Reports Conclude Much of World's Remaining Intact Forests at Risk

Contact: Adlai Amor, tel: 202-729-7736, Email: [email protected]
Or visit http://www.wri.org/wri and http://www.globalforestwatch.org

Reports Conclude Much of World's Remaining Intact Forests at Risk

WASHINGTON, DC, April 3, 2002 -- A series of reports based on new maps
covering nearly half of the world's forests concludes that vast areas of
remaining intact or old-growth and primary forests are being degraded
as the result of unsustainable development practices.

The reports, released today by the World Resources Institute's (WRI)
Global Forest Watch, cover Chile, Venezuela, Indonesia, Russia, Central
Africa, and North America. The reports, including the first detailed
atlas of the forests of Russia, took more than two years to produce.

"As we examined what we thought were still vast, untouched stretches of
intact forests in the world, we came to the conclusion that they are
fast becoming a myth," said Jonathan Lash, WRI president. "Much of the
green canopy that is left is, in reality, already crisscrossed by roads,
mining and logging concessions."

Take the Russian taiga, long thought of as an expanse of wilderness
protected from human encroachment. The first atlas of Russia's forests
indicates that it now consists of fragments of wilderness, separated by
logged and otherwise degraded forest.

In North America, less than half of the region's forests and woodlands
are in tracts of land at least 200 square kilometers in size. Over 90
percent of these are found in Alaska and Canada. In the Lower 48 states,
only 6 percent of forests are relatively undisturbed in large tracts and
only 17 percent of these are strictly or moderately protected.

"Much of the threats facing the remaining intact forests boils down to
bad economics, bad management, and corruption," said Dirk Bryant,
founder and co-director of Global Forest Watch. "We are rapidly moving
towards a world where wilderness forests are confined primarily to
islands of parks and reserves, with surrounding areas managed
commercially for timber and other resources. The health of the planet's
forests will depend on how well we manage and protect these remaining
areas."

The reports note that while many countries have taken great strides in
enacting laws to protect their forests, in many places regulations are
simply not enforced. In Indonesia, for example, about 70 percent of
its timber production is illegally logged. In Central Africa, Global
Forest Watch found logging concessions already cover more then half of
the world's second largest tropical rainforest. Initial data indicate
most lack even a basic plan for managing these forests.

Government policies often favor short-term economic gain, instead of
long-term stewardship. In Chile, for example, government policies
encourage people to clear native forests that are thousands of years old
to make way for plantations of exotic species. As a result, the
prehistoric araucaria forests and the second oldest living trees in the
world, the alerce, are in danger. In Venezuela, logging and mining
practices threaten one of the most pristine forests on earth.

Four years ago, when Dirk Bryant and his colleagues wrote the first
assessment of the world's intact forests, they found out that only one
fifth of the world's historic forest cover remained as large intact
tracts. At the current rate of destruction, they estimated 40 percent of
what remained would be lost in 10 to 20 years.

"Our most recent studies show that we have underestimated the
destruction in some countries," said Bryant. Two years ago, he started
Global Forest Watch to keep track of what is left of the remaining
intact forests of the world.

Global Forest Watch combines on-the-ground knowledge with digital and
satellite technology to provide accurate forest information to anyone
with access to the Internet. It has 75 partners in 8 countries, though
it eventually hopes to expand to 21 countries and cover 80 percent of
the world's intact forests.

"There is good news. Our work is already making some impact which will
hopefully conserve more of the intact forests or slow down their
destruction," said Jim Strittholt, head of Global Forest Watch - USA.
"For example, our mapping work is helping the private sector make better
business decisions, which help safeguard the environment."

IKEA, the world's largest home furnishings company, sponsored Global
Forest Watch's mapping of intact forests, to assure that they do not get
wood supplies from these areas unless they are certified as
well-managed. ABN Amro, one of Europe's leading banks, is supporting
Global Forest Watch's monitoring of the environmental performance of
logging companies, in order to promote environmentally friendly lending
policies by the investment community.

-30-

The World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org/wri) is an
environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create practical
ways to protect the Earth and improve people's lives.

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