forest area loss occurred in the tropics, particularly in South America and Africa, although the rate of loss in those areas has decreased substantially in the past five years,” FAO said.

 

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