Wood removal from tropical forests -- figures by country

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WOOD REMOVAL FROM TROPICAL FORESTS

Figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) show that wood removal is generally increasing in tropical Africa and decreasing in tropical Asia. In Latin America the results are mixed over the past 15-year period.

In tropical Africa, subsistence fuelwood collection and agriculture combined with increasing logging operations and development pressures may be factors behind rising levels of wood removal.

In tropical Asia vast areas were logged in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, timber harvesting in natural forests has diminished while forest plantations are replacing lost production.

Total wood removal figures for tropical countries as reported by FAO

	Total wood removal				Wood removal 2005
	1990	2000	2005	% change	Industrial roundwood	Wood fuel
	1000 m³ o.b.	1000 m³ o.b.	1000 m³ o.b.	1990-2005	1000 m³ o.b.	1000 m³ o.b.

AFRICA
Angola	3,668	4,905	5,196	42%	1,283	3,913
Botswana	792	851	881	11%	132	749
Burkina Faso	6,339	7,248	7,338	16%	5	7,333
Burundi	6,721	8,217	9,693	44%	383	9,310
Cameroon	14,861	17,989	19,772	33%	3,211	16,561
Central African Republic	4,054	3,566	3,566	-12%	1,108	2,458
Comoros	168	193	206	23%	9	197
Congo	2,059	2,424	2,767	34%	1,450	1,317
Congo, DR	54,922	78,791	82,994	51%	4,199	78,795
Côte d'Ivoire	8,826	12,137	12,545	42%	2,175	10,370
Equatorial Guinea	714	933	933	31%	419	514
Gabon	2,198	3,550	4,227	92%	3,600	627
Gambia	602	783	873	45%	154	718
Ghana	16,078	24,999	29,458	83%	1,205	28,253
Guinea	11,412	13,179	14,001	23%	748	13,253
Guinea-Bissau	1,110	1,309	1,417	28%	32	1,385
Kenya	21,385	24,900	26,658	25%	2,402	24,256
Liberia	5,048	5,610	5,918	17%	-	5,918
Madagascar	7,246	9,973	7,031	-3%	598	6,433
Malawi	6,348	6,297	6,272	-1%	655	5,617
Mali	4,961	5,911	6,386	29%	507	5,879
Mauritius	27	18	14	-48%	8	6
Mozambique	18,174	20,744	22,029	21%	1,732	20,297
Niger	9,544	12,151	12,473	31%	594	11,879
Nigeria	63,756	79,002	86,627	36%	13,916	72,711
Rwanda	3,114	7,789	10,429	235%	226	10,203
Senegal	4,696	5,131	5,110	9%	10	5,100
Sierra Leone	5,534	6,212	6,551	18%	137	6,414
Sudan	20,684	21,715	22,230	7%	2,716	19,514
Tanzania	23,846	26,637	28,033	18%	2,833	25,200
Uganda	35,909	42,936	46,449	29%	4,408	42,041
Zambia	8,073	9,259	9,851	22%	1,053	8,798
Zimbabwe	8,552	10,519	11,566	35%	1,185	10,381

TROPICAL ASIA
Bhutan	313	290	277	-12%	207	70
India	9,001	5,735	4,724	-48%	1,252	3,472
Indonesia	26,560	24,409	11,257	-58%	11,178	79
Laos	6,965	7,424	7,424	7%	682	6,742
Malaysia	53,739	28,289	24,014	-55%	20,600	3,414
Myanmar	39,084	40,708	43,060	10%	3,880	39,180
Nepal	138	110	119	-14%	67	52
Philippines	2,721	759	541	-80%	403	138
Sri Lanka	9,355	7,546	6,642	-29%	763	5,879
Thailand	710	54	49	-93%	41	8
Viet Nam	35,505	27,219	23,735	-33%	2,500	21,235

TROPICAL LATIN AMERICA
Belize	216	216	216	0%	71	145
Brazil	368,706	293,219	290,476	-21%	168,091	122,385
Colombia	11,819	10,809	10,275	-13%	3,246	7,029
Costa Rica	1,198	2,398	2,400	100%	1,932	468
Ecuador	7,250	7,976	8,339	15%	1,360	6,979
El Salvador	4,275	5,957	5,201	22%	682	4,519
French Guiana	91	52	70	-23%	70	-
Guatemala	13,143	17,211	19,245	46%	623	18,622
Honduras	10,916	14,022	15,576	43%	1,009	14,567
Mexico	9,399	8,740	8,351	-11%	7,667	684
Nicaragua	1,908	1,454	1,846	-3%	106	1,740
Panama	813	573	464	-43%	53	410
Peru	7,676	9,752	10,789	41%	1,891	8,898
Suriname	116	176	205	77%	200	5
Venezuela	664	1,138	813	22%	812	2

Continued: Rainforest Logging

This article was written by Rhett A. Butler [bibliographic citation for this page] and was last updated on the most recent date listed in the column on the right side.

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Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2009

"Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site. "Jungle" is generally not used.

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