Table 2. Average annual deforestation rates and forest loss in Burma

Average Annual Deforestation Rates and Forest Loss in Burma
Year Deforestation Rate (percent) Forest Loss (square kilometers) Data Source Data Parameters
1973-1995 0.69 3,234 Pathfinder Pathfinder figures are based on automatic classification, combined with visual verification, of Landsat MSS data captured from 1972-1979 and 1985-1986. Based on validation exercises in northern Thailand in environments similar to Burma, forest (including seasonal forest) is defined as land with a tree canopy cover of at least 40 percent.
1975-1989 0.71 2,139 Forest Department The department carried out two assessments considered to be consistent and comparable (Tint and Hla, 1991). The 1980 assessment was based on the visual interpretation of 1:1 million Landsat MSS prints taken from 1972-1979. The 1990 assessment was based on the visual interpretation of 1:500,000 Landsat TM prints taken in 1989. The department uses the same definition of forest as Pathfinder.
1986-1993 1.84 5,706 UNEP UNEP's figures are based on the automatic classification of coarse resolution AVHRR LAC (1-km pixel) data acquired from 1985-1986 and 1992-1993. Forest is defined as evergreen, deciduous, or mangrove forest.
1990-1995 1.38 3,874 FAO FAO's figures come from its State of the World's Forests 1997. Forest cover figures are based on high-resolution satellite data acquired on a 10-percent sample basis; national forest cover assessments; and a deforestation model that correlates forest cover over time with population density and growth, initial forest extent, and ecological zone. FAO revised the 1990 figures that appeared in its 1990 Forest Resources Assessment based on updated world population figures and new national forest inventories available in 1996. Forest is defined as land with a tree canopy cover of at least 10 percent and includes both natural forest and plantations.