Forests and land use

Forests and land use Forests are invaluable to all life on earth 1.6 billion people Forests cover 1/3 of the total land area Forests contain most of the world's terrestrial biodiversity depend on forests for their livelihoods US$108 billion a year The rate of deforestation, though slowing, is still alarmingly high 5.2 million hectares lost of medicinal plants from tropical forests each year; equivalent to the size of a soccer field every second A sustainable future for forests Forests must be managed sustainably to help reverse the effects of land degradation and deforestation Widespread forest restoration and tree-planting are significantly reducing the Sound policies are needed to ensure a future for forests net loss of forest area The world's land areas 12% 26% 31% 31% Arable land and crops Meadows Other land Forest and pastures area Africa Africa Africa Africa Americas Americas Americas Americas Asia Asia Asia Asia Europe Europe Europe Europe Oceania Oceania Oceania Oceania Source: FAOSTAT (faostat.fao.org) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations www.fao.org/forestry www.fao.org/es/ess