Topic Introduction

In order to manage forests sustainably at international levels, it is essential to know the major forest zones in the world and to be familiar with the latest information about state of the forests in the worlds in terms of their distribution, area, changes over time, direct and indirect causes of deforestation globally.

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

• Recognize the distribution of world forest areas.
• Sketch the state of intensive planted forests globally.
• Recall the state of deforestation and forest conversion and degradation around the world.
• Appraise the direct and indirect causes of deforestation.

Readings

Required Readings

• FAO (2018) State of the World‘s Forests; Enhancing the socioeconomic benefits from forests. FAO, Rome. fao.org Links to an external site.
• Busch, J. (2017). What Drives Deforestation and What Stops It? A Meta-Analysis. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Volume 11, Issue 1, 1 January 2017, Pages 3–23, https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/rew013 Links to an external site.
• Pearson et al.(2017). Greenhouse gas emissions from tropical forest degradation: an underestimated source. Carbon Balance Manage (12:3).

Optional Readings

•  None.

Lecture Videos

1.2: State of the World’s Forests

Week-03- FODE_003 PPT.pptx Download Week-03- FODE_003 PPT.pptx

Activities & Assignments (For certificate learning only)

Online Discussions

You will be given the subject of the discussion at the end of Topic 1.2 online lecture, then there will be a chance to contribute to the online discussion the last day of the respective week. Every student will have a chance to exchange ideas about the topic in question and engage in questions and answers with others.

Graded Assignments

1. Review the PPT of Topic 1.2 and your associated notes based on the lecture.
2. Familiarize yourself with information given in the reading list.
3. Write an assay (200-300 words) on your evaluation of the current State of the World’s Forests.
4. Submit the assay online as instructed.

Topic Summary

Forests, covering nearly one-third of terrestrial landscape, are closely associated with human well-being worldwide. In recent history, there has been a significant loss of global forest cover due to deforestation and forest degradation.

Conversion of natural forests to agricultural land and other land uses is the main cause of deforestation especially in tropical regions. There are global efforts to halt deforestation and plant more trees.

Self Review (For self learning)

Please use the reflection questions below as study guide to conduct self-review for the topic.

• Which are the most forested regions of the world?
• Where does large-scale deforestation occur globally? and why?
• What is the current contribution of planted forests to the total global forest area?