TROPICAL RAINFORESTS: Deforestation

Deforestation Figures for Selected Countries

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Deforestation Pictures | part II

Amazon rainforest will bear cost of biofuel policies in Brazil

(02/08/2010) Business-as-usual agricultural expansion to meet biofuel production targets for 2020 will take a heavy toll on Brazil's Amazon rainforest in coming years, undermining the potential emissions savings of transitioning from fossil fuels to biofuels, warns a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The research suggests that intensification of cattle ranching, combined with efforts to promote high-yielding oil crops like oil palm could lessen forecast greenhouse gas emissions from indirect land use in the region.

Asia's biggest logging company accused of bribery, violence in Papua New Guinea

(02/08/2010) A local organization in Papua New Guinea, known as Asples Madang, is fighting against one of the region's biggest industrial loggers, Rimbunan Hijau (RH) chaired by billionare Tiong Hiew King. Aspeles Madang has accused Malaysian company, RH, of acquiring land illegally and of using brute force and bribery in its dealing with locals.

Google Earth boosts deforestation monitoring capabilities

(02/07/2010) Google has taken a step towards ramping up the deforestation monitoring capabilities the Google Earth Engine by contracting Massachusetts-based Clark Labs to develop an online version of its Land Change Modeler application.

Church of England drops mining company Vedanta due to indigenous rights concerns

(02/07/2010) The Church of England has dropped is 3.8 million pound stake (5.9 million US dollars) in controversial mining company, Vedanta Resources, citing concern over the company's human rights record. The Indian company has come under considerable criticism for its plan to build a bauxite mine on Niyamgiri Mountain, threatening the mountain, forests, and the local tribe Dongria Kondh tribe.

Commodity trade and urbanization, rather than rural poverty, drive deforestation

(02/07/2010) Deforestation is increasingly correlated to urban population growth and trade rather than rural poverty, suggesting that measures proposed to reduce deforestation will be ineffective if they fail to address demand for commodities produced on forest lands, argues a new paper published in Nature GeoScience.

Forest conservation in U.S. climate policy: an interview with Jeff Horowitz

(02/05/2010) The Copenhagen Accord signed in December is widely seen as a disappointment. The Accord set no binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions targets and did not even commitment to a legally binding treaty in the future. Serious work is needed to bring the process back on track. But some progress was made. Countries agreed on international monitoring of emissions (a point of conflict between China and the United States) and funding (rich countries pledged $3 billion a year for the next three years and up to $100 billion a year by 2020) for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. Furthermore, there were gains for the REDD mechanism, a U.N.-backed plan to compensate developing countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation.

EU: rainforests can be converted to palm oil plantations for biofuel production

(02/04/2010) The European Union may be planning to classify oil palm plantations as forests, raising fears among environmental groups of expanded conversion of tropical rainforests for biofuel production, reports the EUobserver, which cites a leaked document from the European Commission. The draft document shows that policymakers are considering language that would specifically allow use of biofuels produced via conversion of rainforests to oil palm plantations.

Birder captures first footage ever of long whiskered owlet, one of the world's rarest birds

(02/04/2010) It was any birders dream come true: not only to see one of the world's rarest birds, but to discover a new unknown population. Israeli birder, Shachar Alterman, was surveying birds with the UK organization Neotropical Primate Conservation in Peruvian cloud forest when he heard and then saw the long whiskered owlet.

Rainforest expert agrees with IPCC: warns of 'tipping point' for Amazon

(02/03/2010) Amid questions over the Amazon forests' capacity to survive climate change, a renowned tropical biologist says that in fact the fears are real, reports Tierramerica. Speaking at the Biodiversity Science Policy Conference in Paris, Thomas Lovejoy, biodiversity chair at the Washington DC-based Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, and chief biodiversity adviser to the president of the World Bank, described the Amazon rainforest as "very close to a tipping point".

Could special bonds fund the green revolution and stabilize the climate?

(02/02/2010) There is no question that governments around the world are moving slowly and sluggishly to combat climate change, especially when placed against the measures recommended by climate scientists. Only a handful of nations have actually cut overall greenhouse gas emissions, and the past couple decades have seen emissions rise rapidly worldwide as nations like India and China industrialize while Brazil and Indonesia continue massive deforestation. Global temperatures are rising in concert (though with natural fluctuations): the past decade is the warmest on record. After the failure of Copenhagen this past December to produce an ambitious and binding treaty, many are wondering if the world will ever address the threat of climate change or if future generations are set to live in a world far different—and more volatile—than the one we currently enjoy.

Environmentalists and indigenous groups decry approval of massive dam in Amazon

(02/02/2010) The approval of the hydro-electric Belo Monte Dam from the Brazilian environmental agency, IBAMA, has raised condemnations from environmentalists and indigenous groups. The dam will divert the flow of the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon River, which runs through the Amazon in northeast Brazil. According to critics the dam will destroy vast areas of pristine rainforest, disrupt sensitive ecosystems, and relocate 12,000 people.

Half of Indonesia's species remain unknown

(02/02/2010) Incorporating 17,000 tropical islands, Indonesia is one of the world's richest areas of biodiversity. However, according to the Jakarta Post, over half of this biodiversity remains unrecorded with only 20 of the more than 400 regencies in the country recording species.

UK failing to meet biofuel sustainability standard

(02/01/2010) Only 4 percent of biofuel imported for use in the UK meets the environmental sustainability standard set by the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RFTO), reports a new assessment from the Renewable Fuels Agency.

UK to fund efforts to shift towards greener palm oil production

(01/31/2010) Britain will contribute £50m ($80m) towards efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Indonesia, including a project that aims to encourage palm oil producers to establish plantations on degraded lands instead of in place of rainforests and carbon-dense peatlands, reports BBC News.

Farmers drive deforestation in Rondonia, in the Brazilian Amazon

(01/31/2010) Small-scale farmers who lease land from the Brazilian government are very much responsible for deforestation in the Brazilian state of Rondonia in the Amazon area. In most areas with agrarian projects, more than fifty percent of the land has been cleared of forests, while the Brazilian Forestry Code permits farming concerns in the Amazon to clear only twenty percent of the land.

Satellites being used to track illegal logging, rosewood trafficking in Madagascar

(01/28/2010) Analysts in Europe and the United States are using high resolution satellite imagery to identify and track shipments of timber illegally logged from rainforest parks in Madagascar. The images could be used to help prosecute traders involved in trafficking and put pressure on companies using rosewood from Madagascar.

Will it be possible to feed nine billion people sustainably?

(01/28/2010) Sometime around 2050 researchers estimate that the global population will level-out at nine billion people, adding over two billion more people to the planet. Since, one billion of the world's population (more than one in seven) are currently going hungry—the largest number in all of history—scientists are struggling with how, not only to feed those who are hungry today, but also the additional two billion that will soon grace our planet. In a new paper in Science researchers make recommendations on how the world may one day feed nine billion people—sustainably.

Forestry sector needs transparency to reduce risks of REDD

(01/25/2010) A new project aims to increase transparency in the forestry sector, an area long plagued by corruption and mismanagement.

Little more than 10,000 hectares of rainforest remains on Java

(01/24/2010) From 2003-2006, Java lost approximately 2,5000 hectares a year (10,000 hectares of forest in total) according to the Forestry Ministry. Despite the rate of loss being far lower in Java than other Indonesian islands (such as Borneo, Sumatra, and Sulawesi), Java is particularly threatened because there is so little forest left. If the past rate of deforestation occurs from 2007-2010 then by the end of the year conservation organization Pro Fauna predicts only 10,000 hectares of rainforest will remain on the island, leaving a number of unique and endangered species in deep trouble.

Dispelling myths about the US Lacey Act

(01/21/2010) The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has released a document to dispel common myths related to the 2008 amendment to the Lacey Act, which makes it possible for the United States to support efforts to combat illegal logging both abroad and at home.

Forest-bulldozing ranchers win 'Greenwashing Award' for claiming they are creating a 'nature reserve'

(01/20/2010) Indigenous rights organization, Survival International, has awarded Brazilian cattle company, Yaguarete Porá S.A., its 'Greenwashing Award 2010' for destroying indigenous peoples' forest—including uncontacted natives—and calling it conservation.

Cheerios maker linked to rainforest destruction

(01/19/2010) An activist group linked General Mills to destruction of rainforests in Southeast Asia in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, when it unfurled a giant banner, reading "Warning: General Mills Destroys Rainforests", outside the company's Minneapolis headquarters building.

Indonesian government report recommends moratorium on peatlands conversion

(01/19/2010) A study issued by Indonesian government recommends a moratorium on peatlands conversion in order to meet its greenhouse gas emissions target pledged for 2020, reports the Jakarta Post. The report, commissioned by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), says that conversion of peatlands accounts for 50 percent of Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions but only one percent of GDP. A ban on conversion would therefore be a cost-effective way for the country to achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions 26 percent from a projected baseline by 2020. But the recommendation is likely to face strong resistance from plantation developers eager to expand operations in peatland areas. Last year the Agricultural Ministry lifted a moratorium on the conversion of peatlands of less than 3 meters in depth for oil palm plantations. Environmentalists said the move would release billions of tons of carbon dioxide.

The Caribbean's wonderfully weird (and threatened) mammals, an interview with Jose Nunez-Mino

(01/18/2010) Not many people know the solenodon and the hutia, yet for the fortunate few that have encountered them, these strange little-studied mammals—just barely holding on in the Caribbean island of Hispaniola—deserve to be stars of the animal kingdom. "I could not quite believe it the first time I held a solenodon; I was in utter awe of this mesmerizing mammal. […] They have a long flexible snout which is all down to the fact that it is joined to the skull by a unique ball-and-socket joint. This makes it look as if the snout is almost independent to the rest of the animal. You can’t help but feel fascinated by the snout and inevitably it does make you smile," Dr. Jose Nunez-Mino, the Project Manager for a new initiative to study and conserve the island's last mammals, told mongabay.com in an interview.

Orangutans vs palm oil in Malaysia: setting the record straight

(01/16/2010) The Malaysian palm oil industry has been broadly accused of contributing to the dramatic decline in orangutan populations in Sabah, a state in northern Borneo, over the past 30 years. The industry has staunchly denied these charges and responded with marketing campaigns claiming the opposite: that oil palm plantations can support and nourish the great red apes. The issue came to a head last October at the Orangutan Colloquium held in Kota Kinabalu. There, confronted by orangutan biologists, the palm oil industry pledged to support restoring forest corridors along rivers in order to help facilitate movement of orangutans between remaining forest reserves across seas of oil palm plantations. Attending NGOs agreed that they would need to work with industry to find a balance that would allow the ongoing survival of orangutans in the wild. Nevertheless the conference was still marked by much of the same rhetoric that has characterized most of these meetings — chief palm oil industry officials again made dubious claims about the environmental stewardship of the industry. However this time there was at least acknowledgment that palm oil needs to play an active role in conservation.

Company seeks to log forest reserve for palm oil in Uganda

(01/15/2010) A company in Uganda is pressuring the environment ministry to allow it to log a protected forest reserve to establish a palm oil plantation, reports The New Vision.

Dams a 'monument of corruption': Baru Bian, new leader of Sarawak's People's Justice Party

(01/12/2010) In an interview with the Bruno Manser Fond, the new leader of the Malaysian state Sarawak's People's Justice Party (PKR), Baru Bian, spoke out against the state government's plans for mega-dams in the middle of the rainforest, as well as continued rainforest destruction and corruption.

World Bank, European governments finance illegal timber exports from Madagascar

(01/11/2010) While Madagascar's current government has drawn sharp criticism from the international community for its failure to prevent the environmental destruction of recent months, France, Holland, Morocco, and the World Bank have all been implicated in financing illegal logging operations in Madagascar's national parks over the past year. Even as foreign governments condemned the surge in illegal logging last year, many--either directly or through institutions they support--are shareholders in the very banks that have financed the export of illegal lumber from Madagascar's SAVA region. The Bank of Africa Madagascar, for instance, is part owned by Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française du Développement, as well as the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, Dutch development bank FMO, and the Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extérieur. Société Générale and Crédit Lyonnais, both part-owned by the French government, have also provided loans to illegal timber traders.

Madagascar sanctions logging of national parks

(01/11/2010) Madagascar has legalized the export of rosewood logs, possibly ushering in renewed logging of the country's embattled rainforest parks. The transitional authority led by president Andry Rajoelina, who seized power during a military coup last March, today released a decree that allows the export of rosewood logs harvested from the Indian Ocean island's national parks. The move comes despite international outcry over the destruction of Madagascar's rainforests for the rosewood trade. The acceleration of logging since the March coup has been accompanied by a rise in commercial bushmeat trafficking of endangered lemurs.

Conservation organization purchases vital wildlife corridor for elephants in India

(01/11/2010) On Christmas Eve, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) completed a transaction to purchase an important wildlie corridor used by over a thousand Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). The 25.4 acre Kollegal Elephant Corridor was under private ownership, but may now be incorporated into adjacent Biligiri Ranganswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (IFAW).

Saving biodiversity 'on the same scale' as climate change: German Chancellor

(01/11/2010) In a kick-off event for the UN's Year of Biodiversity, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, compared the importance of saving biodiversity to stopping climate change.

Scientists call for an end to mountaintop removal mining in the US

(01/07/2010) A group of scientists have called for the Obama Administration to place a moratorium on infamous mountain top mining due to "growing scientific evidence" of severe environmental degradation and serious impacts on human health, including cancer. The article, published in Science, is written by a dozen influential scientists, including hydrologists, ecologists, and engineers.

A 'dangerous world' for migratory birds, an interview with Sarah Lehnen

(01/04/2010) Sarah Lehnen has worked with America's rich birdlife for a decade: she has studied everything from songbirds inhabiting dwindling shrub land in Ohio to shorebirds stopping over in the Mississippi Rive alluvial valley, always with an eye towards conservation. Most recently she has been involved in testing migratory birds for avian flu. It may come as a surprise, but American birds are in serious decline. In March of last year, US Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced that one-in-three American birds are endangered. Even once common birds are showing precipitous declines. Birds face a barrage of threats, which are only complicated—and heightened—for migratory birds.

Gone: a look at extinction over the past decade

(01/03/2010) No one can say with any certainty how many species went extinct from 2000-2009. Because no one knows if the world's species number 3 million or 30 million, it is impossible to guess how many known species—let alone unknown—may have vanished recently. Species in tropical forests and the world's oceans are notoriously under-surveyed leaving gaping holes where species can vanish taking all of their secrets—even knowledge of their existence—with them.

Bridge development in Kalimantan threatens rainforest, mangroves, and coral reef

(01/03/2010) Balikpapan Bay in East Kalimantan is home to an incredible variety of ecosystems: in the shallow bay waters endangered dugong feed on sea grasses and salt water crocodiles sleep; along the bay proboscis monkeys leap among mangroves thirty meters tall and Irrawaddy dolphins roam; beyond the mangroves lies the Sungai Wain Protection forest; here, the Sunda clouded leopard hunts, sun bears climb into the canopy searching for fruits and nuts, and a reintroduced population of orangutans makes their nests; but this wilderness, along with all of its myriad inhabitants, are threatened by a plan to build a bridge and road connecting the towns of Penajam and Balikpapan.

Sierra Leone cracks down on illegal logging by banning log exports

(01/02/2010) Sierra Leone has banned the transport and export of logs in an effort to crack down on illegal logging, reports AFP.

Brazil to keep emissions reductions pledge despite failed climate summit

(12/30/2009) Brazil will honor its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 14-19 percent from 2005 levels despite the failure of this month's climate meeting in Copenhagen to establish binding limits on emissions, reports Reuters.

Rainforest conservation: a year in review

(12/27/2009) 2009 may prove to be an important turning point for tropical forests. Lead by Brazil, which had the lowest extent of deforestation since at least the 1980s, global forest loss likely declined to its lowest level in more than a decade. Critical to the fall in deforestation was the global financial crisis, which dried up credit for forest-destroying activities and contributed to a crash in commodity prices, an underlying driver of deforestation.

The real Avatar story: indigenous people fight to save their forest homes from corporate exploitation

(12/22/2009) In James Cameron's newest film Avatar an alien tribe on a distant planet fights to save their forest home from human invaders bent on mining the planet. The mining company has brought in ex-marines for 'security' and will stop at nothing, not even genocide, to secure profits for its shareholders. While Cameron's film takes place on a planet sporting six-legged rhinos and massive flying lizards, the struggle between corporations and indigenous people is hardly science fiction.

Unique call gives away new bird species in Laos and Vietnam

(12/21/2009) A beautiful little warbler inhabiting limestone karsts in Vietnam and Laos has been named a new species. When the limestone leaf warbler ( Phylloscopus calciatilis) was first sighted in 1994 it was thought to be a member of the similar-looking species, the sulphur-breasted warbler, but ornithologists began to question that assumption when the bird produced a call significantly different from the sulphur-breasted's.

Guyana to increase oversight of gold mining under deal to save forests with Norway

(12/21/2009) As apart of a deal with Norway to preserve its rainforests, Guyana will step up oversight of its gold mining industry, which has been accused of causing significant environmental damage including deforestation and mercury and cyanide pollution.

Brazil: king of conservation, deforestation for the 2000s

(12/21/2009) Brazil set aside more land in protected areas than any other country during the 2000s, accounting for nearly 60 percent of total terrestrial conservation during the decade, according to mongabay.com's analysis of data from the U.N Environment Program and the World Conservation Monitoring Center. Paradoxically, Brazil also lost the most forest of any country during the decade.

New tropical wood substitute could save rainforests worldwide

(12/18/2009) One of the main drivers of tropical deforestation is western consumption of hardwoods, more durable and weather-resistant than softwoods. For example, hardwood harvested in Southeast Asia—both legally and illegally obtained—often makes its way to China where it is crafted into cheap outdoor-ready hardwood products, which is then sold to the world's wealthy nations, such as the United States and countries in the EU. The trade releases significant greenhouse gases, threatens indigenous groups, and imperils the region's biodiversity. Yet a new product, apart of an art installation at the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, may have the capacity to stem the loss of tropical forests for hardwoods.

French company CMA-CGM facilitating destruction of Madagascar's rainforests, undermining France's position in Copenhagen

(12/17/2009) Delmas, a subsidiary of French shipping giant CMA-CGM, is facilitating the destruction of Madagascar's endangered rainforests by providing transport for timber illegally logged from the country's national parks, report multiple sources that have been investigating the illegal rosewood trade in the Indian Ocean island nation. The accusations put Delmas directly in conflict with the French government's push at climate talks in Copenhagen to establish stronger safeguards against illegal logging.

Uninhabited tropical island paradise seeks REDD funding to save it from loggers

(12/17/2009) Tetepare may be one of the last tropical island paradises left on earth. Headhunting and a mysterious illness drove its original inhabitants from the island two hundred years ago, making Tetepare today the largest uninhabited island in the tropical Pacific. The 120 square kilometer island (46 square miles), long untouched by industry or agriculture, is currently threatened by logging interests. However, the island is not without champions: in 2002 descendents of the original inhabitants of Tetepare formed the Tetepare Descendents Association (TDA) to preserve the island. Recently they have teamed up with the Solomon Islands Government and the Solomon Islands Community Conservation Partnership to develop financing through REDD.

Malaysia to allow logging in indigenous 'peace park' to proceed

(12/17/2009) Malaysia, the country with the fastest rate of greenhouse gas emissions growth since 1990 among middle and upper income countries, will allow logging to proceed in a contested rainforest area in Sarawak, on the island of Borneo.

World's rarest gorilla caught on film

(12/16/2009) The first ever professional footage of the world's rarest gorilla, the Cross River gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla diehli), has been shot deep in the forested mountains of Cameroon. The only other existing footage of this Critically Endangered subspecies was taken from far away by a field researcher in 2005.

Major international banks, shipping companies, and consumers play key role in Madagascar's logging crisis

(12/16/2009) In the midst of cyclone season, a 'dead' period for tourism to Madagascar's east coast, Vohémar, a sleepy town dominated by the vanilla trade, is abuzz. Vanilla prices have scarcely been lower, but the hotels are full and the port is busy. "This afternoon, it was like a 4 wheel drive show in front of the Direction Regionale des Eaux & Forets," one source wrote in an email on November 29th: "Many new 4x4, latest model, new plane at the airport, Chinese everywhere."

Pope Benedict: environmental crisis requires review of world's economic model

(12/15/2009) Pope Benedict XVI has released a message linking world peace with preserving the environment for the World Day of Peace, which will be held on January 1st 2010. In it Benedict calls for a "long-term review" of the world's current economic model, including "[moving] beyond a purely consumerist mentality" and encouraging a more "sober lifestyle".

Rich logging countries open logging loophole in plan to reduce deforestation

(12/15/2009) While one tropical forest policy group saw hopeful signs emerging in the most recent revision of the negotiating text on the reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) mechanism at climate talks in Copenhagen, activist groups are warning that there remains a substantial logging loophole for developed countries.

Brazil grants deforestation amnesty for farmers and ranchers

(12/14/2009) A decree issued by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva suspends up to $5.7 billion in fines and gives ranchers and farmers in the Amazon two more years to come into compliance with environmental laws aimed to curtain deforestation, reports the Associated Press.

Forest destruction by Sinar Mas undermines efforts to develop and promote greener palm oil

(12/14/2009) An investigation commissioned by Unilever, the world's largest buyer of palm oil, confirms that Indonesian group Sinar Mas, the world's second largest producer of palm oil, has been destroying forests and peatlands despite committing to "greener" palm oil production as a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Unilever has now suspended its $32.6 million contract with Sinar Mas.

New REDD text is weak, say activists

(12/12/2009) Activist group have condemned the latest draft text of an agreement that aims to protect rainforests as a means to mitigate climate change.

Unilever suspends palm oil contract after supplier found to be destroying rainforests

(12/12/2009) The world's largest user of palm oil, Unilever, has suspended its $32.6 million contract with the Indonesian group Sinar Mas after an independent audit proved that Sinar Mas is involved in the destruction of rainforest, reports Reuters. The audit was conducted early this year after a report by Greenpeace alleged that Sinar Mas was engaged in deforestation and the draining of peatlands, both of which release significant amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Deforestation across Indonesia and Malaysia, in part for oil palm plantations, has also added pressure on many many endangered species, including orangutans, tigers, elephants, and rhinos.

REDD may miss up to 80 percent of land use change emissions

(12/11/2009) The political definition of 'forest' used in REDD (Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) threatens to undermine the program's objective to conserve ecosystems for their ability to sequester carbon, according to a new analysis by the Alternatives to Slash and Burn (ASB) Partnership for Tropical Forest Margins. In an analysis of three Indonesian provinces using REDD proposals for carbon accounting, ASB found that REDD may miss up to 80 percent of the actual emissions due to land use change. The carbon accounting problems could be fixed, according to ASB, by expanding REDD's purpose from reducing emissions linked to deforestation (considering the problematic definition of forests) to reducing emission from all land use changes that either release or capture greenhouse gases, including but not limited to forests.

US provides 3 billion in subsidies for Exxon-mobil project in Papua New Guinea

(12/10/2009) While officials from around their world are working night-and-day to come up with an international agreement to combat climate change in Copenhagen, the US Export-Import Bank confirmed it will subsidize a natural gas project in Papua New Guinea to the tune of 3 billion dollars—a record for the bank.

Obama on global warming and forest protection

(12/10/2009) President of the United States, Barack Obama, was in Oslo, Norway this morning accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, which he won in part for promising to bring the United States to the negotiating table on climate change—something he has recently done.

Rainforest tribe sues the Malaysian government for enabling deforestation

(12/10/2009) Five Penan rainforest communities are suing the Sarawak state government and the Malaysian timber giant Samling for violation of their native customary rights, reports the Bruno Manser Fund, a group that works on behalf of indigenous groups in Malaysia.

Google Earth to monitor deforestation

(12/10/2009) It what could be a critical development in helping tropical countries monitor deforestation, Google has unveiled a partnership with scientists using advanced remote sensing technology to rapidly analyze and map forest cover in extremely high resolution. The effort could help countries detect deforestation shortly after it occurs making it easier to prevent further forest clearing.

Cattle company bulldozing UNESCO site, threatening uncontacted natives

(12/09/2009) A Brazilian ranching company is bulldozing land within UNESCO Chaco Biosphere Reserve in Paraguay, home to the only uncontacted natives outside of the Amazon in South America. While the UNESCO status provides no legal protections to the area, it is meant as an international marker to protect the tribe of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode and the forest they inhabit.

Developed countries plan to hide emissions from logging

(12/09/2009) While developing countries in the tropics have received a lot of attention for their deforestation emissions (one thinks of Brazil, Indonesia, and Malaysia), emissions from logging—considered forest cover change—in wealthy northern countries has been largely overlooked by the media. It seems industrialized countries prefer it this way: a new study reveals just how these countries are planning to hide forestry-related emissions, allowing nations such as Canada, Russia, and the EU to contribute to climate change without penalty.

REDD+ could turn deforesters into forest protectors

(12/09/2009) Payments for conservation and sustainable management of forests could turn agents of forest destruction into forest protectors, according to a comprehensive analysis of national policy options to reduce deforestation released in Copenhagen by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

Changing drivers of deforestation provide new opportunities for conservation

(12/09/2009) Tropical deforestation claimed roughly 13 million hectares of forest per year during the first half of this decade, about the same rate of loss as the 1990s. But while the overall numbers have remained relatively constant, they mask a transition of great significance: a shift from poverty-driven to industry-driven deforestation and geographic consolidation of where deforestation occurs. These changes have important implications for efforts to protect the world's remaining tropical forests in that environmental lobby groups now have identifiable targets that may be more responsive to pressure on environmental concerns than tens of millions of impoverished rural farmers. In other words, activists have more leverage than ever to impact corporate behavior as it relates to deforestation.

Destruction of old-growth forests looms over climate talks

(12/08/2009) Destruction of old-growth or primary forests looms large in discussions in Copenhagen over a scheme to compensate tropical countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD). Some environmental groups are pressing for conservation of old-growth forests — the most carbon-dense, and biologically-rich state of forests — to be the centerpiece of REDD, while industry and other actors are pushing for "sustainable forest management" or logging using reduced-impact techniques to be the primary focus of REDD.

Copenhagen and Brazilian Megalomania

(12/07/2009) When people think about preserving the Amazon rainforest, captivating animals may come to mind such as the jaguar, toucan or manatee. But while wildlife must be safeguarded there are now other urgent reasons to protect the jungle. The seriousness of the problem was recently brought home to me when I visited the Amazonian city of Manaus.

Video: rare footage of the sun bear, the world's smallest, making a nest in the canopy

(12/06/2009) Sun bear expert, Siew Te Wong, has captured rare footage of the world's smallest bear making a nest high in the canopy. The sun bear in the video is a radio-collared individual that Wong is keeping tabs on in Borneo.

Indonesia: Kalimantan's Lowland Peat Forests Explained

(12/04/2009) Earth's tropical rainforests are a critical component of the world's carbon cycle yet cover only about 12% of its terrestrial land. Accounting for 40% of the world's terrestrial carbon and 50% of the world's gross primary productivity,[1]. the production of organic compounds primarily through photosynthesis, tropical rainforests also are one of the engines driving Earth's atmospheric circulation patterns.

Paper provider for fashion gurus drops APP due to deforestation across Indonesia

(12/02/2009) One by one, the fashion industry's biggest companies are leaving Asian Pulp and Paper (APP)—and deforestation in Indonesia—behind. The newest defector is PAK 2000, a packaging company for fashion products. After a sustained campaign by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and fashion companies buying from PAK 2000, the New Hampshire-based company, has announced that it is severing all ties with APP by the end of the year. The announcement means that big famous companies—from Versace to J. Crew—will have an easier time avoiding paper products that cause rainforest destruction.

Has Canada become the new climate villain (yes, that's right, Canada)?

(12/02/2009) In 2007 American delegates to a climate summit in Bali were booed outright for obstructing a global agreement on climate change. Then in a David versus Goliath moment they were famously scolded by a negotiator from Papua New Guinea, Kevin Conrad. "If for some reason you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please get out of the way," Conrad told the American delegates. However, much has changed in two years: the United States, under a new administration, is no longer the climate change pariah. The US has recently announced emissions cuts, negotiated successfully with China on the issue, and will be attending—Obama included—the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen next week. Obama and his team probably don't need to worry about being booed or remonstrated this time around, but that role may instead go to Canada.

In absence of measures to address consumption, REDD may fail to protect forests

(12/02/2009) Rising demand for timber and agricultural products could work against a proposed initiative to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), warns a new report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). The briefing, Putting the Brakes on Drivers of Forest Destruction: A Shared Responsibility, says that investment in REDD will not be enough to protect forests if the underlying drivers of deforestation — namely consumption — are not addressed. It urges negotiators to re-insert critical text that has been dropped from the working text on REDD ahead of next week's climate change conferences in Copenhagen.

Face-to-face with what may be the last of the world's smallest rhino, the Bornean rhinoceros

(12/01/2009) Nothing can really prepare a person for coming face-to-face with what may be the last of a species. I had known for a week that I would be fortunate enough to meet Tam. I'd heard stories of his gentle demeanor, discussed his current situation with experts, and read everything I could find about this surprising individual. But still, walking up to the pen where Tam stood contentedly pulling leaves from the hands of a local ranger, hearing him snort and whistle, watching as he rattled the bars with his blunted horn, I felt like I was walking into a place I wasn't meant to be. As though I was treading on his, Tam's space: entering into a cool deep forest where mud wallows and shadows still linger. This was Tam's world; or at least it should be.

Guyana expedition finds biodiversity trove in area slated for oil and gas development, an interview with Robert Pickles

(11/29/2009) An expedition deep into Guyana's rainforest interior to find the endangered giant river otter—and collect their scat for genetic analysis—uncovered much more than even this endangered charismatic species. "Visiting the Rewa Head felt like we were walking in the footsteps of Wallace and Bates, seeing South America with its natural density of wild animals as it would have appeared 150 years ago," expedition member Robert Pickles said to Mongabay.com.

No-shows among South American leaders at Amazon summit

(11/27/2009) A summit between South American leaders to devise a plan to save the Amazon, failed to come up with a "common stance" on deforestation, as five of the eight invited leaders failed to show up to the meeting, reports Al Jazeera.

REDD may not be enough to save Sumatra's endangered lowland rainforests

(11/24/2009) A prominent REDD project in Aceh Indonesia probably won't be enough to save Northern Sumatra's endangered lowland rainforests from logging and conversion to oil plantations and agriculture, report researchers writing in Environmental Research Letters. The study highlights the contradiction between the Ulu Masen conservation project; which involves Flora and Fauna International, Bank of America, and Australia-based Carbon Conservation, a carbon trading company and the continuing road expansion, and establishment of oil palm plantations in the region.

Transmitters implanted in orangutans for tracking after release into the wild

(11/23/2009) For the first time transmitters have been implanted in orangutans to track their daily movements. The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) has implanted transmitters into three orangutans that have been released back into the wild from Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.

Google – the new eye in the sky for protecting forests?

(11/22/2009) Google looks set to play a part in a called-for "new environmental world order" by satellite-monitoring the rates of deforestation of tropical rainforests and pinpointing illegal logging and land misuse, Google’s Northern and Central Europe head Philipp Schindler has revealed. Schindler made the announcement in London on November 19 at a meeting at St James's Palace hosted by the Prince's Rainforests Project about a new climate change reduction mechanism, REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). An inter-governmental report produced this month by an Informal Working Group (IWG) for Interim Funding of REDD has outlined an initiative to save the CO2 equivalent of the annual emissions of the US over five years by rewarding developing countries for reducing deforestation, with payments on a performance basis.

Deforestation emissions should be shared between producer and consumer, argues study

(11/19/2009) Under the Kyoto Protocol the nation that produces carbon emission takes responsibility for them, but what about when the country is producing carbon-intensive goods for consumer demand beyond its borders? For example while China is now the world's highest carbon emitter, 50 percent of its growth over the last year was due to producing goods for wealthy countries like the EU and the United States which have, in a sense, outsourced their manufacturing emissions to China. A new study in Environmental Research Letters presents a possible model for making certain that both producer and consumer share responsibility for emissions in an area so far neglected by studies of this kind: deforestation and land-use change.

Oil palm workers still below poverty line, despite Minister's statements

(11/19/2009) On October 19th, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok told parliament that oil palm harvesters and rubber tappers are living above Malaysia's national poverty line, according to a story in the Malaysian Insider. But now representatives of the workers are saying Dompok lied.

Indonesian government suspends license of logging company in controversial forest area

(11/19/2009) The Indonesian government today temporarily suspended the license of Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Limited (APRIL) for developing an area of forest and peatland in Sumatra pending a review of the company's permits, reports Greenpeace.

Gibson Guitar under federal investigation for alleged use of illegal rainforest timber from Madagascar

(11/19/2009) Federal agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raided Gibson Guitar's factory Tuesday afternoon, due to concerns that the company had been using illegally harvested wood from Madagascar, reports the Nashville Post.

Pygmy hippo shot and killed in…Australia

(11/17/2009) Hunters going after pigs in Australia's Northwest Territories got a big surprise when they shot an animal they mistook for a pig, only to find out it was a pygmy hippopotamus, reports the Northwest Territory News.

Coastal habitats may sequester 50 times more carbon than tropical forests by area

(11/16/2009) Highly endangered coastal habitats are incredibly effective in sequestering carbon and locking it away in soil, according to a new paper in a report by the IUCN. The paper attests that coastal habitats—such as mangroves, sea grasses, and salt marhses—sequester as much as 50 times the amount of carbon in their soil per hectare as tropical forest. "The key difference between these coastal habitats and forests is that mangroves, seagrasses and the plants in salt marshes are extremely efficient at burying carbon in the sediment below them where it can stay for centuries or even millennia."

Brazil pledges to restrain emissions growth

(11/15/2009) In a move that some observers say could provide a path forward on a future climate agreement that includes emissions cuts in developing countries, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country will aim to reduce emissions 14 to 19 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

Finnish paper company to sever ties with logging firm linked to rainforest destruction in Indonesia

(11/13/2009) Finnish paper company UPM-Kymmene will stop buying paper pulp from Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Limited (APRIL) due to concerns over the company's poor environmental record, reports Greenpeace. UPM-Kymmene contact's represents 4 percent of APRIL's total pulp production, worth over US$55 million annually, according to the environmental group.

"Responsible" palm oil producers pledge not to develop endangered Sumatra rainforest

(11/13/2009) Members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an initiative developing criteria to improve the environmental performance of palm oil, agreed to declare the Bukit Tigapuluh Ecosystem in Sumatra a 'high conservation value area'. The decision, voted on by RSPO General Assembly members at the group's annual meeting earlier this month in Kuala Lumpur, effectively bans oil palm development of the endangered forest ecosystem by RSPO members.

Brazil releases official Amazon deforestation figures for 2009

(11/13/2009) Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell nearly 46 percent to the lowest annual loss on record in 2009, reported the Brazilian government Thursday.

Blackwashing by NGOs, greenwashing by corporations, threatens environmental progress

(11/12/2009) Misinformation campaigns by both corporations and environmental groups threaten to undermine efforts to conserve biodiversity and reduce environmental degradation, argues a new paper published in the journal Biotropica. Growing concerns over climate change and unsustainable resource extraction have put companies that exploit the environment in the spotlight. Some firms have responded by taking measures to reduce their environmental impact. Others have alternatively engaged in sophisticated marketing campaigns intended to mislead consumers on their environmental performance, maintaining that environmentally-destructive practices are instead benign. At the same time some activist groups have been guilty of exaggerating claims of environmental misconduct in order to boost support for their campaigns and therefore their fundraising efforts.

New report: boreal forests contain more carbon than tropical forest per hectare

(11/12/2009) A new report states that boreal forests store nearly twice as much carbon as tropical forests per hectare: a fact which researchers say should make the conservation of boreal forests as important as tropical in climate change negotiations. The report from the Canadian Boreal Initiative and the Boreal Songbird Initiative, entitled "The Carbon the World Forgot", estimates that the boreal forest—which survives in massive swathes across Alaska, Canada, Northern Europe, and Russia—stores 22 percent of all carbon on the earth's land surface. According to the study the boreal contains 703 gigatons of carbon, while the world's tropical forests contain 375 gigatons.

Declaration calls for more wilderness protected areas to combat global warming

(11/11/2009) Meeting this week in Merida, Mexico, the 9th World Wilderness Congress (WILD9) has released a declaration that calls for increasing wilderness protections in an effort to mitigate climate change. The declaration, which is signed by a number of influential organizations, argues that wilderness areas—both terrestrial and marine—act as carbon sinks, while preserving biodiversity and vital ecosystem services.

Palm oil developers push into Indonesia's last frontier: Papua

(11/10/2009) Oil palm developers in the Indonesian half of New Guinea are signing questionable deals that exploit local communities and put important forest ecosystems at risk, alleges a new report from Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak.

40% of lowland forests in Sumatra and Indonesian Borneo cleared in 15 years

(11/10/2009) Forty percent of lowland forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) were cleared from 1990 to 2005, reports a new high resolution assessment of land cover change in Indonesia.

Hunting across Southeast Asia weakens forests' survival, An interview with Richard Corlett

(11/08/2009) A large flying fox eats a fruit ingesting its seeds. Flying over the tropical forests it eventually deposits the seeds at the base of another tree far from the first. One of these seeds takes root, sprouts, and in thirty years time a new tree waits for another flying fox to spread its speed. In the Southeast Asian tropics an astounding 80 percent of seeds are spread not by wind, but by animals: birds, bats, rodents, even elephants. But in a region where animals of all shapes and sizes are being wiped out by uncontrolled hunting and poaching—what will the forests of the future look like? This is the question that has long occupied Richard Corlett, professor of biological science at the National University of Singapore.

Developer uses cover of national holiday to clear rainforest near Colon, Panama

(11/06/2009) On Tuesday, November 3rd, while Panamanians celebrated Independence Day Holidays, heavy machinery unexpectedly entered and began cutting down tropical forest and mangroves near Galeta outside of Colon, Panama, report local sources. mongabay.com confirmed that the latest clearing has been carried out "almost in secret during national holidays so there would be no reaction from the public or the media." The clearing, conducted by a transportation cooperative called Serafin Niño, from Colon, is occurring in the buffer zone of the Galeta Protected Landscape and near Galeta Point Marine Laboratory, a facility of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The land will likely be used to store transportation equipment that moves cargo to and from the ports of Colon and the Free Zone.

Important safeguards to protect rainforests lacking in REDD negotiating text

(11/06/2009) Important safeguards to protect natural forests are still lacking in negotiating text on REDD, a proposed mechanism for mitigating climate change by paying developing countries to keep trees standing, reports an alliance of activist groups.

World's first video of the elusive and endangered bay cat

(11/05/2009) Rare, elusive, and endangered by habitat loss, the bay cat is one of the world's least studied wild cats. Several specimens of the cat were collected in the 19th and 20th Century, but a living cat wasn't even photographed until 1998. Now, researchers in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, have managed to capture the first film of the bay cat (Catopuma badia). Lasting seven seconds, the video shows the distinctly reddish-brown cat in its habitat.

Governments, public failing to save world's species

(11/04/2009) According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) 2008 report, released yesterday, 36 percent of the total species evaluated by the organization are threatened with extinction. If one adds the species classified as Near Threatened, the percentage jumps to 44 percent—nearly half.

House resolution condemns plunder of natural resources in Madagascar

(11/04/2009) A House of Representatives resolution introduced by Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) condemns the illegal plundering of natural resources in Madagascar, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Photos: Palm oil threatens Borneo's rarest cats

(11/04/2009) Oil palm expansion is threatening Borneo's rarest wild cats, reports a new study based on three years of fieldwork and more than 17,000 camera trap nights. Studying cats in five locations—each with different environments—in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, researchers found that four of five cat species are threatened by habitat loss due to palm oil plantations. "No other place has a higher percentage of threatened wild cats!" Jim Sanderson, an expert on the world's small cats, told Mongabay.com. Pointing out that 80 percent of Borneo's cats face extinction, Sanderson said that "not one of these wild cats poses a direct threat to humans."

Conservation and Carbon in Borneo’s Heart and Ours

(11/04/2009) My friend Rezal Kusumaatmadja contacted me in July to ask if I could join him and some of his associates for a couple of days in the village Mendawai, located along the Katingan River in south central Kalimantan. The purpose of the gathering was to bring everyone in the group up to date on progress and challenges related to the Katingan Peat Conservation Project, as well as to give the group an opportunity to meet one another. The Katingan Project aims to create a forest-based carbon containment facility defined and guided by REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Destruction in the developing world) principles and methodology. Currently, nearly 25% of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions are caused by felling, burning and converting the world’s remaining primary forests. While areas surrounding the Katingan peat forest vividly express this statistic, Katingan is part of a growing strategy to reverse the trend. The Katingan project endeavors to transform conservation into a product that might offer strong competition against illegal logging and expansion of industrial agricultural plantations - whose practices cause enormous emissions of greenhouse gasses, as well as destroying biodiversity, depleting and polluting watersheds and corroding native cultures.

EU is 2nd largest source of peat emissions after Indonesia, finds global peat survey

(11/04/2009) The EU is the world's second largest source of carbon dioxide emissions from peatlands drainage, after Indonesia, reports the first country-by-country assessment of peat stocks. The study, conducted by Wetlands International and Greifswald University, found that drainage of wetlands for agriculture, forestry and peat extraction causes 1.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Emissions from fires and peat mining (for horticulture and fuel) amount to another 700,000 million tons per year.

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Country / Area	Land area				Forest
	Forest		Other wooded land	Total area	Area		Annual change rate									Area of primary forest			Annual change rate		Area of forest plantations
	2005				1990	2000	1990-2000		2000-2005		Primary	Modified natural	Semi-natural	Production plantation	Protection plantation	1990	2000	2005	1990-2000	2000-2005	1990	2000	2005
Country / Area	1000 ha	% of land area	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha/yr	%	1000 ha/yr	%	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha	ha/yr	ha/yr	1000 ha	1000 ha	1000 ha

Angola	59,104	47.4	-	124,670	60,976	59,728	-125	-0.2	-125	-0.2	0	58,973	0	131	0	0	0	0	0	0	140	134	131
Botswana	11,943	21.1	34,791	58,173	13,718	12,535	-118	-0.9	-118	-1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
British Indian Ocean Territory	3	32.5	0	8	3	3	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Comoros	5	2.9	-	186	12	8	n.s.	-4	-1	-7.4	0	4	0	1	-	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	1
Kenya	3,522	6.2	34,920	58,037	3,708	3,582	-13	-0.3	-12	-0.3	704	2,616	-	202	-	742	716	704	-2,520	-2,400	238	212	202
Lesotho	8	0.3	31	3,035	5	7	n.s.	3.4	n.s.	2.7	1	-	-	7	-	1	1	1	0	0	4	6	7
Madagascar	12,838	22.1	17,054	58,704	13,692	13,023	-67	-0.5	-37	-0.3	10,347	2,198	-	234	59	10,503	10,381	10,347	-12,200	-6,800	293	293	293
Malawi	3,402	36.2	-	11,848	3,896	3,567	-33	-0.9	-33	-0.9	1,132	2,067	-	204	-	1,727	1,330	1,132	-39,700	-39,600	132	180	204
Mauritius	37	18.2	15	204	39	38	n.s.	-0.3	n.s.	-0.5	0	22	n.s.	11	4	0	0	0	0	0	16	15	15
Mayotte	5	14.7	-	37	6	6	n.s.	-0.4	n.s.	-0.4	-	5	-	n.s.	-	-	-	-	-	-	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
Mozambique	19,262	24.6	40,919	80,159	20,012	19,512	-50	-0.3	-50	-0.3	-	19,224	-	38	-	-	-	-	-	-	38	38	38
Namibia	7,661	9.3	8,473	82,429	8,762	8,033	-73	-0.9	-74	-0.9	-	7,661	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
RÈunion	84	33.6	55	251	87	87	n.s.	-0.1	-1	-0.7	55	6	18	2	2	55	55	55	-30	-20	5	5	5
Seychelles	40	88.9	-	45	40	40	0	0	0	0	2	33	-	5	-	2	2	2	0	0	5	5	5
South Africa	9,203	7.6	21,409	121,909	9,203	9,203	0	0	0	0	-	7,777	-	1,426	-	-	-	-	-	-	1,204	1,352	1,426
Swaziland	541	31.5	289	1,736	472	518	5	0.9	5	0.9	-	395	31	114	-	-	-	-	-	-	135	121	114
Uganda	3,627	18.4	1,150	24,104	4,924	4,059	-86	-1.9	-86	-2.2	-	3,591	-	36	-	-	-	-	-	-	33	35	36
UR Tanzania	35,257	39.9	4,756	94,509	41,441	37,318	-412	-1	-412	-1.1	-	35,107	-	150	-	-	-	-	-	-	150	150	150
Zambia	42,452	57.1	3,161	75,261	49,124	44,676	-445	-0.9	-445	-1	-	42,377	-	75	-	-	-	-	-	-	60	75	75
Zimbabwe	17,540	45.3	-	39,075	22,234	19,105	-313	-1.5	-313	-1.7	-	17,385	-	154	-	-	-	-	-	-	154	154	154
Total Eastern and Southern Africa	226,534	27.8	167,023	834,380	252,354	235,047	-1,731	-0.7	-1,702	-0.8
Algeria	2,277	1	1,595	238,174	1,790	2,144	35	1.8	27	1.2	-	1,206	316	12	742	-	-	-	-	-	620	652	754
Burkina Faso	6,794	29	7,427	27,400	7,154	6,914	-24	-0.3	-24	-0.3	0	5,918	800	71	5	0	0	0	0	0	33	63	76
Chad	11,921	9.5	9,152	128,400	13,110	12,317	-79	-0.6	-79	-0.7	190	11,716	-	-	15	209	196	190	-1,300	-1,200	11	14	15
Djibouti	6	0.2	220	2,320	6	6	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Egypt	67	0.1	20	100,145	44	59	2	3	2	2.6	-	-	-	1	66	-	-	-	-	-	44	59	67
Eritrea	1,554	15.4	7,257	11,760	1,621	1,576	-4	-0.3	-4	-0.3	-	1,526	-	14	14	-	-	-	-	-	10	22	28
Ethiopia	13,000	11.9	44,650	110,430	15,114	13,705	-141	-1	-141	-1.1	-	12,509	-	491	-	-	-	-	-	-	491	491	491
Libya	217	0.1	330	175,954	217	217	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	217	-	-	-	-	-	217	217	217
Mali	12,572	10.3	16,532	124,019	14,072	13,072	-100	-0.7	-100	-0.8	-	-	-	-	-	-	13,012	-	-	-	-	60	-
Mauritania	267	0.3	3,110	102,552	415	317	-10	-2.7	-10	-3.4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-
Morocco	4,364	9.8	406	44,655	4,289	4,328	4	0.1	7	0.2	-	3,754	47	563	-	-	-	-	-	-	478	523	563
Niger	1,266	1	3,740	126,700	1,945	1,328	-62	-3.7	-12	-1	220	936	-	-	110	220	220	220	0	0	-	72	110
Somalia	7,131	11.4	-	63,766	8,282	7,515	-77	-1	-77	-1	-	7,128	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3	3
Sudan	67,546	28.4	-	250,581	76,381	70,491	-589	-0.8	-589	-0.8	13,509	47,282	1,351	4,728	675	15,276	14,098	13,509	-117,807	-117,807	6,111	5,639	5,404
Tunisia	1,056	6.8	170	16,361	643	959	32	4.1	19	1.9	-	320	238	150	348	-	-	-	-	-	226	423	498
Western Sahara	1,011	3.8	-	26,600	1,011	1,011	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total Northern Africa	131,048	8.6	94,609	1,549,817	146,093	135,958	-1,013	-0.7	-982	-0.7
Benin	2,351	21.3	3,959	11,262	3,322	2,675	-65	-2.1	-65	-2.5	-	2,237	-	114	-	-	-	-	-	-	98	109	114
Burundi	152	5.9	722	2,783	289	198	-9	-3.7	-9	-5.2	0	67	0	86	0	-	0	0	-	0	-	86	86
Cameroon	21,245	45.6	14,758	47,544	24,545	22,345	-220	-0.9	-220	-1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Cape Verde	84	20.7	-	403	58	82	2	3.6	n.s.	0.4	-	-	-	67	17	-	-	-	-	-	58	82	84
Central African Republic	22,755	36.5	10,122	62,298	23,203	22,903	-30	-0.1	-30	-0.1	-	22,750	-	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	4	5
Congo	22,471	65.8	10,547	34,200	22,726	22,556	-17	-0.1	-17	-0.1	7,464	14,957	-	51	-	7,548	7,492	7,464	-5,647	-5,647	51	51	51
CÙte d'Ivoire	10,405	32.7	2,626	32,246	10,222	10,328	11	0.1	15	0.1	625	9,443	0	337	0	625	625	625	0	0	154	261	337
DR Congo	133,610	58.9	83,277	234,486	140,531	135,207	-532	-0.4	-319	-0.2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Equatorial Guinea	1,632	58.2	31	2,805	1,860	1,708	-15	-0.8	-15	-0.9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gabon	21,775	84.5	-	26,767	21,927	21,826	-10	n.s.	-10	n.s.	-	-	-	36	-	-	-	-	-	-	36	36	36
Gambia	471	41.7	125	1,130	442	461	2	0.4	2	0.4	-	471	-	n.s.	-	-	-	-	-	-	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
Ghana	5,517	24.2	0	23,854	7,448	6,094	-135	-2	-115	-2	353	5,004	-	160	-	353	353	353	0	0	50	60	160
Guinea	6,724	27.4	5,850	24,586	7,408	6,904	-50	-0.7	-36	-0.5	63	6,568	60	30	3	63	63	63	0	0	17	22	33
Guinea-Bissau	2,072	73.7	236	3,612	2,216	2,120	-10	-0.4	-10	-0.5	940	1,132	-	0	n.s.	940	940	940	0	0	n.s.	n.s.	1
Liberia	3,154	32.7	0	11,137	4,058	3,455	-60	-1.6	-60	-1.8	129	3,017	-	8	-	129	129	129	0	0	8	8	8
Nigeria	11,089	12.2	5,495	92,377	17,234	13,137	-410	-2.7	-410	-3.3	326	10,414	0	349	0	1,556	736	326	-82,000	-82,000	251	316	349
Rwanda	480	19.5	61	2,634	318	344	3	0.8	27	6.9	0	62	-	367	52	0	0	0	0	0	248	282	419
Saint Helena	2	6.5	0	31	2	2	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sao Tome and Principe	27	28.4	29	96	27	27	0	0	0	0	12	16	-	-	-	12	12	12	0	0	-	-	-
Senegal	8,673	45	5,001	19,672	9,348	8,898	-45	-0.5	-45	-0.5	1,598	6,710	-	332	33	1,759	1,653	1,598	-10,600	-11,000	205	306	365
Sierra Leone	2,754	38.5	384	7,174	3,044	2,851	-19	-0.7	-19	-0.7	-	2,751	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	3	3
Togo	386	7.1	1,246	5,679	685	486	-20	-3.4	-20	-4.5	0	348	-	30	8	0	0	0	0	0	24	34	38
Total Western and Central Africa	277,829	44.1	144,468	646,776	300,914	284,608	-1,631	-0.6	-1,356	-0.5
Total Africa	635,412	21.4	406,100	3,030,974	699,361	655,613	-4,375	-0.7	-4,040	-0.6
China	197,290	21.2	87,615	959,805	157,141	177,001	1,986	1.2	4,058	2.2	11,632	114,332	39,957	28,530	2,839	11,632	11,632	11,632	0	0	18,466	23,924	31,369
DPR Korea	6,187	51.4	-	12,054	8,201	6,821	-138	-1.8	-127	-1.9	852	-	5,335	-	-	1,129	939	852	-19,000	-17,400	-	-	-
Japan	24,868	68.2	-	37,780	24,950	24,876	-7	n.s.	-2	n.s.	4,591	9,955	-	-	10,321	3,764	4,054	4,591	29,000	107,400	10,287	10,331	10,321
Mongolia	10,252	6.5	2,388	156,650	11,492	10,665	-83	-0.7	-83	-0.8	4,733	5,407	-	112	-	5,540	4,923	4,733	-61,700	-38,000	30	75	112
Republic of Korea	6,265	63.5	-	9,926	6,371	6,300	-7	-0.1	-7	-0.1	-	4,901	-	1,364	-	-	-	-	-	-	748	1,188	1,364
Total East Asia	244,862	21.3	90,003	1,176,215	208,155	225,663	1,751	0.8	3,840	1.6
Bangladesh	871	6.7	58	14,400	882	884	n.s.	n.s.	-2	-0.3	-	592	-	195	84	-	-	-	-	-	239	276	279
Bhutan	3,195	68	611	4,700	3,035	3,141	11	0.3	11	0.3	413	2,529	251	2	0	413	413	413	0	0	1	1	2
Brunei Darussalam	278	52.8	160	577	313	288	-2	-0.8	-2	-0.7	278	-	-	-	-	313	288	278	-2,500	-2,000	-	-	-
Cambodia	10,447	59.2	270	18,104	12,946	11,541	-140	-1.1	-219	-2	122	10,266	0	59	-	766	456	122	-31,000	-66,800	67	72	59
India	67,701	22.8	4,110	328,726	63,939	67,554	362	0.6	29	n.s.	-	32,943	31,532	1,053	2,173	-	-	-	-	-	1,954	2,805	3,226
Indonesia	88,495	48.8	-	190,457	116,567	97,852	-1,872	-1.7	-1,871	-2	48,702	-	36,394	3,399	-	70,419	55,941	48,702	-1,447,800	-1,447,800	2,209	3,002	3,399
Lao PDR	16,142	69.9	4,643	23,680	17,314	16,532	-78	-0.5	-78	-0.5	1,490	14,428	-	223	1	1,490	1,490	1,490	0	0	4	99	224
Malaysia	20,890	63.6	-	32,975	22,376	21,591	-78	-0.4	-140	-0.7	3,820	-	15,497	1,573	-	3,820	3,820	3,820	0	0	1,956	1,659	1,573
Maldives	1	3	0	30	1	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Myanmar	32,222	49	10,834	67,658	39,219	34,554	-466	-1.3	-466	-1.4	0	31,373	0	696	153	0	0	0	0	0	394	696	849
Nepal	3,636	25.4	1,897	14,718	4,817	3,900	-92	-2.1	-53	-1.4	349	384	2,850	43	10	391	384	349	-700	-7,000	49	52	53
Pakistan	1,902	2.5	1,389	79,610	2,527	2,116	-41	-1.8	-43	-2.1	-	1,584	-	318	-	-	-	-	-	-	234	296	318
Philippines	7,162	24	3,611	30,000	10,574	7,949	-262	-2.8	-157	-2.1	829	5,713	-	304	316	829	829	829	0	0	1,780	852	620
Singapore	2	3.4	0	68	2	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Sri Lanka	1,933	29.9	0	6,561	2,350	2,082	-27	-1.2	-30	-1.5	167	1,571	-	171	24	257	197	167	-6,000	-6,000	242	221	195
Thailand	14,520	28.4	-	51,312	15,965	14,814	-115	-0.7	-59	-0.4	6,451	4,970	-	1,997	1,102	6,451	6,451	6,451	0	0	2,640	3,077	3,099
Timor-Leste	798	53.7	-	1,487	966	854	-11	-1.2	-11	-1.3	-	755	-	-	43	-	-	-	-	-	29	43	43
Viet Nam	12,931	39.7	2,259	33,169	9,363	11,725	236	2.3	241	2	85	10,151	-	1,792	903	384	187	85	-19,700	-20,400	967	2,050	2,695
Total South and South-east Asia	283,127	33.4	29,842	898,232	323,156	297,380	-2,578	-0.9	-2,851	-1
Afghanistan	867	1.3	-	65,209	1,309	1,015	-29	-2.5	-30	-3.1	-	867	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Armenia	321	11.4	44	2,980	336	344	1	0.2	-5	-1.4	16	295	0	0	10	17	17	16	40	-280	14	11	10
Azerbaijan	936	11.3	54	8,660	936	936	0	0	0	0	400	516	-	-	20	400	400	400	0	0	20	20	20
Bahrain	n.s.	0.6	0	71	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.	5.6	n.s.	3.8	-	-	-	-	n.s.	-	-	-	-	-	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
Cyprus	174	18.9	214	925	161	173	1	0.7	n.s.	0.2	22	111	36	0	5	22	22	22	0	0	3	3	5
Georgia	2,760	39.7	50	6,970	2,760	2,760	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.	500	2,200	0	0	60	500	500	500	0	0	54	60	60
Iran	11,075	6.8	5,340	164,820	11,075	11,075	0	0	0	0	200	10,031	228	616	-	200	200	200	0	0	616	616	616
Iraq	822	1.9	927	43,832	804	818	1	0.2	1	0.1	0	809	0	0	13	0	0	0	0	0	15	15	13
Israel	171	8.3	85	2,106	154	164	1	0.6	1	0.8	-	70	-	-	101	-	-	-	-	-	84	94	101
Jordan	83	0.9	52	8,921	83	83	0	0	0	0	0	37	6	0	40	0	0	0	0	0	40	40	40
Kazakhstan	3,337	1.2	15,622	272,490	3,422	3,365	-6	-0.2	-6	-0.2	0	2,428	0	0	909	0	0	0	0	0	1,034	1,056	909
Kuwait	6	0.3	0	1,782	3	5	n.s.	3.5	n.s.	2.7	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	3	5	6
Kyrgyzstan	869	4.5	313	19,990	836	858	2	0.3	2	0.3	241	562	-	24	42	237	240	241	250	260	46	59	66
Lebanon	136	13.3	106	1,040	121	131	1	0.8	1	0.8	0	129	0	8	0	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	8
Oman	2	n.s.	1,303	21,246	2	2	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	2
Palestine	9	1.5	-	621	9	9	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Qatar	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.	1,100	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Saudi Arabia	2,728	1.3	34,155	214,969	2,728	2,728	0	0	0	0	-	2,728	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Syria	461	2.5	35	18,518	372	432	6	1.5	6	1.3	-	198	-	-	264	-	-	-	-	-	175	234	264
Tajikistan	410	2.9	142	14,255	408	410	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	297	12	35	22	44	297	297	297	0	0	76	66	66
Turkey	10,175	13.2	10,689	77,482	9,680	10,052	37	0.4	25	0.2	975	5,925	738	1,916	621	739	897	975	15,800	15,600	1,839	2,304	2,537
Turkmenistan	4,127	8.8	0	48,810	4,127	4,127	0	0	0	0	104	4,023	-	0	-	104	104	104	0	0	0	0	0
United Arab Emirates	312	3.7	4	8,360	245	310	6	2.4	n.s.	0.1	0	0	0	0	312	0	0	0	0	0	245	310	312
Uzbekistan	3,295	8	904	44,740	3,045	3,212	17	0.5	17	0.5	57	2,643	534	5	56	57	57	57	0	0	30	51	61
Yemen	549	1	1,406	52,797	549	549	0	0	0	0	-	161	388	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total Western and Central Asia	43,626	4	71,446	1,102,695	43,166	43,558	39	0.1	14	n.s.
Total Asia	571,615	18.5	191,291	3,177,142	574,477	566,601	-788	-0.1	1,003	0.2
Albania	794	29	261	2,875	789	769	-2	-0.3	5	0.6	85	621	0	3	86	85	85	85	0	0	103	96	88
Andorra	16	35.6	-	45	16	16	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Austria	3,862	46.7	118	8,386	3,776	3,838	6	0.2	5	0.1	-	-	-	-	-	117	119	-	200	-	988	1,003	-
Belarus	7,894	38	914	20,760	7,376	7,848	47	0.6	9	0.1	400	5,712	1,780	2	-	400	400	400	0	0	2	2	2
Belgium	667	22	27	3,053	677	667	-1	-0.1	0	0	0	0	392	275	0	0	0	0	0	0	303	284	275
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2,185	43.1	549	5,120	2,210	2,185	-2	-0.1	0	0	2	1,184	857	142	-	-	2	2	-	0	-	142	142
Bulgaria	3,625	32.8	27	11,099	3,327	3,375	5	0.1	50	1.4	-	-	-	-	-	267	396	-	12,900	-	40	48	-
Channel Islands	1	4.1	0	19	1	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Croatia	2,135	38.2	346	5,654	2,116	2,129	1	0.1	1	0.1	10	2,063	0	61	0	10	10	10	0	0	56	60	61
Czech Republic	2,648	34.3	0	7,887	2,630	2,637	1	n.s.	2	0.1	0	14	2,634	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Denmark	500	11.8	136	4,309	445	486	4	0.9	3	0.6	0	6	179	281	34	0	0	0	0	0	291	305	315
Estonia	2,284	53.9	82	4,523	2,163	2,243	8	0.4	8	0.4	142	1,390	751	1	0	-	137	142	-	1,000	-	1	1
Faeroe Islands	n.s.	0.1	-	140	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Finland	22,500	73.9	802	33,814	22,194	22,475	28	0.1	5	n.s.	1,419	0	21,081	0	0	1,491	1,418	1,419	-7,300	200	0	0	0
France	15,554	28.3	1,708	55,150	14,538	15,351	81	0.5	41	0.3	30	-	13,556	1,968	-	30	30	30	0	0	1,842	1,936	1,968
Germany	11,076	31.7	-	35,703	10,741	11,076	34	0.3	0	0	0	0	11,076	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gibraltar	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Greece	3,752	29.1	2,780	13,196	3,299	3,601	30	0.9	30	0.8	0	3,618	0	0	134	0	0	0	0	0	118	129	134
Holy See	0	0	0	n.s.	0	0	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hungary	1,976	21.5	0	9,303	1,801	1,907	11	0.6	14	0.7	0	415	1,016	454	91	0	0	0	0	0	431	528	545
Iceland	46	0.5	104	10,300	25	38	1	4.3	2	3.9	0	17	0	17	12	0	0	0	0	0	8	21	29
Ireland	669	9.7	41	7,027	441	609	17	3.3	12	1.9	0	0	90	579	0	1	0	0	-100	0	350	519	579
Isle of Man	3	6.1	0	57	3	3	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Italy	9,979	33.9	1,047	30,134	8,383	9,447	106	1.2	106	1.1	-	-	-	146	-	160	160	-	0	-	289	144	146
Latvia	2,941	47.4	115	6,460	2,775	2,885	11	0.4	11	0.4	14	2,282	644	1	0	-	15	14	-	-280	-	n.s.	1
Liechtenstein	7	43.1	0	16	6	7	n.s.	0.6	0	0	2	5	-	n.s.	-	2	2	2	0	0	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
Lithuania	2,099	33.5	77	6,530	1,945	2,020	8	0.4	16	0.8	26	1,548	384	100	41	20	21	26	100	1,000	124	137	141
Luxembourg	87	33.5	1	259	86	87	n.s.	0.1	0	0	-	-	58	28	-	-	-	-	-	-	28	28	28
Macedonia	906	35.8	82	2,571	906	906	0	0	0	0	0	876	-	30	-	0	0	0	0	0	30	30	30
Malta	n.s.	1.1	0	32	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.s.	0	0	0	0	0	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
Monaco	0	0	0	n.s.	0	0	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Netherlands	365	10.8	0	4,153	345	360	2	0.4	1	0.3	0	0	361	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	4
Norway	9,387	30.7	2,613	32,376	9,130	9,301	17	0.2	17	0.2	250	-	8,875	262	-	250	250	250	0	0	222	255	262
Poland	9,192	30	-	31,269	8,881	9,059	18	0.2	27	0.3	53	-	9,107	32	-	30	51	53	2,100	400	32	32	32
Portugal	3,783	41.3	84	9,198	3,099	3,583	48	1.5	40	1.1	55	-	2,494	1,067	167	55	55	55	0	0	550	1,034	1,234
Republic of Moldova	329	10	31	3,384	319	326	1	0.2	1	0.2	0	328	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
Romania	6,370	27.7	258	23,839	6,371	6,366	0	n.s.	1	n.s.	233	651	5,339	92	57	233	233	233	0	0	149	149	149
Russian Federation	808,790	47.9	74,185	1,707,540	808,950	809,268	32	n.s.	-96	n.s.	255,470	536,358	-	11,888	5,075	241,726	258,131	255,470	1,640,510	-532,200	12,651	15,360	16,962
San Marino	n.s.	1.6	0	6	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Serbia and Montenegro	2,694	26.4	808	10,217	2,559	2,649	9	0.3	9	0.3	4	115	2,536	39	0	4	4	4	0	0	39	39	39
Slovakia	1,929	40.1	-	4,901	1,922	1,921	n.s.	n.s.	2	0.1	24	946	940	17	2	24	24	24	0	0	23	20	19
Slovenia	1,264	62.8	44	2,027	1,188	1,239	5	0.4	5	0.4	119	1,107	38	0	0	63	95	119	3,200	4,800	0	0	0
Spain	17,915	35.9	10,299	50,599	13,479	16,436	296	2	296	1.7	812	11,582	4,050	1,471	0	621	748	812	12,700	12,800	1,126	1,356	1,471
Sweden	27,528	66.9	3,257	44,996	27,367	27,474	11	n.s.	11	n.s.	4,726	-	22,135	667	0	4,348	4,600	4,726	25,200	25,200	523	619	667
Switzerland	1,221	30.9	67	4,129	1,155	1,199	4	0.4	4	0.4	14	15	1,188	4	0	3	6	14	300	1,600	3	4	4
Ukraine	9,575	16.5	41	60,370	9,274	9,510	24	0.3	13	0.1	59	4,729	4,399	81	307	59	59	59	0	0	325	367	388
United Kingdom	2,845	11.8	20	24,291	2,611	2,793	18	0.7	10	0.4	0	646	275	1,902	22	0	0	0	0	0	1,877	1,934	1,924
Total Europe	1,001,394	44.3	100,925	2,297,719	989,320	998,091	877	0.1	661	0.1
Anguilla	6	71.4	-	8	6	6	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Antigua and Barbuda	9	21.4	16	44	9	9	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Aruba	n.s.	2.2	0	19	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bahamas	515	51.5	36	1,388	515	515	0	0	0	0	-	515	-	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	0	0	0
Barbados	2	4	-	43	2	2	0	0	0	0	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bermuda	1	20	0	5	1	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
British Virgin Islands	4	24.4	2	15	4	4	n.s.	-0.1	n.s.	-0.1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Cayman Islands	12	48.4	4	26	12	12	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Cuba	2,713	24.7	260	11,086	2,058	2,435	38	1.7	56	2.2	-	2,319	-	230	164	-	-	-	-	-	347	342	394
Dominica	46	61.3	n.s.	75	50	47	n.s.	-0.5	n.s.	-0.6	27	19	0	n.s.	-	28	28	27	-86	-84	-	n.s.	n.s.
Dominican Republic	1,376	28.4	678	4,873	1,376	1,376	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Grenada	4	12.2	5	34	4	4	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	1	3	-	n.s.	-	1	1	1	-22	-23	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
Guadeloupe	80	47.2	2	171	84	81	n.s.	-0.3	n.s.	-0.3	19	58	2	1	0	19	19	19	0	0	3	1	1
Haiti	105	3.8	-	2,775	116	109	-1	-0.6	-1	-0.7	-	81	-	24	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	20	24
Jamaica	339	31.3	188	1,099	345	341	n.s.	-0.1	n.s.	-0.1	-	325	-	8	6	-	-	-	-	-	15	14	14
Martinique	46	43.9	-	110	46	46	0	0	0	0	-	45	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1
Montserrat	4	35	-	10	4	4	0	0	0	0	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Netherlands Antilles	1	1.5	33	80	1	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Puerto Rico	408	46	-	895	404	407	n.s.	0.1	n.s.	n.s.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Saint Kitts and Nevis	5	14.7	6	36	5	5	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Saint Lucia	17	27.9	5	62	17	17	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	11	27.4	2	39	9	10	n.s.	0.8	n.s.	0.8	-	10	-	n.s.	-	-	-	-	-	-	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
Trinidad and Tobago	226	44.1	74	513	235	228	-1	-0.3	n.s.	-0.2	14	197	0	15	0	14	14	14	0	0	15	15	15
Turks and Caicos Islands	34	80	-	43	34	34	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
United States Virgin Islands	10	27.9	-	34	12	10	n.s.	-1.3	n.s.	-1.8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total Caribbean	5,974	26.1	1,310	23,482	5,350	5,706	36	0.6	54	0.9
Belize	1,653	72.5	115	2,296	1,653	1,653	0	0	0	0	612	1,041	-	-	-	612	612	612	0	0	-	-	-
Costa Rica	2,391	46.8	10	5,110	2,564	2,376	-19	-0.8	3	0.1	180	1,319	888	1	3	255	180	180	-7,500	0	-	3	4
El Salvador	298	14.4	201	2,104	375	324	-5	-1.5	-5	-1.7	6	286	-	6	-	6	6	6	0	0	6	6	6
Guatemala	3,938	36.3	1,672	10,889	4,748	4,208	-54	-1.2	-54	-1.3	1,957	1,859	-	122	-	2,359	2,091	1,957	-26,789	-26,834	32	88	122
Honduras	4,648	41.5	710	11,209	7,385	5,430	-196	-3	-156	-3.1	1,512	2,261	845	-	30	1,512	1,512	1,512	0	0	31	26	30
Nicaragua	5,189	42.7	1,022	13,000	6,538	5,539	-100	-1.6	-70	-1.3	1,849	3,289	-	51	-	1,849	1,849	1,849	0	0	4	46	51
Panama	4,294	57.7	1,288	7,552	4,376	4,307	-7	-0.2	-3	-0.1	3,023	1,210	0	60	1	3,706	3,239	3,023	-46,700	-43,200	10	42	61
Total Central America	22,411	43.9	5,018	52,160	27,639	23,837	-380	-1.6	-285	-1.3
Canada	310,134	33.6	91,951	997,061	310,134	310,134	0	0	0	0	165,424	144,710	-	-	-	165,424	165,424	165,424	0	0	-	-	-
Greenland	n.s.	n.s.	8	41,045	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mexico	64,238	33.7	19,908	195,820	69,016	65,540	-348	-0.5	-260	-0.4	32,850	30,330	-	72	986	38,775	34,825	32,850	-395,000	-395,000	-	1,058	1,058
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	3	13	-	24	3	3	0	0	0	0	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
United States of America	303,089	33.1	-	962,909	298,648	302,294	365	0.1	159	0.1	104,182	175,523	6,323	17,061	-	105,268	105,258	104,182	-1,000	-215,200	10,305	16,274	17,061
Total North America	677,464	32.7	111,866	2,196,859	677,801	677,971	17	n.s.	-101	n.s.
Total North and Central America	705,849	32.9	118,194	2,272,501	710,790	707,514	-328	n.s.	-333	n.s.
American Samoa	18	89.4	-	20	18	18	n.s.	-0.2	n.s.	-0.2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australia	163,678	21.3	421,590	774,122	167,904	164,645	-326	-0.2	-193	-0.1	5,233	156,679	-	1,766	-	-	5,233	5,233	-	0	1,023	1,485	1,766
Cook Islands	16	66.5	-	23	15	16	n.s.	0.4	0	0	-	14	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	0	1	1
Fiji	1,000	54.7	-	1,827	979	1,000	2	0.2	0	0	894	5	-	101	-	895	894	894	-100	0	80	101	101
French Polynesia	105	28.7	-	400	105	105	0	0	0	0	-	95	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	10	10
Guam	26	47.1	0	55	26	26	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kiribati	2	3	-	73	2	2	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Marshall Islands	-	-	-	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Micronesia	63	90.6	-	70	63	63	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nauru	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
New Caledonia	717	39.2	787	1,858	717	717	0	0	0	0	431	277	-	10	-	431	431	431	0	0	10	10	10
New Zealand	8,309	31	2,557	27,053	7,720	8,226	51	0.6	17	0.2	3,506	2,951	-	1,832	20	3,506	3,506	3,506	0	0	1,261	1,769	1,852
Niue	14	54.2	-	26	17	15	n.s.	-1.3	n.s.	-1.4	-	14	-	n.s.	-	-	-	-	-	-	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
Northern Mariana Islands	33	72.4	-	46	35	34	n.s.	-0.3	n.s.	-0.3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Palau	40	87.6	-	46	38	40	n.s.	0.4	n.s.	0.4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Papua New Guinea	29,437	65	4,474	46,284	31,523	30,132	-139	-0.5	-139	-0.5	25,211	4,134	-	92	-	29,210	26,462	25,211	-274,800	-250,200	63	82	92
Pitcairn	4	83.3	0	4	4	4	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Samoa	171	60.4	22	284	130	171	4	2.8	0	0	n.s.	110	29	21	11	-	n.s.	n.s.	-	0	-	32	32
Solomon Islands	2,172	77.6	-	2,890	2,768	2,371	-40	-1.5	-40	-1.7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tokelau	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tonga	4	5	1	75	4	4	0	0	0	0	-	4	-	n.s.	-	-	-	-	-	-	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
Tuvalu	1	33.3	0	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vanuatu	440	36.1	476	1,219	440	440	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wallis and Futuna Islands	5	35.3	1	14	6	5	n.s.	-0.8	n.s.	-2	n.s.	4	0	1	0	0	n.s.	n.s.	-2	-6	n.s.	0	1
Total Oceania	206,254	24.3	429,908	856,414	212,514	208,034	-448	-0.2	-356	-0.2
Argentina	33,021	12.1	60,961	278,040	35,262	33,770	-149	-0.4	-150	-0.4	-	31,792	-	1,229	-	-	-	-	-	-	769	1,078	1,229
Bolivia	58,740	54.2	2,473	109,858	62,795	60,091	-270	-0.4	-270	-0.5	29,360	29,360	-	20	-	31,388	30,036	29,360	-135,200	-135,200	20	20	20
Brazil	477,698	57.2	-	851,488	520,027	493,213	-2,681	-0.5	-3,103	-0.6	415,890	56,424	-	5,384	-	460,513	433,220	415,890	-2,729,300	-3,466,000	5,070	5,279	5,384
Chile	16,121	21.5	13,241	75,663	15,263	15,834	57	0.4	57	0.4	4,142	9,292	26	2,661	0	4,152	4,145	4,142	-700	-600	1,741	2,354	2,661
Colombia	60,728	58.5	18,202	113,891	61,439	60,963	-48	-0.1	-47	-0.1	53,062	7,337	-	312	16	53,854	53,343	53,062	-51,050	-56,160	136	254	328
Ecuador	10,853	39.2	1,448	28,356	13,817	11,841	-198	-1.5	-198	-1.7	4,794	5,895	-	164	-	4,794	4,794	4,794	20	-40	-	162	164
Falkland Islands	0	0	0	1,217	0	0	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
French Guiana	8,063	91.8	0	9,000	8,091	8,063	-3	n.s.	0	0	7,701	361	0	1	0	7,909	7,761	7,701	-14,800	-12,000	1	1	1
Guyana	15,104	76.7	3,580	21,497	15,104	15,104	n.s.	n.s.	0	0	9,314	5,789	-	-	-	-	9,314	9,314	-	0	-	-	-
Paraguay	18,475	46.5	-	40,675	21,157	19,368	-179	-0.9	-179	-0.9	1,850	16,582	-	43	-	1,850	1,850	1,850	0	0	23	36	43
Peru	68,742	53.7	22,132	128,522	70,156	69,213	-94	-0.1	-94	-0.1	61,065	6,923	0	754	-	62,910	62,188	61,065	-72,200	-224,600	263	715	754
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	0	0	0	409	0	0	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Suriname	14,776	94.7	-	16,327	14,776	14,776	0	0	0	0	14,214	550	5	7	0	14,214	14,214	14,214	0	0	7	7	7
Uruguay	1,506	8.6	4	17,622	1,123	1,409	29	2.3	19	1.3	296	444	-	751	15	239	296	296	5,700	0	419	669	766
Venezuela	47,713	54.1	7,369	91,205	52,026	49,151	-288	-0.6	-288	-0.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total South America	831,540	47.7	129,409	1,783,770	891,036	852,796	-3,824	-0.4	-4,251	-0.5
Total World	3,952,063	30.3	1,375,828	13,418,518	4,077,498	3,988,649	-8,885	-0.2	-7,317	-0.2

Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2005

"Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site.
Same for "rainforests" and "rain forests". "Jungle" is generally not used.