1. Forest monitoring and
forest change:
1990-2010
R. D’Annunzio
E.L. Lindquist
K.G. MacDicken
FAO Forestry

2. In 1923 the
world first
learned about
global forest
resources… … in 1948 FAO
began
monitoring
forest resource
change

3. …. so what difference did this
knowledge make?

4. Four key global results have made a
difference since 1923…

5. Widespread forest loss
in the tropics was detected1
Resulting in 60+ years of investment

6. … resulting in increased planting
Gaps in wood supply were identified
2

7. Forest conversion was identified as a
contributor to global climate change
Forest management is now part of
global mitigation strategies
3

8. Remote sensing was proven as a tool
for monitoring forest resources
Leading to some 100 earth
observing satellites
4

9. Since 1948, most of this
information has come from one
source: the Global Forest
Resources Assessment (FRA)

10. ...but no single source
of reporting data
is completely adequate...
… the combination of FRA country
reports and systematic remote
sensing adds value…

11. In 2009 FAO and the EC Joint
Research Centre began
analysis of Landsat data to
assess forest land use change

12. The FRA Remote Sensing
Survey included 13,575 sample
sites with land use review
inputs from over 200 national
experts from 107 countries…

13. Forestry Paper 169 provides methods and
results from 1990-2005…

14. Tropical: 1,730 (45%) Boreal: 1,190
(31%)
Temperate: 630 (16%)
Subtropical : 330 (8%)
World : 3,880
2010 forest area
(million hectares)

15. Annual global forest change:
15.5 million ha gross loss
10.2 million ha gross gain
5.3 million ha net loss
Or a ~110 million ha total net loss
from 1990-2010

16. ...yet the story is really told at the
climatic domain level…

17. 0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2,000
2,200
1990 2000 2010
Forestarea(millionhectares)
Year
Tropical
Boreal
Temperate
Subtropical
How has forest area changed over time?

18. Regions of significant change: Tropical South
America

19. Regions of significant change: Tropical Africa

20. Regions of significant change: Asia

21. Remote sensing provides clues to what
is happening with the world’s forests…
Which is complemented by ground-
based data on:
 Natural vs. planted forest
 Forest stocks
(volume, biomass, carbon)
 Conservation and protection
 Production and management
 Social and economic values

22. How much forest is there per person?*
* 50 countries for which data is available since 1923

23. In summary…
• Forest monitoring provides tangible
returns on investment
• Global forest area is decreasing at a
steady rate, but gains are occurring in
some regions/forest types
• Forest conversion continues in the
tropics …. primarily due to demand
for agriculture

24. 3/21/2014 24
Thank you