Preface

Forests are crucial to the well-being of humanity. They provide foundations for life on Earth through ecological functions, by regulating the climate and water resources, and by serving as habitats for plants and animals. Forests also provide a wide range of essential resources such as wood, food and medicines; in addition to providing opportunities for recreation, spiritual renewal and other activities. Nowadays, forests are under pressure from expanding human populations, which frequently leads to the conversion of forests into unsustainable forms of land use. When forests are lost or severely damaged, their capacity to function as regulators of the environment is also lost, increasing flood and erosion hazards, reducing soil fertility, and contributing to the loss of plant and animal life. The importance of forests in influencing global climate due to their role in the carbon cycle is increasingly recognized. Deforestation has dramatically affected the human populations living in or dependent on the forests. Despite global consequences, deforestation presents at local and regional levels.

We are delighted to write the preface for the second book published by IntechOpen entitled *Deforestation around the World*. The first book *National Park: Management and Conservation* edited by M. N. Suratman was well received and has been through several printings. Now two years later, we have carefully edited a book that contains eight chapters that reflect negative impacts of deforestation on the planet's atmosphere. Each chapter contains evidence-based background information and identifies regions at risk for catastrophic deforestation. Chapter 1 sets the scene of the book by elaborating on the crucial roles of forest, and the current extent of forest degradation around the world. Specifically, this chapter provides an overview of the complexity of Malaysia's tropical rainforests in terms of their current extent and formation and the threats to biodiversity. The chapter concludes that sustainable forest management can be achieved by strengthening governments' efforts at all levels for the full implementation of the National Forestry Policy, especially through increased allocations of human and technical resources and financial aid. The second chapter discusses the continuous threats to major vertebrate animals in Bangladesh due to deforestation and degradation of habitat caused by various anthropogenic activities. The third chapter presents the SMByC, a system that integrates tools for the pre-processing and semi-automated processing of satellite imagery to detect and quantify the loss of forest cover by deforestation in Colombia. Chapter 4 highlights the main reasons for the reduction in forest cover in India, which include shifting cultivation, rotational felling, other biotic pressures and diversion of forest lands for developmental activities. Forest decline under progress in the urban forest in Seoul, Korea is discussed in Chapter 5. After the prologue, the seventh chapter addresses the loss of above-ground biomass across savanna and semi-arid woodland in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast of Brazil, which encompasses landscape variations ranging from savanna and Atlantic forest to semiarid woodlands. Lastly, the eighth chapter discusses deforestation issues around the rural areas of Mali, which mainly occur due to the demand for firewood as a result of population growth.

**II**

**Chapter 7 101**

**Chapter 8 119**

Estimating Aboveground Biomass Loss from Deforestation in the Savanna

*by Eduarda Martiniano de Oliveira Silveira, Marcela Castro Nunes Santos Terra,* 

Economic Impacts of the Anthropic Effects of the Deforestation on the

and Semi-arid Biomes of Brazil between 2007 and 2017

*Fausto Weimar Acerbi-Júnior and José Roberto Soares Scolforo*

Rural Populations of Mali *by Amadou K. dit Amobo Waïgalo* It is our hope and expectation that this book will provide a resource for all readers and stakeholders on the need for effective management of the world's forest for sustainable development.
