3.1 Land use and deforestation
About the data
Definitions
Data sources
About the data
The data in the table show that land use patterns are changing. They also indicate
major differences in resource endowments and uses among countries. True comparability is
limited, however, by variations in definitions, statistical methods, and the quality of
data collection. For example, countries use different definitions of land use. The Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the primary compiler of these data, occasionally
adjusts its definitions of land use categories and sometimes revises earlier data. Because
the data reflect changes in data reporting procedures as well as actual changes in land
use, apparent trends should be interpreted with caution.
Satellite images show land use different from that given by ground-based measures in
terms of both area under cultivation and type of land use. Furthermore, land use data in
countries such as India are based on reporting systems that were geared to the collection
of land revenue. Because taxes on land are no longer a major source of government revenue,
the quality and coverage of land use data (except for cropland) have declined. Data on
forest area may be particularly unreliable because of different definitions and irregular
surveys.
Estimates of forest area are from the FAOs State of the Worlds Forests
1997, which provides information on forest cover as of 1995 and a revised estimate of
forest cover in 1990. Forest cover data for developing countries are based on country
assessments that were prepared at different times and that, for reporting purposes, had to
be adapted to the standard reference years of 1990 and 1995. This adjustment was made with
a deforestation model that was designed to correlate forest cover change over time with
ancillary variables, including population change and density, initial forest cover, and
ecological zone of the forest area under consideration. Although the same model was used
to estimate forest cover for the 1990 forest assessment, the inputs to State of the
Worlds Forests 1997 had more recent and accurate information on boundaries of
ecological zones and, in some countries, new national forest cover assessments.
Specifically, for the calculation of the forest cover area for 1995 and recalculation of
the 1990 estimates, new forest inventory information was used for Bolivia, Brazil,
Cambodia, Côte dIvoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines,
and Sierra Leone. The new information on global totals raised estimates of forest cover.
For industrial countries, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the FAO
use a detailed questionnaire to survey the forest cover in each country.
Definitions
Land area is a countrys total area, excluding area under
inland water bodies. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major
rivers and lakes. Rural population density is the rural population
divided by the arable land area. Rural population is the difference between total and
urban population (see definitions in tables 2.1 and 3.10). Land use is
broken into three categories. Cropland includes land under temporary and permanent crops,
temporary meadows, market and kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Permanent
crops are those that do not need to be replanted after each harvest, excluding trees grown
for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage
crops, either cultivated or growing wild. Other land includes forest and woodland as well
as logged-over areas to be forested in the near future. Also included are uncultivated
land, grassland not used for pasture, wetlands, wastelands, and built-up
areasresidential, recreational, and industrial lands and areas covered by roads and
other fabricated infrastructure. Forest area is land under natural or
planted stands of trees, whether productive or not (see About the data).
Annual deforestation refers to the permanent conversion of natural
forest area to other uses, including shifting cultivation, permanent agriculture,
ranching, settlements, and infrastructure development. Deforested areas do not include
areas logged but intended for regeneration or areas degraded by fuelwood gathering, acid
precipitation, or forest fires. Negative numbers indicate an increase in forest area.
Data sources
Data on land area and land use are from the FAOs
electronic files and are published in its Production Yearbook. The FAO gathers
these data from national agencies through annual questionnaires and by analyzing the
results of national agricultural censuses. Forestry data are from the FAOs State
of the Worlds Forests 1997.
THE WORLD BANK METHODOLOGY:
----- On External Debt
Definitions
Debt
indicators
----- On WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
Size of the economy
Quality of life
Development progress
Trends in long-term development
Long-term structural change
Key indicators for other economies
Population
Land use and deforestation
Growth of output
Credit, investment and expenditures
Integration with the global economy
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