Global assessment of deforestation related to tobacco farming.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the global amount of forest and woodland consumed annually for curing tobacco between 1990 and 1995; to estimate tobacco's share in total deforestation; to rank tobacco-growing countries by the degree of impact of tobacco deforestation; and to indicate environmental criticality emerging from tobacco's impact on forest resources.


METHODS
Production of country-specific estimates of forests/woodlands needed and depleted on the basis of growing stock/increment of woody biomass involved and wood consumption of tobacco. Comparison of results with secondary statistics on forest cover, deforestation, and population development.


RESULTS
An estimated 200,000 ha of forests/woodlands are removed by tobacco farming each year. Deforestation mainly occurs in the developing world, amounting to 1.7% of global net losses of forest cover or 4.6% of total national deforestation. Environmental criticality exists or is emerging in 35 countries with an estimated serious, high, and medium degree of tobacco-related deforestation, mainly in southern Africa, middle east, south, and east Asia, South America, and the Caribbean.


CONCLUSIONS
The hypothesis that deforestation from tobacco production does not have a significant negative effect has to be challenged. For empirical validation, the globally significant pattern of estimated tobacco-related environmental damage ought to be included in international research agendas on global environmental change, to become an integral and rational part of tobacco control policy.
Geist
H J
HJ
D000383:Agriculture / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D014026:Nicotiana; D014197:Trees