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Global Context

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the world’s total forest area is almost 9.8 billion acres. Two-thirds of that, however, is found in just 10 countries; seven countries have no forest at all, and forests cover less than 10 percent of the total land in 57. The United States is fourth most forest-rich country (with 8 percent of the world’s primary forests), after the Russian Federation, Brazil, and Canada.

Global loss of forest area continues at a high but slowing rate. Most of this decrease comes from the conversion of forestland to agricultural use: 18 million acres was converted each year between 2000 and 2005, and 22 million acres each year between 1990 and 2000. The largest net reduction of forest cover was in Africa. The United States is one of five countries with the greatest total growing stock, with 1,240 billion cubic feet. Together, Brazil, the Russian Federation, the United States, Canada, and the Democratic Republic of Congo account for over 60 percent of the global total (around 9,217 billion cubic feet). Forty percent of the world’s total growing stock is of commercial value. Global commercial growing stock amounts to about 7,134 billion cubic feet. Europe and North and Central America account for 64 percent of global commercial growing stock (about 4,591 billion feet), of which the United States has 2,779 million cubic feet. Tropical regions represent a lower percentage of total growing stock than temperate regions because of differences.

Since harvesting regimes are not always based on minimum diameters, most of the growing stock in temperate forests is considered to be commercial. Even though 20 percent of US forest area is associated with conservation efforts (compared with the world average of 11 percent), US conservation acres are underreported because the figures do not include all conservation practices on private forests. This increase in growing stock consequently translated into an increase in accumulated biomass or carbon. This finding indicates that in nations with good economies, forest inventories are increasing, because of either an increase in timber volume per acre or an increase in the amount of forestland, or perhaps some combination. In Europe and the United States, volume per area increased and forest area expanded slowly.

Since the end of the 1970s, governments in many parts of the world have used privatization measures to improve economic performance. Although forests have not been among the first assets to be privatized, land privatization continues to grow. There are few countries with high percentages of private forests. However, the proportion of US forestland owned privately (57 percent) is highest among the top 10 forest-rich countries.

In general, forests in developing nations are still under government jurisdiction, and the government makes decisions about forest management. We are coming to a time when the global leaders are finally beginning to make decisions as a team about our forests and how they are maintained for the future of our world. As an industry, paper companies have been taking more ownership and pride in trees. It is renewable resource they need to ensure the production of their products!

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