GEO Brasil - UNEP

the state of forests
Approximately 550 million hectares of the 850 million
hectares of the Brazilian territory are covered by native
forests Two thirds correspond to the Amazon Forest, and
the remainder to the Cerrado, the Caatinga, the Atlantic
Forest and associated ecosystems (MMA 2001)
The country is divided into five extensive geographical
regions The North Region – the largest – corresponds to
the traditional Amazon, defined based on physiographic
criteria; the Legal Amazon, on the other hand, is delimited
in terms of policies and planning means, and it comprehends
an area of 500 million hectares, corresponding to
approximately 60 percent of the national territory Except
for deforesting-related data (changes in the forest cover),
official statistics always refer to the traditional Amazon
The remaining forest cover per region is presented in Table
1, grouped in two large formation groups: Dense Forest
and Open Forest and Other The dense tropical forest covers
over 350 million hectares Of these, 288 million hectares can
be considered as potentially productive natural forests
T able 1 - A rea of natural fores t in B razil per region
Open forest and other formations cover a little over 200
million hectares, of which 170 million hectares are potentially
productive forests (Funatura, 1995 – Adapted by STCP)
In 2000, the United Nations Food and Agricultural
Organisation (FAO) decennial survey determined that Brazil
has 544 million hectares of native forests and 5 million
hectares of planted forests which, when combined, give
the country 645 percent of forest cover The remainder of
the Brazilian territory was converted to other land uses,
including agriculture, cattle-ranching, urban areas and
infrastructure – these uses are better addressed in the
geopolitical and territorial context of the GEO – Brazil
document
Brazil’s forest cover corresponds to 145 percent of the
world’s forest cover And, while the global average of forest
cover per person is 06 ha, with great variations according
to different countries, the Brazilian average is 32 ha of forest
per person But there is great disparity from region to region
the state of the environment in Brazil
Region
Forest Total Area
%over total
Potentially
%over total
10 6 ha
ProductiveArea10
6
Ha
Forest
NORTH
358
310
86.59
Dense Forest
284
79.33
246
86.62
Open Forest and Others
74
20.67
64
86.49
NORTHEAST
73
62
84.93
Dense Forest
11
15.07
6
54.54
Open Forest and Others
62
84.93
52
83.87
MidWest
95
72
75.79
Dense Forest
48
50.53
34
70.83
Open Forest and Others
47
49.47
38
80.85
SOUTHEAST
22
14
63.64
Dense Forest
4
18.18
1
25.00
Open Forest and Others
18
81.81
13
72.22
SOUTH
9
2
22.22
Dense Forest
4
44.44
1
25.00
Open Forest and Others
5
55.55
1
20.00
TOTAL
557
460
82.58
Dense Forest
352
63.20
288
81.81
Open Forest and Others
205
36.80
172
83.90
Brazil’s forest cover corresponds to 14,5 per cent of the world’s forest cover.
Source: FUNATURA 1995 - adapted by STCP
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