Forests are being lost rapidly in many areas of the world, but in some areas forest area is increasing. Net global deforestation is 9 million hectares (about 35,000 square miles) and gross deforestation is 13.5 million hectares (about 52,000 square miles) per year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Developing countries are experiencing a net loss and developed countries are experiencing a net gain. The net gain in forest cover in North America and Europe is primarily a result of reversion of agriculture land to forest. In the U. S., trends have varied in different regions. (Download a pdf file from the USDA Forest Service on Forest land trends in the United States, 1850-1997.)

A recent study by PAI found that per capita forest cover has declined even in countries where forest area has increased. For example, technological adaptation and government conservation policies helped China increase the size of its forests between 1980 and 1995, but the country's population growth means the ratio of forest coverage to people has declined.

Tropical rainforests, which contain an estimated 50 percent of the all the species on Earth, are of particular concern. Scientists project that, given current rates of deforestation, primary tropical forests could disappear within 50 years along with numerous species living in the forests.

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Local and regional pressures, working in different combinations in different geographic locations, contribute to degradation and loss of forests. (See UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Causes of deforestation. And the specific causes of deforestation vary a great deal from one area to another.

While there is no single cause for deforestation, a growing population increases a variety of activities that can degrade or destroy forests. Throughout human history, conversion of forested lands to agricultural uses has been the major factor: The expanding human population has led to a need for more agricultural lands.

Commercial logging operations have also contributed to deforestation, and demand for wood products also is related to population. However, high levels of per capita wood use in wealthier countries also affect the demand for logging. Demand for wood for fuel is also an important contributor to forest degradation and loss. Wood is an essential source of energy for cooking and heating for almost 3 billion people.

Forests are also destroyed to accommodate development and sprawl. In the U.S., 10 million acres of forest have been converted to suburbs since 1980 according to Negative Population Growth. The U.S. population grew by 85 percent from 151 million to 283 million between 1950 and 2000. A 2001 USDA Forest Service report projected that more than 31 million acres of forest in Southern states will be lost in the next 40 years, primarily as a result of urbanization.

A map in the USDA Forest Service report (Projected Population Pressures on Forests) examines spatial interactions between measures of abundance of forests and four measures of human pressure across the over 3,000 counties of the coterminous U.S. The aim is to identify those counties with relatively high levels of remaining forests which at the same time are experiencing high levels of human pressure.

Migration can also result in additional forest degradation and loss, particularly as it often happens at a faster rate than natural population growth. However, the result may just be a shifting of population pressures on forests from one area to another.

Wildfires are another potential threat to forests. Wildfires destroy an average of five million acres per year in the United States. Recent years have seen some of the worst fire seasons in the past 50 years, and 2003 was the worst wildland fire season in modern history in California. California's growing population and low-density residential development patterns put more people and homes at risk. And as the population has grown, so has the number of wildfires, in part because many fires are started as a result of human actions.

Some contributing factors to forest degradation and loss are directly related to changes in local population, such as clearing for subsistence farming and the need for wood for fuel. Others are more related to global population and economic needs and trends such as commercial logging and ranching.

In addition, how population growth affects forests can vary greatly from one area to another. For example, in an area of low population density and substantial forests, an increase in population might have little impact on forest resources. But in an area of high population density and stressed forest resources, an increase in population might have a significant impact. Ranching operations can have a major impact on forests and they can can be expanded for commercial reasons having nothing to do with local population changes, but rather with distant changes.

Local or regional reforestation efforts can replace trees that have been destroyed, but PAI cautions that "reforestation is not remotely keeping up with the retreat of forests today, nor are regrown and managed forests likely to harbor the wealth of plant and animal species that natural forest ecosystems shelter."

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In The State of the World's Forests 2003, the FAO concludes: "In coming years, enormous population increases, combined with growing per capita consumption, will continue to result in agricultural expansion on new lands, mostly through deforestation." (See Population Action International's Historical and Projected Changes inland Use and Population, from "People In the Balance.") Speaking on World Population Day in 2001, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stressed the link between population and environmental stress to the Earth, including deforestation. He stressed the need not only to control population growth but to also stabilize use of resources.

Advances in science and technology will continue to be important to sustainable management of forests. Technological changes, for instance more efficient farming practices, and economic change can greatly affect the ability of an area to absorb an increase in population without harming forests.

The 2003 FAO report concludes that cross-sector partnerships also will be important: "In recent years, despite high rates of deforestation in many regions, progress in implementing sustainable forest management around the world has been steady and encouraging. However, if the full potential of forests and trees outside forests to provide environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits is to be realized, the pace of further improvements must be more rapid. Scientific and technological advances can do much to bring about required changes, but innovative partnerships within and across sectors are perhaps more critical in the search for meaningful long-term solutions."

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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). An especially useful reference is the AAAS Atlas of Population and Environment, by Paul Harrison and Fred Pearce. Press office: (202) 326-6440, media@aaas.org.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The FAO works to raise the standard of living in more than 180 countries by improving nutrition, agricultural productivity, forestry, fisheries, and rural development. Press contact: Michael Hage (North America), (202) 653-0011, michael.hage@fao.org; media office (Rome), +39 06 5705 3625, media-office@fao.org; Nick Parsons, +39 06 5705 3276, nick.parsons@fao.org.

PlanetWire. This is a free electronic news service focused on population and environment, including backgrounders, a broad-based daily clip service (subscribable by e-mail), and more. Press contact: Kathy Bonk or Cecilia Snyder, Communications Consortium Media Center (CCMC), (202) 326-8711, csnyder@ccmc.org.

Population Action International. An advocacy-oriented policy organization with lots of solid information, especially on population-environment connections. Press contacts: Kimberley Cline, (202) 557-3423, kcline@popact.org; Sally Ethelston, (202) 557-3418, sae@popact.org.

Popplanet. A project of the National Library for the Environment. It includes a great deal of information and links on population issues including: abstracts and links to more than 14,000 books, reports, and articles; a searchable population bibliography; and population news analysis and links; and more.

Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth). One of the main U.S. lobbying and advocacy groups on population, especially strong on tracking pending U.S. government action. Press contact: Tim Cline, (202) 745-3155, tim@popconnect.org.

Population Council. Is an international organization that conducts research in three areas: biomedical, social science, and public health, (202)530-5810.

Population Reference Bureau (also see http://www.popnet.org/. Offers a wide array of factual information on population. Press Contact: Ellen Carnevale, (202) 939-5407, ecarnevale@prb.org.

United Nations Environment Programme. Press contact: James Sniffen, 212-963-8094, sniffenj@un.org.

United Nations Forum on Forests.

United Nations Population Fund. The UN's official population organization. Especially helpful is the publication, "Footprints and Milestones: Population and Environmental Change -- The State of World Population 2001." Press contacts: Kristin Hetle, 212-297-5020, hetle@unfpa.org; William Ryan, (212) 297-5279, ryanw@unfpa.org.

World Resources Institute. An established and academically respected think tank on world resources issues, with a focus on sustainability. Press contact: Adlai Amor, (202) 729-7736, aamor@wri.org.

Worldwatch Institute. Press contacts: Leanne Mitchell, (202) 452-1992 ext.527, mitchell@worldwatch.org; Richard C. Bell, (202) 452-1992 ext. 517, dbell@worldwatch.org.

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