{"id":250591,"date":"2023-03-17T12:13:46","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T11:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unric.org\/en\/?p=250591"},"modified":"2023-03-21T15:13:08","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T14:13:08","slug":"world-losing-forests-the-size-of-iceland-every-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unric.org\/en\/world-losing-forests-the-size-of-iceland-every-year\/","title":{"rendered":"World losing forests the size of Iceland – every year"},"content":{"rendered":"
The world is losing 10 million hectares of forest each year due to deforestation – about the size of Iceland, Europe\u00b4s second biggest island. In addition, insects damage around 35 million hectares of forest annually. This is extremely serious, not least given the fact that forests are key to combating climate change. 21 March is the International Day of Forests. \u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Iceland, as a matter of fact, is an example of an early man-made ecological disasters. When people mostly of Nordic origin settled the uninhabited island in the late 9th century it was according to legend was generally forested.<\/p>\n \u201eAt the time of human settlement birch forest and woodland covered 25-40% of Iceland’s land area,\u201c say Edda Sigurd\u00eds Oddsd\u00f3ttir and Arn\u00f3r Snorrason, respectively heads of\u00a0research and climate at the Icelandic Forest Service.<\/p>\n