In 1990 the world had 4 128 million ha of forest; by 2015 this area has decreased to 3 999 million ha. this is a change from 31.6 percent of global land area in 1990 to 30.6 percent1 in 2015. Yet deforestation, or forest conversion, is more complicated than that. Globally, forest gains and losses occur continuously, and are very difficult to monitor even with high resolution satellite imagery. natural forest and planted forest area change dynamics differ – and vary dramatically across national circumstances and forest types.