Presenting first findings from the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment’s (FRA) Remote Sensing Survey to EU Member States

Mette Løyche Wilkie, Director of the FAO Forestry Division, presented delegates of the Council of the European Union Working Party on Forestry with the first findings from the Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) Remote Sensing Survey on Drivers of Deforestation. The new data shows that the impact of agricultural expansion on forests drives almost 90 percent of global deforestation, an impact much greater than previously thought. 

The data also confirms an overall slowdown in global deforestation while warning that tropical rainforests, in particular, are under high pressure from agricultural expansion.  

Deforestation is the conversion of forest to other land uses, such as agriculture and infrastructure. Worldwide, more than half of forest loss is due to the conversion of forest into cropland, whereas livestock grazing is responsible for almost 40 percent of forest loss, according to the survey.  

The presentation also provided an occasion to exchange with delegates on recent developments and discussions concerning the halting of deforestation following the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on forests and land use as well as providing first information on the forthcoming State of the World’s Forests 2022 Report, which will be released in May at the World Forestry Congress. 

You can read FAO’s Forest Resources Assessment here.  

You can read more about the Global Sensing Survey here. 

You can read more about FAO’s work on Forestry here.