Firefighters from the Ministry of Forestry spray water on a burnt peatland forest area at Rimbo Panjang Village in Kampar, in Indonesia's Riau province.
Image by: YT HARYONO / REUTERS

A growing global population and increased demand for food and land are driving deforestation, although the FAO said the rate of global forest area change has slowed by more than 50 percent since 1990.

"The biggest forest area loss occurred in the tropics, particularly in South America and Africa, although the rate of loss in those areas has decreased substantially in the past five years," FAO said.

It said the rate of loss had declined due to reduced forest conversion rates in some countries and increased forest area expansion in others.

"Countries have more knowledge of their forest resources than ever before and as a result we have a better picture of global forest change," the FAO said.

The world has just under 4 billion hectares (40 million kilometres) of forests in 2015 from 4.1 billion (41 million kilometres) in 1990, FAO said.

Forests give protection against climate change, as trees absorb carbon dioxide. Deforestation has been blamed for worsening soil erosion, landslides and floods.

An estimated 1.2 billion people rely on forests for their livelihood, including about 60 million indigenous people who are almost entirely dependent on them, the International Union of Forest Research Organizations said in May.

"Important challenges remain. The existence of sound policies, legislation and regulation is not always coupled with effective incentives or enforcement," the FAO said.