Which continent has more jungle, Africa or South America?
Africa lost over nine per cent of its trees between 1990 and 2005, according to a UN survey of the world’s forests. This represents over half of global forest loss, despite the fact that the continent accounts for just 16 per cent of global forest. The report was released this week (13 March) by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The highest losses occurred in countries with high forest cover: Angola, Cameroon, DRC, Nigeria, Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although forests are obtaining greater political support and commitment in Africa, the report says “implementation and law enforcement remain weak in most countries”. In Latin America and the Caribbean, home to around a quarter of the world’s forest cover, 0.5 per cent of forest was lost every year between 2000 and 2005 — up from a rate of 0.46 per cent in the 1990s. The conversion of forest to agriculture was the leading cause of deforestation. Costa Rica, however, has turned around its forest d
