In which forest zone of the world highest deforestation has been recorded ?

Correct — option (2), Tropical.

FAO's FRA 2020 Remote Sensing Survey (FAO Forestry Paper No. 186, 2022) answers this directly. It says 'Tropical forests registered the highest rate of deforestation from 2000 to 2018': 157 million hectares, more than 90 percent of global deforestation.

Most of that loss was in tropical rainforests, 69 million hectares or 40 percent of all forest lost in 2000–2018. The report names the tropical rainforests of South America and of South and Southeast Asia as the ecoregions with the highest deforestation rate.

FAO's press release of 6 November 2021, on the survey's first findings, says the same: the tropical rainforests of South America and Asia 'continue to record the highest deforestation rates'.

Farming drives the loss. The survey attributes almost 50 percent of 2000–2018 deforestation to cropland expansion and 38.5 percent to livestock grazing, almost 90 percent together.

So the forest zone with the highest recorded deforestation is option (2), Tropical.

The idea to remember: most deforestation is in the tropics, the highest rates are in tropical rainforests, and cropland and grazing drive it.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Coniferous — Coniferous forest is the mark of the boreal forest or taiga, which Wikipedia describes as the broad circumpolar coniferous forest zone, far from the tropics.

  FAO's Remote Sensing Survey puts more than 90 percent of 2000–2018 deforestation in tropical forests. A coniferous zone does not fit that finding.

• (3)
  Savana Deciduous — Option (3) names a narrower forest type than the zone. FAO's survey ranks Global Ecological Zones by 2000–2018 deforestation: tropical rainforest first (40 percent), then tropical moist forest (27 percent) and tropical dry forest (19 percent).

  All three sit inside the tropical zone, which is why option (2), not a single formation, answers the stem.

• (4)
  Tidal — Tidal forests are mangroves, which Wikipedia describes as trees and shrubs growing mainly in coastal saline or brackish water, along coastlines and tidal rivers.

  FAO's finding on where most deforestation happens points to the tropical biomes as a whole, with rainforests recording the highest rates.

FAO defines deforestation as the conversion of forest to other land uses, whether or not it is human-induced. It is not the same as net forest loss, which also counts gains from afforestation and natural expansion.

The gap is large. FAO's 2020 assessment estimates 420 million hectares lost to deforestation since 1990, but a net loss of 178 million hectares, because forest also expanded elsewhere.

The tropics also hold the most forest. FAO says the tropical domain has the largest share of the world's forests, 45 percent, followed by the boreal, temperate and subtropical domains.

Key facts

• FAO Remote Sensing Survey: in 2000–2018 the vast majority of deforestation took place in the tropical biomes.
• FAO Remote Sensing Survey (2022): the tropical rainforests of South America and of South and Southeast Asia had the highest deforestation rate of any ecoregion in 2000–2018.
• FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020: about 420 million hectares of forest lost to deforestation since 1990.
• FAO FRA 2020: deforestation was 10 million hectares a year in 2015–2020, down from 12 million in 2010–2015.
• FAO: cropland expansion (almost 50 percent) and livestock grazing (38.5 percent) drove most deforestation in 2000–2018.

Common traps

• Confusing deforestation with net forest loss: FAO counts 420 million hectares deforested since 1990 but a net loss of 178 million, because forest also expanded.
• Reading 'slowing' as 'stopped': FAO reports a slowdown, yet the tropical rainforests of South America and Asia 'continue to record the highest deforestation rates'.
• Choosing a narrower forest type over the zone: FAO's finding covers tropical biomes broadly, with rainforests highest.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  According to FAO's Remote Sensing Survey, which was the largest driver of global deforestation in 2000–2018?

  • (a)Cropland expansion
  • (b)Livestock grazing
  • (c)Urban and infrastructure development
  • (d)Other drivers
  Answer(1) — FAO's survey attributes almost 50 percent of deforestation in 2000–2018 to cropland expansion, including oil palm. Option (2) accounts for 38.5 percent and option (3) for 6.2 percent; FAO's chart puts other drivers at 4 percent.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 estimated the annual rate of deforestation in 2015–2020 at

  • (a)4.7 million hectares
  • (b)10 million hectares
  • (c)12 million hectares
  • (d)20 million hectares
  Answer(2) — FAO gives 10 million hectares a year for 2015–2020. Option (3) is its figure for 2010–2015; option (1) is its rate of net forest loss in 2010–2020, not of deforestation; option (4) is none of FAO's figures here.