Colombia has 61.3 million ha of forests, accounting for 54% of the country's total land area. Enduring deforestation rates are attributed to the extension of Colombia’s agricultural and livestock frontier, illicit crops, population displacement, infrastructure development, mining and wildfires.
Forest cover represents about half of CAR’s total land area. The country’s increasing rate of deforestation and forest degradation has been attributed to several main drivers, including unsustainable livestock farming, slash-and-burn agriculture, informal and uncontrolled logging and collection of fuelwood and non-timber forest products, and infrastructure development.
Cambodia has one of the highest levels of forest cover in Southeast Asia, with approximately 10.7 million ha representing 59% of the country’s total land area. With an enduring deforestation rate of 0.8% per year, Cambodia is classified as a "high forest cover, high deforestation" country. Direct drivers of deforestation include unsustainable and illegal logging, forest fires and unsustainable fuelwood collection.
Cameroon’s rainforests cover approximately 46% of the national territory and account for 11% of the Congo Basin forest area. Cameroon is grappling with the adverse effects of climate change and with increasing pressure on forests. Direct drivers of deforestation in Cameroon include slash-and-burn agriculture, bush fires, infrastructure development, mining, and illegal fuelwood exploitation.
Deforestation rates have increased progressively in Bolivia’s protected areas since the mid-1970s. The country’s main drivers of deforestation are the expansion of large-scale soy bean and other industrial crops, slash-and-burn practices, forest fires, infrastructure development and mining. One of Bolivia’s main underlying drivers of deforestation is the low price of land that has attracted foreign investments directly into the agricultural sector.
About 35% of Guatemala’s total surface area is covered in forests, down considerably from 50% in 1950. Over this time, forests have been cleared primarily for agricultural use, livestock production, and urban settlements. Forest fires, pests and diseases, and illegal wood extraction are also some of Guatemala’s direct drivers of deforestation.
Chile has an extensive and complex native forest resource that covers 14 million hectares or 23% of the country’s surface area. Direct drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Chile include fuelwood production, the expansion of livestock and agricultural activities, urban expansion, and forest fires.
Costa Rica’s tropical rainforests, which are rich in biodiversity, cover close to 30% of the country’s total surface area. Although conservation continues to be among the country’s top priorities, decreasing forest areas and strong pressures on land use pose a threat to the country’s forests and biodiversity.
Forests in Honduras cover approximately 5.8 million ha, which accounts for just over half of the country’s total land area. Deforestation rates have been difficult to evaluate since there has been no continuous and reliable forest monitoring in the country to date. Well-known drivers of deforestation in Honduras include the expansion of agricultural and livestock activities, as well as forest fires and shifting cultivation.
Although deforestation rates have decreased in recent years, deforestation and forest degradation remain the main causes of natural capital loss in Mexico. The driving forces behind forest loss vary from region to region, ranging from extensive livestock farming to the expansion of traditional agricultural practices and cash crops.