Globally

The unique nature of forest eco-systems has long been acknowledged. Forest eco-systems play multiple roles at global as well as local levels: as providers of environmental services to nature in general - and humans in particular - and as sources of economically valued products. Deforestation over the past 30 years has been the continuation of a process with a long history. Major direct causes of forest clearance and degradation include expansion of agricultural land, over-harvesting of industrial wood, fuel wood and other forest products, and overgrazing. Underlying drivers include poverty, population growth, markets and trade in forest products, as well as macroeconomic policies. Forests are also damaged by natural factors such as insect pests, diseases, fire and extreme climatic events.

The net loss in global forest area during the 1990s was about 94 million ha (equivalent to 2.4 per cent of total forests). This was the combined effect of a deforestation rate of 14.6 million ha annually and a rate of reforestation of 5.2 million ha annually. Deforestation of tropical forests is almost 1 per cent annually. In the 1990s, almost 70 per cent of deforested areas were changed to agricultural land, predominantly under permanent rather than shifting systems. A recent study using globally comprehensive and consistent satellite data estimated that the extent of the world’s remaining closed natural forests (where crown cover is more than 40 per cent) in 1995 was 2 870 million ha, about 21.4 per cent of the land area of the world.

Locally – Australia

Since European settlement half Australia's forests have been cleared, so that now only five percent of the country has any forest cover at all. Only ten percent of the pre-settlement old growth forest remains. The loss of southern temperate woodlands has been extreme. Over 85 percent have been completely cleared. Between 12 and 15 billion trees have been lost from the Murray-Darling basin alone. Old growth woodlands are now extremely rare - less than 100 hectares are left in Victoria, for example - and the condition of the remaining woodlands in southern Australia is poor. Unsustainable logging, firewood removal and over-grazing threaten much of what is left.

Australia's woodlands are being cleared at the rate of five thousand square kilometers per year, and our forests logged at the rate of two thousand square kilometers per year. The year 2000 saw exports of woodchips from native forests reach seven million tonnes.

The passage of the Commonwealth Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 obliges electricity companies to produce two percent of their energy from renewable sources and contains penalties for failure to comply. Wood will be a less expensive option than solar or wind-powered generation. In NSW alone, the Government estimates that up to two million tonnes of wood could be burned each year. (NSW currently exports around 500,000 tonnes of native forest woodchips per year.)

Short term steps towards a sustainable future for our forests and woodlands include:
Enacting strict land clearing control legislation in all states and territories as well as at the commonwealth level.
Implementing a forest industry restructuring package containing the following elements:
	-	an accelerated transition towards ecologically sustainable farm forestry and mixed species plantation production of timber;
	-	the removal of inappropriate subsidies and perverse incentives for native forest and woodland logging;
	-	an ecologically sustainable wood and paper purchasing policy to be implemented by governments and industry;
	-	codes and accreditation procedures for sustainable plantation production;
	-	a forest industry structural adjustment package to manage industry readjustment and social change
Protecting forest and woodland ecosystems and species through:
	-	education and incentives to protect woodlands on private land;
	-	a secure and adequate national forests and woodlands reserve system;
	-	recovery plans for threatened species in forests and woodlands.
Medium term actions, beyond the next three years include:
Raising landholder and consumer awareness of the values of forests and woodlands through an ongoing education program.
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