Deforestation


The definition and principle of "Sustainable Development" goes back to the early years of German forestry science (see Hans Carl von Carlowitz, Sylvicultura Oeconomica, Leipzig 1713).

Today, only 54% of those primeval forests which survived the latest Ice Age (8,000 years ago) still exist. The big and exhaustive primeval forests can still be found in Canada, Russia and the Amazonas Basin (see graph, WRI, 1997). Of these areas, the Amazonas Basin shows by far the highest biodiversity.

Up to now, deforestation has made up 25% of the total man-made carbon dioxide emissions. A further decline in the earth's forest cover would increase CO₂ emissions and reduce biodiversity.


LINKS:

World Resources Institute (WRI)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)