sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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Forest cover in Latin America and the Caribbean is around 9 million km 2 , representing roughly
49% of the region’s land area (FAO, <strong>20</strong>10a). Between 1990 and <strong>20</strong>10, the region’s share of global forest
cover fell from 25% to 24% (see table II.5). Deforestation in the region during the same period accounted
for more than one third of global deforestation. Between <strong>20</strong>00 and <strong>20</strong>10, the annual rate of loss was
0.46%, three times the global annual rate of 0.13% (FAO, <strong>20</strong>11).
Table II.5
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: FOREST AREA AND ANNUAL RATES OF CHANGE,
1990–<strong>20</strong>10, AND PERCENTAGE OF GLOBAL FOREST AREA
Forest area (thousands of hectares)
1990 <strong>20</strong>00 <strong>20</strong>05 <strong>20</strong>10
Thousands
of hectares/
year
Annual rate of change
1990-<strong>20</strong>00 <strong>20</strong>00-<strong>20</strong>05 <strong>20</strong>05-<strong>20</strong>10
%
Thousands
of hectares/
year
%
Thousands
of hectares/
year
%
Caribbean 5 902 6 434 6 728 6 933 53 0.87 59 0.90 41 0.60
Central America 25 717 21 980 <strong>20</strong> 745 19 499 -374 -1.56 -247 -1.15 -249 -1.23
Mexico 70 291 66 751 65 578 64 802 -354 -0.52 -235 -0.35 -155 -0.24
South America 946 454 904 322 882 258 864 351 -4 213 -0.45 -4 413 -0.49 -3 581 -0.41
World 4 168 399 4 085 168 4 060 964 4 033 060 -8 323 -0.<strong>20</strong> -4 841 -0.12 -5 581 -0.14
Percentage of global
forest area 25% 24% 24% 24%
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Forest Resources Assessment <strong>20</strong>10, Rome, <strong>20</strong>10.
The regional trend in deforestation is determined by the trend in South America, where 92% of
the region’s forest area is found, especially Brazil, which is home to 60% of the forests in South America
(FAO, <strong>20</strong>11). Between 1990 and <strong>20</strong>05, deforestation rates increased in South America. This upward trend
began to be reversed in <strong>20</strong>05, owing largely to a series of actions to combat deforestation carried out in
the Brazilian Amazon (see box II.6). In Brazil, the rate of forest area change was -0.57% in the period
from <strong>20</strong>00 to <strong>20</strong>05 and -0.42% in the period from <strong>20</strong>05 to <strong>20</strong>10. In Mexico, the rate was -0.35% in the
period from <strong>20</strong>00 to <strong>20</strong>05 and -0.24% in the period from <strong>20</strong>05 to <strong>20</strong>10. In Central America, the
deforestation rate increased again between <strong>20</strong>05 and <strong>20</strong>10, following a significant downward trend in the
1990s (FAO, <strong>20</strong>11). In the Caribbean, forest area has increased over the past <strong>20</strong> <strong>years</strong>, mainly as a result
of the abandonment of agricultural land (mostly banana-producing areas) (United Nations, <strong>20</strong>10).
In addition to deforestation rates in the region, forest fragmentation has become a concern. As
mentioned in the previous section, highly fragmented terrestrial habitats threaten the viability of species
and their ability to adapt to climate change (see previous section on biological corridors).
In the region, more and better information on forests now exists, relating not only to the volume
of commercial forest but also to forest services and functions, extent, designation, characteristics, health
and vitality, biodiversity, production, protection and economic, legislative and institutional aspects. This
enables more effective decisions to be taken on how to use and protect forests, how to change policies and
how to improve forest law. Nowadays there are more trained personnel and better techniques for forest
management and monitoring. There has been more provision for community participation since 1992,
which has enabled the communities that depend on forest resources to demonstrate their skills and
capacity for good forest management. Some States recognize the vital role that local communities play in
forest management and the importance of sharing responsibilities. Technological advances in satellite