Problems: Introduction

Forest cover in the tropics continues to plummet

Figures released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in November 2005 put the rate of natural forest loss at about 13 million hectares each year.

That's 25 hectares every minute, or 36 football fields a minute.

Beyond the tropics, there has been a significant loss of old-growth forests and the replacement of natural forests and woodlands with single-species plantations that provide few of the environmental, ecological and social benefits of native forests.

The ceaseless spread of urban development, illegal logging, land conversion for agriculture or plantations of both trees and crops like soybean and palm oil, road building, mining, forest fires, and climate change, all contribute to deforestation.

Once distributed over half the earth, forests - literally the 'lungs' of the world - now cover only a quarter of the planet's land surface.

The many benefits of forests
Forests provide us with an incredible array of natural resources such as timber products, wood fibre for paper, and medicinal plants treating everything from the common cold to cancer.

It is estimated that some 1.6 billion people worldwide depend on forests for their livelihoods, with 60 million indigenous people depending on forests for their subsistence.

Forests purify the air we breathe. They preserve watersheds, helping to improve the quality and quantity of freshwater supplies. They stabilise soil, preventing erosion and reducing the risk of landslides.

Moreover, many of the world's most endangered animals depend on forests for their survival. Forests are also home to countless indigenous people, and for many others, are havens of tranquillity, recreation and inspiration.

What happens when we remove forests...
Across the world there are increasing examples - warnings - of what can happen when we remove forests. Water tables fall, land once buffered by woodland becomes more prone to drought, landslides and flash floods destroy roads, bridges and crops, particularly as severe weather conditions grow in intensity as a result of climate change.

Those most affected by such events are by and large the poorest members of global society as they tend to live near the forest frontier and depend more on forest resources like fuelwood. Therefore, with the destruction of the world's forests we not only see forest loss but the destruction of all the benefits which forests provide to people and nature.

This is why it is so important that we combat the problems and threats facing the world's forests today. Those of particular concern to WWF are: illegal logging and forest crime, conversion of natural forests to plantations and agricultural land, forest fires and climate change.