Global assessment of deforestation related to tobacco farming

Objectives-To assess the global amount of forest and woodland consumed annu ally for curing tobacco between 1990 and 1995; to estimate tobacco's share in total deforestation; to rank tobacco growing countries by the degree of impact of tobacco deforestation; and to indicate environmental criticality emerging from tobacco's impact on forest resources. Design-Production of country-specific estimates of forests/woodlands needed and depleted on the basis of growing stock/increment of woody biomass invo lved and wood consumption of tobacco. Comparison of results with secondary statistics on forest cover, deforestation, and population development. Results-An estimated 200000ha of forests/woodlands are removed by tobacco f arming each year. Deforestation mainly occurs in the developing world, amou nting to 1.7% of global net losses of forest cover or 4.6% of total nationa l deforestation. Environmental criticality exists or is emerging in 35 coun tries with an estimated serious, high, and medium degree of tobacco-related deforestation, mainly in southern Africa, middle east, south, and east Asi a, South America, and the Caribbean. Conclusion-The hypothesis that deforestation from tobacco production does n ot have a significant negative effect has to be challenged. For empirical v alidation, the globally significant pattern of estimated tobacco-related en vironmental damage ought to be included in international research agendas o n global environmental change, to become an integral and rational part of t obacco control policy.