The 1988 interim report on the state of forest resources in developing countries provided information on 129 developing countries as well as on industrialized countries. The report provided information on the state of forests in the year 1980 and the changes over the period 1981-1985. Information for the industrialized countries was collected by UNECE/FAO.

Definitions varied between the industrialized and the developing countries, specifically in regard to canopy closure thresholds for forests. A threshold of 20 percent was used for industrialized countries, while 10 percent was used for developing countries. Parameters also varied for the two groups of countries. As a result, a global synthesis of core elements was needed in order to achieve a uniform global data set.

The elements of the global synthesis included forest, operable forest, inoperable forest, other wooded lands, broad-leaved forest and coniferous forest.

Major findings

• Total forest area (global) 1980: 3.6 billion hectares.
• Net forest change (tropical developing countries) 1981-1985: -11.4 million hectares per year.
• Net forest change (global): not reported.