These 5 countries are home to more than half the world’s forests

Trees are the lungs of our planet, the popular saying goes.

They extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, store it to build branches and trunks, and release oxygen in the process.

As scientists and engineers work on technological solutions to capture and store carbon from human activity, our forests store as much as 45% of all carbon on land.

Yet, just when we need more trees to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) finds that the world has lost 178 million hectares of forest since 1990. That is an area equivalent to the size of Libya.

Net losses of woodland slowing

The good news is that, while still high, the data reflects a decrease in the net loss of forest – the balance between deforestation and the natural expansion or planting of woodlands.

While the UN FAO was recording annual net losses of 7.8 million hectares per year in the 1990s, the rate of woodland lost dropped to 4.7 million hectares over the past decade.

The biggest losses were recorded in Africa and South America, with the latter improving substantially in the past 10 years. Asia was the region to realize the biggest net gains, followed by Europe.

The world’s woodlands in five countries

More than half (54%) of all global forests are located in just five countries: Russia, Brazil, Canada, the US and China.

Balancing climate and health benefits with economic needs can be a challenge. Illegal logging and forest clearances for other types of agriculture have seen woodlands suffer in Russia and Brazil, for example. In 2018 alone, Russia lost 5.6 million hectares of tree cover, followed by Brazil with nearly three million. Canada and the US lost around 2.1 million each, and China over half a million.

With naturally regenerating forests decreasing since 1990 and planted woodlands expanding, initiatives to plant trees – such as the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org – are one way to put the breaks on deforestation.

An area the size of the US could be reforested globally – particularly in rainforest areas of Central and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia – the National Geographic has reported. This could reduce carbon emissions by a quarter, according to senior author of the study, Tom Crowther.