Page - October 6, 2006
World map of remaining intact forest
landscapes
*This includes both damaged areas and intact forest areas
smaller than 500 km2
Overall, only 8 percent of the world's remaining intact forest
landscapes are strictly protected.
The proportion of the remaining intact forest landscapes of the
world are located in the following areas:
• 35 percent in Latin America.
The Amazon rainforest is mainly located in Brazil, which clears a
larger area of forest annually than any other country in the
world.
• 28 percent in North America.
North America destroys 10,000 square kilometres of ancient forests
every year. Many of the fragmented forests of southern Canada and
the US lack adequate animal travel corridors and functioning
ecosystems for large mammals.
• 19 percent in Northern Asia.
Northern Asia is home to the second largest boreal forest in the
world. The Siberian tiger once roamed across huge areas of Northern
Asia but today it can only be found in a small area of intact
forest near the Sea of Japan. Only 400 remain in the wild, with
twice as many in zoos.
• 7 percent in South Asia
Pacific. The Paradise Forests of Asia Pacific are being
destroyed faster than any other forest on Earth. Much of the large
intact forest landscapes have already been cut down, 72 percent in
Indonesia and 60 percent in Papua New Guinea.
• 8 percent in Africa. Africa
has lost most of its intact forest landscapes in the last 30 years.
The timber industry is responsible for destroying huge areas of
intact forest landscapes and continues to be the single largest
threat to these areas.
• Less than 3 percent in
Europe. In Europe, more than 150 square kilometres of intact
forest landscapes fall victim to the chainsaw every year and the
last areas of the region's intact forest landscapes in European
Russia are shrinking rapidly.
For more detailed maps available as google earth (.kmz)
or Arcview (.shp) file downloads, methodology explanation and
discussion forum go to www.intactforests.org