There were around 13 million hectares of forest lost worldwide
each year between 2000 and 2010, either through devastation by
natural causes or because the land was converted to other land
uses. Urbanization and the expansion of large-scale commercial
agriculture were the main causes of deforestation at the global level.
Afforestation and the natural expansion of forests have reduced
the net loss of forest from an average of 8.3 million hectares
annually in the 1990s to an average of 5.2 million hectares
annually between 2000 and 2010. This has been due—for the
most part—to the measures taken by countries such as Brazil,
Chile, China, Costa Rica, Rwanda and Viet Nam to redress
deforestation and manage their forests sustainably.
Deforestation decreases biodiversity and access to clean water,
and increases soil erosion and the release of carbon into the
atmosphere. It often results in the loss of this major economic
asset and, in developing countries, of the livelihood opportunities
for rural communities, indigenous peoples and women.