FOREST FACTS

FACTS ON GLOBAL DEFORESTATION

Forests worldwide are under pressure. Much of the focus on deforestation has been on tropical forests, and pressures from Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), businesses (Walmart, Home Depot, etc.) and consumers have worked to create and better enforce regulations in these areas. Comprehensive overviews of global forests can be found in these documents:

One of the most important advancements in the fight against illegal logging in the world’s forests is the Lacey Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2008. With this act, the U.S. became the first country in the world to ban the import, sale or trade of illegally harvested wood and wood products. Importers of wood products must declare the species and country of origin. There are strong penalties for knowingly sourcing, or failing to exercise due care when sourcing, illegal timber. The U.S. market for eco-friendly timber products is expected to be worth tens of billions of dollars by 2010.

"In 2009, Amigos da Terra's report Time to Pay the Bill, and Greenpeace's Slaughtering the Amazon highlighted the cattle industry as a driver of climate change responsible for the bulk of Brazil's greenhouse gases through deforestation and methane emissions from 180 million cows." ANDREW MITCHELL CHAIRMAN,
FOREST FOOTPRINT PROJECT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
GLOBAL CANOPY PROGRAMME