Forest Definitions:

An International perspective
Adam Gerrand
Forest Officer,
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
MoEF Deforestation workshop
Jakarta 29/1/2018
 Why forest definitions and
deforestation are important
1. How forests are defined depends on your perspectives and
purpose e.g. wood production, biodiversity, livelihoods,
climate/carbon etc.

2. E.g. From a Climate Change perspective:

a. world needs to reduce GHG emissions to achieve target
b. Deforestation (mostly tropical) =11% global GHG emissions
c. Many/most forested developing countries have deforestation as one of
their major contributions to GHG emissions
d. Forests for CC defined based on their carbon content and CHANGE
e. Around 60% of Indonesia’s GHG emissions come from forest
conversion, more in bad fire years (=many other developing countries)
f. Forest emissions (-ve) most important, but can store Carbon (+ve)
 Why forest definitions and
deforestation are important
1. Many other benefits / purposes to manage forests
2. Countries need to monitor and report for national uses and
international reporting e.g. to FAO FRA, CBD, UNFCCC
REDD+
3. Often CHANGE in forest area/type is more important than
total area (e.g. lose biodiversity from natural forest to
plantation)
4. Deforestation CAN be measured by satellites – needs
national experts to classify and understand the data and most
importantly interpret the results for policy-makers
 What makes a good forest definition?
1. Relevant to the users – fit for purpose(s)
a. Up to countries to decide: national responsibility
2. Three main “types” of forest definitions:
i) Admin/legal; ii) land-cover; iii) Land-use (FRA, UNFCCC)
3. Key variables:
a. Tree cover threshold (e.g. 10% or 20% etc.)
b. Tree height (current or potential in future?)
c. Patch size (e.g. 1ha or 5 hectares)
d. Many other variables (e.g. strip width, species in/out like
bamboo, rubber etc. – PALM OIL is NOT forest)

4. Practical to measure with national data/skills

5. Consistent through time (esp. deforestation)
The answer depends on the method
1. Measurement results (e.g. forest area),
depends on definition & methods
a. e.g. fragmented forest, small patches not counted
b. if definition has a high threshold e.g. 6ha; OR
c. The measurement method can’t detect small things
i. e.g. MODIS satellite has 250m pixels (1 pixel = 6.25ha)
ii. Landsat has 30m resolution (9 pixels per ha or 1/10 ha)
iii. Sentinel is 10m (so has 100 pixels in 1ha or 1/100 ha)

2. Official Indonesian forest area is 90mill. ha

(using 6ha? patch size from visual classes)
3. Using high resolution data shows more trees and
result goes up to 120m ha of forest
(but deforestation will also be higher)
 Results depend on the methods
1. Many (most?) forest area estimates do not
have clear method or accuracy assessments
2. Most forest definitions were developed
before satellite data was widely used or as
detailed as today (future will be even more)
3. Satellite data now most common method
because: fast, relatively easy, repeatable
and accuracy can be assessed, BUT
a. Many national definitions not defined using RS data
b. Some definitions are hard to derive from RS data
(esp. land-use definitions need skilled staff and HR)
 FAO FRA Forest definition
FAO definition of forest is a Land-USE definition:
• The presence of tree cover > threshold levels
• Or the potential to reach those thresholds
•EXCLUDES land that is predominantly under
agriculture or urban use
Minimum criteria for forest : 5m
>5 m height
>10 % tree cover (density)
10 %
>0.5 ha area
>20 m wide if in strips
 Countries choose their own forest
definition, then transform to FAO
1. Countries choose their own forest definition
2. Produce their maps and statistics suited to their
national circumstances
3. Often data, access, funding or capacity limitations
in countries
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4. Countries transform results to FRA definitions

a. Aiming for a globally consistent dataset
b. Not always easy or direct translation from national data
- e.g. may convert land cover into land-use classes
c. FRA has many sub-classes and data tables – often
more comprehensive than countries can fill-out
d. FAO has guidelines and holds global and regional
meetings to discuss and ensure consistent use
 FAO FRA Forest definitions online
http://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/
FAO listens to and works
with national experts....
 Conclusions / key points
1. Forest definitions are important for good forest
management and reporting
a. There is no perfect forest definition – depends on your
perspectives and purposes; e.g. climate change / CBD
2. Often CHANGE in a variable is more important
than the actual value (deforestation)
a. So its good to be consistent through time – best not to
change definitions frequently or without good reasons
3. The answers / results depends on methods
4. FAO definition is a land-use definition
a. Countries choose their own forest definition,
then transform to FAO