105. Where have all the trees gone?
The main reason the world’s forests have been disappearing is the increasing demand for agricultural land, not paper production. This has been a particular problem in Latin America, Africa and Asia where large parts of the forests have been sacrificed for farmland.
It’s not all bad news though. Between 2000 and 2005, the total area of plantation forests increased by an average of 2.8 million hectares per year, going some way to offset the loss of forests elsewhere for other purposes.
- 87% of the world’s new plantations have been created for wood and fibre production.
