Definition:

Forest area as a proportion of total land area

Concepts:

To provide a precise definition of the indicator, it is crucial to provide a definition of its two components:

“Forest” and “Land Area”.

According to the FAO, Forest is defined as: “land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use”. More specifically:

Forest is determined both by the presence of trees and the absence of other predominant land uses. The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 meters.
It includes areas with young trees that have not yet reached but which are expected to reach a canopy cover of at least 10 percent and tree height of 5 meters or more. It also includes areas that are temporarily unstocked due to clear-cutting as part of a forest management practice or natural disasters, and which are expected to be regenerated within 5 years. Local conditions may, in exceptional cases, justify that a longer time frame is used.
It includes forest roads, firebreaks and other small open areas; forest in national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas such as those of specific environmental, scientific, historical, cultural or spiritual interest.
It includes windbreaks, shelterbelts and corridors of trees with an area of more than 0.5 hectares and width of more than 20 meters.
It includes abandoned shifting cultivation land with a regeneration of trees that have, or are expected to reach, a canopy cover of at least 10 percent and tree height of at least 5 meters.
It includes areas with mangroves in tidal zones, regardless of whether this area is classified as land area or not.
It includes rubberwood, cork oak and Christmas tree plantations.
It includes areas with bamboo and palms provided that land use, height and canopy cover criteria are met.
It excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems, such as fruit tree plantations, oil palm plantations, olive orchards and agroforestry systems when crops are grown under tree cover. Note: Some agroforestry systems such as the “Taungya” system where crops are grown only during the first years of the forest rotation should be classified as forest.

Land area is the country area excluding area under inland waters and coastal waters.

Country area: Area under national sovereignty. It is the sum of land area, inland waters and coastal waters. It excludes the exclusive economic zone.
Inland waters: Areas corresponding to natural or artificial water courses, serving to drain natural or artificial bodies of water, including lakes, reservoirs, rivers, brooks, streams, ponds, inland canals, dams, and other land-locked waters. The banks constitute limits whether the water is present or not.
Coastal waters: Waters located in-between the land territory and the outer limit of the territorial sea. They comprise ''Internal waters'' and ''Territorial sea," and where applicable, ''Archipelagic waters."

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