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NATURAL RESOURCES
Forests
Trees currently cover more than a third of the earth's land surface ( Litvinoff, p.149) and more than half of the earth's tropical rainforests are found in Latin America. The following table describes some of the rates of deforestation throughout the world:
FOREST RESOURCES AND ESTIMATES OF
MEAN ANNUAL RATES OF DEFORESTATION
Region Extent of Forest and Deforestation
Woodlands (103 ha) (% per year)
Africa 684,402 0.6
Angola 53,600 0.2
Zaire 177,590 0.3
North America* 802,285 0.1
Mexico 48,350 1.3
United States 295,989** 0.1
South America 858,125 0.7
Brazil 514,480 0.7
Peru 70,640 0.4
Asia 491,565 0.9
India 64,200*** 2.3
Indonesia 116,895 0.8
Europe 158,892 --
Finland 23,225 --
Sweden 27,842 --
USSR (former) 928,600 --
Oceania 157,669 --
Australia 106,743 --
Papua New Guinea 38,175 0.1
WORLD 4,081,538 0.4
* This definition of North America includes the Caribbean and
Central American countries.
** Stocks for 1987.
*** Stocks for 1982.
Source: "UNEP Environmental Data Report"
Cite as: Youth Sourcebook on Sustainable Development. Winnipeg: IISD, 1995. Online. Internet. http://iisd.ca/youth/ysbk025.htm.