Name: Vivek Mallya

Committee: High School ECOSOC-UN Forum on Forests

Country: Chile

Topic Background

Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests due to human activity. Over the decades, the area under forest cover around the globe has decreased steadily, as forests have been cleared for human settlement, conversion of forest areas into arable land, lumbering and forest fires. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), approximately 18 million acres of forest, which is about the size of the country of Panama, is lost every year, And according to National Geographic, if deforestation continues at this rate, the tropical rainforests will disappear within 100 years.

In the last few decades, countries around the world have introduced legislation for improved forest management to monitor the usage of forest resources in a sustainable manner.  With forest areas being protected under such legislation, FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, has noted that there is “encou...