A global study conducted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has revealed that the world’s forest area could begin to grow again in a few years. According to a report from Terra Daily, massive reforestation programs, as well as the decreased rate at which trees are being cut down, has provided researchers with “evident signs” that forest areas are growing and that a balance could be reached within a few years.
The FAO’s “State of the World’s Forests” report revealed that China is one nation that has launched a reforestation program. The program is set to boost Asia’s total forested area from 120 million hectares to 200 million. Asia’s total forest area has increased by 29.3 million hectares in the last decade.
The deforestation rate in the Amazon has been a concern for many years; however, the past two years have shown early signs of “significant” reduction in deforestation for the past few years. FAO Assistant Director General Eduardo Rojas-Briales noted that while this is encouraging, deforestation in Latin America is still a problem because recent economic growth has not been used to help forests. “In East Asia they are putting resources and policies into position, in Latin America we don’t see this,” he said.
Additionally, the United Nations launched the International Year of Forests, which should “focus the world’s attention on the need to increase the protection of forests and make sure that their high importance for biodiversity conservation, climate stabilization and economic development is not undervalued.”
Photo credit: Terradaily.com.