NEW YORK: North America showed a slight increase in forest areas between 1990 and 2010, according to the United Nations' State of the World's Forests report.
Key findings of the report included:
- The planted forest area in North America increased, and the region showed a relatively stable, positive trend in the level of biomass it contained.
- North America accounted for about 25 percent of global primary forests, a designation given to old-growth forests.
- Areas of forest designated primarily for soil and water conservation were less than in other regions, but the management of these areas is largely embedded in national and local laws and other forest management guidance.
- A very small amount of wood (about 10 percent) was removed for woodfuel, with the remaining amount removed for industry.
- Canada’s forested area remained constant at 310 million hectares, with 53 percent designated as a global primary forest.
A recent report on the state of British Columbia's forests found that the area of protected forests over 140 years old had increased by almost one million hectares since 2002 and now totalled 4.5 million hectares.
The report said that half of the province’s 11 billion cubic metres of timber would never be harvested.
Source: United Nations' State of the World's Forests Report, British Columbia's State of the Forest Report
