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WORLD GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
Among less-developed countries, China
and South Korea stand out for having substantially increased their forested
areas in recent times. Throughout most of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the
forest area is shrinking, and usually not according to any rational plan. Areas
that were densely settled long ago, such as the Middle East, parts of North
Africa, the Andean region of South America, and most of China and South Asia,
lost the bulk of their forests in ages past, though the depletion
of tree cover generally continues. But many developing countries in other areas
are now experiencing unprecedented forest destruction.
Many of the most
severe human impacts of the decline in tree cover are unfolding in drier,
lightly wooded areas of the Third World where vegetation reduction helps create
desert-like conditions and acute fuel-wood shortages. But what most people think
of as deforestation, the conversion of closed forests to other uses or to
scrubland, today occurs mainly in the humid tropics.
As forests are razed in the absence
of sound land-use plans, priceless biological resources [F1] [F2] [E1] [E2] are eliminated, crucial ecological
services disrupted, and future economic potentials lost. Probably the statement
that all the world's rain forests will be gone by century's end is clearly
exaggerated, but a continuation of recent trends will be costly.
Regions that are going to chance into
arid lands are located near the five principles deserts [E1] [E2] [E3] [E4] [ES1] [I1] of the world:
 Sonora desert [E1] [E2] [E3] form north-west Mexico to south-west
of USA;
Atacama desert, in south America;
Sahara desert [E2] [E3] [F1], Arabic desert [E1], Iran and ex-USSR desert [E1], Rajasthan Indian desert, Takla-makan
and Gobi [E1], in China and Mongolia;
Kalahari
desert [E2] [E3] in south Africa;
 Many Australian regions [E1] [E2].
There are also other countries strictly
controlled:
in Africa [F1] [E1] [E2] 66% of every lands is arid or semi arid; in north
America 33%.
In the United States [E1] [E2] [E3] 40% of continental lands is considered
desertification vulnerable
In Texas 40% of the livestock lands is too much arid
for use
Also in Europe the problem is evident:
65% of agricultural lands, semi-arid, and arid has yet been attached by
desertification.
Risk regions are present in
Mediterranean countries. In fact UNCCD includes a part dedicated to north
Mediterranean regions.
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