Key figures on forest areas in South America 2020

In 2020, South America had the highest proportion of protected forest areas in the world. In this region, it was estimated that around 31 percent of forest areas were located within legally established protected areas. Plantation forests – defined as forests that are intensively managed, composed of one or two species, even-aged, planted with regular spacing, and established mainly for productive purposes – comprised 99 percent of total planted forests in South America. In turn, only 17 percent of South American forests had a long-term management plan, the lowest share compared to other regions in the world.