The challenges of the alarming rate of deforestation and forest degradation remain serious.

In the last years of 1980's the annual deforestation rate was estimated at 0.8 and deforestation covered 120ha, whereas reforestation was only of about 4,000 ha year.

Despite substantial progress in the formulation and implementation of national forest policies, deforestation and forest degradation continue at an alarming rate.

Deforestation

Combating deforestation and forest degradation

Costa Rica succeeded in turning its forests from being a source of emissions to being a sink of carbon in 1995 the rate of deforestation has decreased and the rate of forest regeneration has increased since 1990 and is expected to continue to grow up to 2015.

The deforestation rate in the 1990s was estimated at 14.6 million hectares per year since 5.2 million hectares were gained through afforestation and natural expansion of forests, the rate of net deforestation was 9.4 million hectares per year (see table).3 Most of the losses occur in the tropics, while in the non tropical regions forests are expanding either naturally (for example on large areas of abandoned agricultural land) or as a result of afforestation programmes.

Repeated crises of political insecurity in turn have deepened the pauperization of the population, particularly in rural areas, the rate of deforestation for the production of charcoal, and the failure to maintain previously existing infrastructure.

However, the alarming rate of deforestation continues to warrant international attention and there is a need to renew the pledge to combat deforestation and restore forest functions (such as production, protection and conservation) at the landscape level, by rehabilitating degraded lands with, inter alia, forest plantations, and to improve the livelihoods of poor people living in and around forests worldwide as a priority.

So clearly there was a problem with deforestation.

Underlying causes of deforestation are complex and varied.

Conversely, deforestation can contribute to land degradation and desertification.

Non governmental organizations are also deeply concerned about the lack of action taken by key actors, including Governments, intergovernmental organizations, and the private sector, among others, to curb the deforestation and forest degradation currently occurring at an alarming rate.

And here the light green are areas of massive deforestation.

The deforestation, the growth of human populations, needing more land.

Every year we lose 50 thousand square miles in deforestation.

Another global consequence of deforestation is loss of biological diversity.

Seven Parties proposed projects to slow deforestation and assist regeneration.

And finally, there's deforestation, and there's emission of methane from agriculture.

Palm oil production is the leading cause of deforestation in Indonesia.

(g) Perverse subsidies and their impact on deforestation and forest degradation

Nevertheless, given the effects of last December s Asian tsunami, the weight of evidence provided by the MEA, and deforestation statistics from key forest regions, our efforts must continue. The World Bank and WWF recently pledged to unite in an effort to assist in reducing the rate of global deforestation by 10 by 2010, and to work with other public and private sector institutions to pursue ambitious targets on forest conservation.

Increasing carbon accumulation in forests can be achieved by creating or enhancing carbon sinks (through afforestation, reforestation, improved silvicultural practices) or by preventing or reducing the rate of release of carbon already fixed in existing carbon sinks (through preventing deforestation improved silvicultural practices).

Measures taken to combat deforestation and forest degradation include the development and implementation of national forest programmes (and similar frameworks), management guidelines, financial encouragement, removal of perverse incentives for deforestation and public information campaigns.

Also, there is evidence that combating deforestation stems the spread of harmful pathogens.

We've done this for a very difficult case, which was for deforestation in China.

And we don't have any industry at all it's only because of this deforestation.

This encourages unsustainable practices, hampers financing for sustainable forest management and contributes to deforestation.

While the implementation of the plan of action and the multi year plan of work have contributed, along with other activities at the global, regional and national level, to promoting sustainable forest management throughout the world, the high rate of deforestation and forest degradation remain serious challenges.

In many countries, causes of deforestation are related to more fundamental issues such as poverty.

Furthermore, deforestation is often linked with a failure to recognize the full value of forests.

The deforestation, especially for oil palm, to provide biofuel for Western countries is what's causing these problems.

Invites the Global Environment Facility to strengthen the focal area of land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation

Visible, near infrared and short wave infrared images had shown significant environmental damage as a result of deforestation.

4. Invites the Global Environment Facility to strengthen the focal area of land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation

6. Invites the Global Environment Facility to strengthen the focal area of land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation

I'm going to skip through some of the objections because I don't have answers to why there's deforestation.

Burning wood in pre industrial Western Europe caused massive deforestation, as is occurring in much of the developing world today. The indoor air pollution that biomass produces kills more than three million people annually. Likewise, modern energy crops increase deforestation, displace agriculture, and push up food prices.

Green carbon, which is the deforestation and agricultural emissions, and blue carbon together comprise 25 percent of our emissions.

Despite some positive trends, there remains a need for continued action to combat deforestation and forest degradation in many countries.

In many Parties (China India, Malawi, Zambia and others), there is high dependence on biomass energy, which contributes to deforestation.

to be completed (Agenda item 5) Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries approaches to stimulate action (Agenda item 6)

Other significant environmental problems include land degradation caused by deforestation and inappropriate agricultural practices, water loss, and mangrove clearance for aquaculture.

(c) Getting a better understanding of the causes of deforestation and illegal activities and helping develop solutions based on this understanding.

Another programme, a pilot initiative, aims to stem deforestation in Brazil and contributes to the development of regional climate change models.