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Deforestation by continent
Removal of forests worldwide / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Main article: Deforestation
Rates and causes of deforestation vary from region to region around the world. In 2009, two-thirds of the world's forests were located in just 10 countries: Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, India, and Peru.[2]
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Global annual deforestation is estimated to total 13.7 million hectares a year, similar to the area of Greece. Half of the area experiencing deforestation consists of new forests or forest growth. In addition to direct human-induced deforestation, growing forests have also been affected by climate change. The Kyoto Protocol includes an agreement to prevent deforestation, but does not stipulate actions to fulfil it.[2]
The rate of global tree cover loss has approximately doubled since 2001, to an annual loss approaching an area the size of Italy.[3]
Home to much of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil's tropical primary (old-growth) forest loss greatly exceeds that of other countries.[4]
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