The first trees emerged about 400 million years ago. Humanity needs only about 18,000 years more to destroy them completely. This estimate is overly simplistic and assumes a “no change” scenario from current deforestation trends — an annual average loss of −0.13% — but it forces us to examine the data from a "what if" perspective, keeping in mind that forests are one of the most important natural filters and producers of oxygen.One person needs six to nine trees to maintain life, assuming that a single tree produces 100 kg of oxygen per year on average and humans require 740 kg of oxygen per year on average.Humans, of course, are not alone in requiring oxygen to sustain life. Other animal species rely on forests as well, both for oxygen generation and for habitat, and the decline in total forested area contributes to the extinction of animal and bird species. Since 1998, the number of threatened species of plants and animals has increased by more than 239%, from 10,533 to 35,765 species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The 1992 Rio Earth Summit was viewed as the turning point for global environmental policy, seeking to overturn disruptive ecological and environmental trends compounded by the industrial revolution and to spur development of national-level environmental policies to address emerging issues. However, the persistence of deforestation and the continued popularity of wood in building and manufacturing despite the critical volume of forest coverage needed for sustainability is (disturbingly) evident in the data.According to statistics from United Nations Statistics Division, a slightly greater share of countries reported a decrease in total forested area from 1990 through 2020 than reported an increase, yielding a net loss of 1.8 million square kilometers of forest area. Ninety-seven countries (40.6%) reported a total decrease in forested area during the 30-year period, whereas 90 countries (37.7%) reported a gain and 47 countries (19.7%) reported no change.Trends in forestry production indicate that production of roundwood increased 12.1% from 2010 to 2020, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Deforestation also impedes global efforts to halt the growth of total carbon dioxide emissions. When trees are felled, stored carbon dioxide in the trees is released into the atmosphere, where the CO₂ mingles with greenhouse gases from other sources and contributes to global warming.
The 76th session of the ECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI) will be held in Vancouver, Canada from 5 to 9 November 2018. The Committee will review and guide activities in data collection and analysis, policy support, capacity building and communication. Under the title 'Building the Future with Forests', the meeting will focus on the transition towards a more sustainable society and a circular economy, based on the provision of forest products from sustainably managed forests. In order to find tangible solution to these issues, the 'Building the Future with Forests' meeting will bring experts, policy makers, business leaders as well as national delegates together through a variety of panel discussions concentrating primarily on the challenges and opportunities for timber and forest products markets, as well as the forests and the circular economy. Date of Event: 5-9 November 2018 Venue: Vancouver, Canada Event holder: Food and Agriculture Organization
Total land area of Earth is 149 millions of square kilometers and it is almost equally distributed between agricultural, forest, and other lands with the slight overweight of the former one accounting for about 38% of world's land area. At the same time, only one third of world's agricultural land is used as arable land, two-thirds is occupied by permanent meadows and pastures and the remaining 3% is referred to permanent crops. Concerning cross-country distribution of agricultural land, China has the biggest area of agricultural land in the world, while the largest country by total land area - Russian Federation - has twice as little agricultural lands as China. This is mostly because almost a half of Russian land area is occupied by forests, making this country the first one in the ranking by forest area. The things are not so good, however, with the forest area on a global scale: it decreased by nearly 3% through the last 20 years, losing 1% share in the Earth's land area. Africa is leading continent by deforestation: during the same period forest area in this region dropped by more than 10%. Nevertheless, no great loss without some small gain: in Asia, Europe and North America forest land has increased since 1990. See also: Economics | Demographics | Healthcare | Agriculture | Energy | Commodities | Exchange Rates | Education | Foreign Trade | Food Security | Environment
The soil is made up of organic remains, clay and rock particles, found on the Earth’s surface. It contributes to food, reduces biodiversity loss, and secures energy. Problems like deforestation, bad agricultural practices, and pollution cause soil degradation and erosion. The UN saw a need to raise awareness about the dangers of soil loss, so it made World Soil Day and official day. It was first celebrated on December 5, 2012, which corresponded with the birthday of Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej, who officially sanctioned the event. Event Holder: Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations Date of Event: 5 December 2018
The economic divide among countries worldwide carries over into patterns of land purchases and sales. The United States and large economies and trading markets of Asia and the Middle East represent at least 30 percent of global land purchases since 2000, according to the LandMatrix, an independent land monitoring initiative. In contrast, the largest sellers of land globally include Russia—also among the top buyers—as well as developing countries of Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.Since 2000, the United States has been the most active country in the world in land trade, purchasing roughly 4 million hectares of land worldwide, which is equivalent to the land area of Switzerland.Malaysia ranks a close second, accounting for 3.9 million hectares of land purchases during the same period, followed by Russia, China, and Singapore to round out the top 5.The largest amount of land sold belongs to Russia (6.3 million hectares), followed by Papua New Guinea (4 million hectares) and Brazil (3.8 million hectares). Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ukraine each closely follow Brazil in total land area sold. LandMatrix seeks data on land transactions to improve transparency and accountability in the transfer of land rights. The initiative focuses in particular on land for agricultural production, timber extraction, carbon trading, industry, renewable energy production, conservation, and tourism in low- and middle-income countries. Since 2000, growing of wood and fiber was the leading reason for land purchases, followed by the purchase of land for growing food crops and for access to biofuels. Disclaimer from the LandMatrix: The data should not be taken as a reliable representation of reality. Reality is fast-changing as deals are changed, annulled, or new ones spring up. Many deals are not yet included in the database. As an open tool, the Observatory allows wide participation in constantly upgrading, correcting and improving the information it contains. Over time, with your help, it will become more accurate.
The sixth session of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Plenary will review progress made on the adopted IPBES work programme for 2014–2018, including the related budget and institutional arrangements for its implementation. It will, in particular, be invited to consider the two first full assessment reports of IPBES on pollination and pollinators associated with food production, and scenarios analysis and modelling of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The reports will be considered for adoption and their respective summary for policymakers will be considered for approval. Date of Event: 17-24 March 2018 Event Holder: IISD-Forest
Now in its 18th year, the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty brings together key stakeholders engaged in strengthening land governance and tenure security for a weeklong event at World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC, USA. The conference program brings you a large number of sessions organized around thematic tracks with oral presentations on latest research, impact evaluations, experiences with new approaches for scaling land administration systems and business models; lightning talks on geospatial innovations, and a learning day. This year’s conference theme will be on the role of data and evidence for realizing land policy reform and monitoring achievements. Event Holder: the World Bank Source of data: The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), 2015, Poverty and Equity Database, 2015, World Development Indicators (WDI), July 2016
Temporary crops is all land used for crops with a less than one-year growing cycle and which must be newly sown or planted for further production after the harvest. Countries with the biggest square of temporary crops are Russia, Australia, Argentina, Ukraine, and Sudan. These countries have more than 50 percent of total temporary crops. Source: Resource Statistics - Land
Temporary meadows and pastures is the land temporarily cultivated with herbaceous forage crops for mowing or pasture. A period of less than five years is used to differentiate between temporary and permanent meadows. Countries with the biggest square of temporary meadows and pastures are Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, and Ethiopia. These countries have more than 57 percent of total temporary meadows and pastures. Source: Resource Statistics - Land
Source: FAO Resource Statistics - Land, May 2015
Source: Resource Statistics - Land - July 2013
Source: Resource Statistics - Land - July 2013
Source: Resource Statistics - Land - July 2013
Source: Resource Statistics - Land - July 2013
The world's 149 million total square kilometers of land is almost equally distributed among agricultural, forest, and other lands. Agricultural land consumes a slightly disproportionate share at 38 percent of the world's land area. About one third of the agricultural land is used as arable land, two-thirds by permanent meadows and pastures, and the remaining 3 percent as "permanent crops." An examination of the cross-country distribution of agricultural land reveals that China is the world's leader in total agricultural land, whereas Russia--the largest country by total land mass--has half as much agriulcultural land as China. Russia ranks first, however, by total forest area, with almost half of the country's land area occupied by forest, a critical driver of the Russian economy that is weakened by the activities of illegal logging activities. Total forest area worldwide decreased by nearly 3 percent during the last 20 years, losing a 1 percent share in the Earth's total land area. Forest area gains in Asia, Europe and North America during the period have been unable to compensate for the more than 10 percent decline in Africa's total forest land. See also: Agriculture | Commodities | Demographics | Economics | Education | Energy | Environment | Exchange Rates | Food Security | Foreign Trade | Healthcare | Land Use | Poverty | Research and Development | Telecommunication | Tourism | Transportation | Water | World Rankings
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) will convene this meeting in order to bring together forestry experts and decision-makers from the region. The meeting is one of six region-specific meetings held every two years in support of the FAO Regional Forestry Commissions. Event holder: Food and Agriculture Organization
The 2015 World Forestry Congress, the first to be held in Africa, will come together under the theme, ‘Forests and People – Investing in a sustainable future'. The Congress, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the government of South Africa, will consider how forests can be mainstreamed into global discussions on sustainable development and will facilitate the development of partnerships to address global forestry issues. Event holder: Food and Agriculture Organization
Source: Resource Statistics - Land - July 2013
The Agriculture page compares agircultural land use, nitrogen balance, and sustainable agriculture practices such as organic land use and pesticide usages. The U.S.' organic versus trannsgenic farming land use is disconcerting.