Home
About Allianz Knowledge
Sustainable Allianz
Partners
News
Who's Who
eCards
Studies
Take Action
Calendar
Contact
Newsletter
Search
Advanced Search

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

Amazon Rainforest (1/10)
Size: 5,5 million sq km / 2,1 million sq mi

The territory of the Amazon Rainforest stretches across nine countries, representing over half of the world’s remaining rainforests. About 70 per cent of the total forest area is in Brazil and Peru. Heavy logging in the past decades reduced the original forest area of about 7 million sq km to 5,5 million sq km.

The Amazon Rainforest hosts a wealth of biodiversity and valuable freshwater resources. It does not only play a crucial role for global biodiversity conservation, but also provides essential ecological services as a carbon sink. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Image 1 of 10

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

Canada (2/10)
Size: 4,2 million sq km / 1,6 million sq mi

Forests in Canada occupy 4,2 million sq km and cover almost half of the country’s territory. A great variety of forest types stretch from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast and up to the Arctic tree line in the north. The northern boreal forests, the largest contiguous intact forests left on Earth, cover more than one third of the Canada’s land mass.

Commercial logging, mining, and hydroelectric generation pose big threats to Canada’s forests. About 4,000 sq km are logged every year. Canada is also the world’s most important exporter of paper products, responsible for more than a quarter of the world’s paper exports. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 2 of 10

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

East-Siberian Taiga (3/10)
Size: 3,9 million sq km / 1,5 million sq mi

The coniferous forests in East-Siberia, called “Taiga” in Russian, stretch across 3,9 million sq km between Tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in the South. Flora and Fauna have to withstand enormous temperature variations between 100° F (40° C) in the summer and -80° F ( -62° C) in the winter.

With more than 8 million sq km (3,1 mio. sq mi) covered by forests, an area that is almost twice as big as the European Union, Russia has more forest area than any other country and over one fifth of the world’s forest reserves. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Image 3 of 10

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

USA (4/10)
Size: 3 million sq km / 1,2 million sq mi

3 million sq km of forest cover the United States. The large tracts of forest in the U.S. provide habitat for far-ranging species like elk, buffalo, and wolves. Among the U.S.’s most important forests are the Sierra Nevada conifer forests. They are home to a great variety of conifers including the Giant Sequoia, the world's largest tree.

Currently, forest cover in the U.S. is stable. However, within the last two centuries, about 20 per cent of North American forests have been cleared and as human populations grow, forest fragmentation and degradation continues. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Image 4 of 10

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

Scandinavian and Russian Taiga (5/10)
Size: 2,16 million sq km / 834,000 sq mi

The Scandinavian and Russian Taiga, the largest ecoregion in Europe, occupies about 2,1 million sq km in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and parts of Western Russia and covers almost one third of Europe.

It is of global ecological significance because it locks billions of tons of carbon dioxide and provides excellent nesting habitat for many birds. Fossil fuel exploration, logging, mining, and increasing tourism are heavily threatening this ecoregion. Finland and Scandinavia also tail Canada as the world’s most important exporters of paper-products. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Image 5 of 10

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

Congo Basin Forest (6/10)
Size: 1,8 million sq km / 700,000 sq mi

The Congo Basin Forest is the second largest tropical forest worldwide and represents a quarter of the world’s remaining tropical forests, covering more than 1,8 million sq km in six countries. It is home to more than 10,000 plant species, 1,000 species of birds, and hundreds of mammals, including three of the world’s four species of great apes: The Gorilla, Bonobo, and Chimpanzee.

The Congo basin forest plays a crucial role not only for global biodiversity, but also for the 24 million people living in the area, many of whom depend on the forest for their livelihood. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 6 of 10

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

Mexico (7/10)
Size: 604,000 sq km / 233,000 sq mi

Forests cover one-fourth of Mexico’s total land area, stretching over 604,000 sq km across the country. Mexico harbors the most diverse temperate and tropical forests and the highest number of pine and oak trees in the world.

As one of the twelve megadiverse countries in the world, Mexico hosts about half of all animal and plant species. Its forests support a vast array of plant and animal species, including the highest diversity of reptile species in the world. However, urbanization, increasing tourism, and exploitation of wildlife are big threats to Mexico’s forests. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Image 7 of 10

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

Borneo (8/10)
Size: approx. 370,000 sq km / 140,000 sq mi

Borneo, the third largest island in the world, is politically divided between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Roughly half of Borneo’s territory is covered by tropical forests, the only natural habitat for the endangered Bornean Orangutan.

Borneo’s forests are seriously threatened due to illegal logging, spreading oil palm cultivations, and forest fires. Since 1985, Borneo lost about 200,000 sq km of forest area. Malaysia is the largest exporter of tropical wood in the world, accounting for 70 percent of the world's supply of raw-logs. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Image 8 of 10

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

New Guinea (9/10)
Size: approx. 300,000 sq km / 116,000 sq mi

The third largest island in the world between the Coral sea and the South Pacific Ocean contains a large part of primary tropical forest in the Asia-Pacific region. This ecoregion has some of the most biodiverse lowland rainforests in the world, providing essential habitat for many different species of birds, mammals, and a variety of animals living on the water’s edge.

The island has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. Biggest threats are the expansion of human habitation and an increase in oil palm and coffee plantations. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Image 9 of 10

Ten of the Most Important Forests Worldwide

Bulgaria and Romania (10/10)
Size: approx. 45,000 sq km / 17,000 sq mi

The forests of Bulgaria and Romania, although remarkably smaller in size, are home to a significant part of Europe's large carnivore populations. The geographic proximity to Europe and the Near East, the moderate climate, and the varied geology account for the region’s uniqueness of plant and animal life.

Although the governments of both countries have made commitments to protecting their public forests, logging, overgrazing, and poaching still pose serious threats to the region. Air pollution, acid rain, and industrial development are additional threats to Bulgaria’s and Romania’s forests. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Image 10 of 10

You might also be interested in this:

GALLERY

Biodiversity Protects Against Climate Change

Biodiversity - the Earth's natural balance of plants and animals - helps mitigate the...> more

VIDEO

Carbon Capture and Storage

Learn more about a prototype power coal plant that emits virtually no CO2
> more

ANIMATION

The Lifespan of 3 Greenhouse Gases

Click on the image to see how long greenhouse gases will be around.
> more

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Fire (1/10)

Indians from the Xingu National Park in Brazil inspect smoldering remains after trees were cleared and burned to make way for farming near their reserve. Fire releases carbon dioxide and clouds of soot that can prevent normal rainfall. Poor logging practices, population growth, and urban expansion make forests more vulnerable to escaped fires. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 1 of 10

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Agricultural Expansion (2/10)

Workers harvest soybeans in Nova Mutum, Mato Grosso state in western Brazil. Brazil now supplies some 34 percent of global soya exports, many of which go into making animal feed. Large-scale agriculture is the main economic factor behind deforestatation. Additional profits can be made from timber thus driving agricultural expansion into forested rather than marginal lands. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 2 of 10

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Cattle Ranching (3/10)

Cattle graze amid the remains of a burned-out forest outside of Boa Vista, northern Brazil. Rising living standards have increased local and global demand for meat. In turn, the demand for grazing pasture and land to grow livestock feed has increased as well. Brazil has become one of the largest exporters of beef in the world. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 3 of 10

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Palm Oil Production (4/10)

A truck drives through a palm oil plantation in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan province. Over the past decade, the area planted with oil palm in Indonesia has almost tripled. Indonesia and Malaysia now supply over 80 percent of the world’s palm oil. Palm oil grown on cleared peat lands and turned into biofuels has a carbon footprint five times as big as diesel, says the Global Canopy Programme. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 4 of 10

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Shrimp Farming (5/10)

Workers load shrimps onto a truck at a shrimp farm west of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Commercial farmers are clearing and draining mangrove forests—which shelter coasts from storms and sustain many unique species—to make way for shrimp farms. Coastal mangrove forests are peculiarly vulnerable to climate change impacts like rising sea levels and drought. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 5 of 10

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Logging for Timber (6/10)

Logging, especially illegal logging, is a major cause of deforestation. In Brazil and Indonesia some 80 to 90 percent of timber extraction is deemed illegal. According to the WWF, up to 28 percent of the EU’s timber imports could be illegal. Well-regulated, selective logging, however, need not trigger deforestation. Expanding plantation forestry can also provide an alternative to illegal timber. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 6 of 10

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Mining (7/10)

A giant opencast gold mine dominates the landscape in Indonesia's rainforest Papua province. Many forested areas are rich in minerals and therefore vulnerable to deforestation. The Congo Basin, for instance, contains vast untapped reserves of gold, coltan (used in mobile phones), diamonds, uranium, manganese, and copper. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 7 of 10

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Road Building (8/10)

The construction of the Interoceanic Highway connecting Peru and Brazil cuts a swathe through the Amazon jungle. Road construction is the infrastructure development that contributes most to deforestation because roads encourage immigration and the spread of agriculture into forests, particularly in remote areas where property rights are unclear or poorly regulated. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 8 of 10

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Charcoal Production (9/10)

Charcoal bags stacked beside a traditional charcoal factory in the Ivory Coast. Charcoal production as a driver of deforestation primarily occurs in the forests of sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty drives many to cut down trees for fuel for cooking. Charcoal made from old-growth hardwood trees is the most valuable because it burns hotter and longer. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 9 of 10

Ten Causes of Deforestation

Firewood Collection (10/10)

Boys gather firewood in Guinea. One third of the world’s population uses biomass fuels, mainly firewood, to cook and to heat their homes. Together with population growth, this can have a devastating effect on forests in poor countries. Wood meets 80 percent of all the Democratic Republic of Congo’s energy needs and has been the main cause of deforestation in the area. (Photo: Reuters)

Image 10 of 10

Ten Key Facts about the World’s Forests

Learn ten of the key facts and figures about the world’s forests, their importance to the environment, and how they are being destroyed by human activity.

Return to article

Write a Comment

Do you have something interesting to add? Write a comment and discuss this topic with other readers. Comments should be on-topic, non-commercial, and not contain abuse of any kind.

Comment Policy