By
Peter Holmgren
Rome, 2006
The Forest Resources Assessment Programme
Sustainably managed forests have multiple environmental and socio-economic functions important at the global, national and local scales, and play a vital part in sustainable development. Reliable and up-to-date information on the state of forest resources - not only on area and area change, but also on such variables as growing stock, wood and non-wood products, carbon, protected areas, use of forests for recreation and other services, biological diversity and forests’ contribution to national economies - is crucial to support decision-making for policies and programmes in forestry and sustainable development at all levels.
FAO, at the request of its member countries, regularly monitors the world’s forests and their management and uses through the Forest Resources Assessment Programme. The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 (FRA 2005) is the most comprehensive assessment to date. More than 800 people have been involved, including 172 national correspondents and their colleagues, an Advisory Group, international experts, FAO staff, consultants and volunteers. Information has been collated from 229 countries and territories for three points in time: 1990, 2000 and 2005.
The reporting framework for FRA 2005 is based on the thematic elements of sustainable forest management acknowledged in intergovernmental forest-related fora and includes more than 40 variables related to the extent, condition, uses and values of forest resources. More information on the FRA 2005 process and the results - including all the country reports - is available on the FRA 2005 Web site (www.fao.org/forestry/fra2005).
The Global Forest Resources Assessment process is coordinated by the Forestry Department at FAO headquarters in Rome. The contact person is:
Mette Løyche Wilkie
Senior Forestry Officer
FAO Forestry Department
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
Rome 00100, Italy
E-mail:
[email protected]
Readers can also use the following e-mail address: [email protected]
The Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) Working Paper Series is designed to reflect the activities and progress of the FRA Programme of FAO. Working Papers are not authoritative information sources – they do not reflect the official position of FAO and should not be used for official purposes. Please refer to the FAO forestry website ( www.fao.org/forestry) for access to official information.
The FRA Working Paper Series provides an important forum for the rapid release of information related to the FRA programme. Should users find any errors in the documents or would like to provide comments for improving their quality they should contact [email protected].
2. Material and Methods
2.1 Data sources
2.2 Land use categories
2.3 Approach
3. Results
3.1 Extent of land use categories in year 2000
3.2 Area transitions for year 2000
3.3. Area changes for year 2000