The data in the following table comes from the most recent assessments of global forest resources conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This table reports on the global, regional, and subregional trends in forest areas designated primarily for the protection of soil and water.
INTERPRETATION
Region/subregion | Information availability | Area of forest designated for protection of soil and water (1000 ha) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | # of countries | % of total forest area | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 |
Eastern and Southern Africa | 21 | 80.9 | 14033 | 13311 | 12611 |
Northern Africa | 7 | 99.1 | 4068 | 3855 | 3851 |
Western and Central Africa | 22 | 52.5 | 2639 | 3281 | 3079 |
Total Africa | 50 | 69.2 | 20 709 | 20 447 | 19 540 |
East Asia | 4 | 90.2 | 24 061 | 38 514 | 65 719 |
South and Southeast Asia | 17 | 100.0 | 55 811 | 57 932 | 56 501 |
Western and Central Asia | 23 | 99.7 | 12 222 | 13 059 | 13 669 |
Total Asia | 44 | 95.8 | 92 094 | 109 505 | 135 889 |
Total Europe | 45 | 99.7 | 76 932 | 90 788 | 92 995 |
Caribbean | 11 | 53.1 | 869 | 1106 | 1428 |
Central America | 3 | 36.9 | 124 | 114 | 90 |
North America | 5 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total North and Central America | 19 | 97.8 | 994 | 1220 | 1517 |
Total Oceania | 18 | 21.6 | 1048 | 1078 | 888 |
Total South America | 10 | 85.1 | 48 656 | 48 661 | 48 549 |
World | 186 | 86.9 | 240 433 | 271 699 | 299 378 |
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ADVANCE YOUR THINKING
Hint: To answer some of the following questions it might help to access the actual report, at www.fao.org/forestry/fra/en (see Chapter 6 of the report—Protective Functions of Forest Resources).