The global community has recognized the importance of forests for biodiversity, and has prioritized the
preservation of forest biodiversity and ecosystem functions through multiple multilateral agreements
and processes such as the Convention on Biodiversity’s Aichi Targets and the Millennium Development
Goals. The Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) provides one mechanism for tracking progress
toward such goals in three particular areas: primary forest area, protected forest areas, and areas designated
for the conservation of biodiversity. In this paper, we quantify current area and trends in forest
areas designated for the conservation of biodiversity, protected forest areas, and primary forests by country
and biome; and examine the association between total forest area and measures of protection,
per-capita income, and population. The overall findings suggest that countries are increasingly protecting
forests of ecological significance at the global scale (7.7% of forests were protected in 1990 rising to 16.3%
in 2015), with a strong upward trend in protected areas in the tropical domain (from 12% in 1990 to 26.3%
in 2015). However, primary forest area has declined by 2.5% globally and by 10% in the tropics over the
period 1990–2015 (using data for countries that reported in all years). Given that many species in the
tropics are endemic to primary forests, losses in that climatic domain continue to be of concern, although
the rate of decline appears to be slowing.
Using multiple regression analysis, we find that a 1% increase in protected area or area designated for
biodiversity conservation within a country is associated with an increase in total forest area in that country
of about 0.03% (p < 0.05). A 1% within-country increase in population density and per capita GDP are
associated with a decrease in forest area of about 0.2% (p < 0.01) and an increase in forest area of about
0.08% (p < 0.05) respectively. Our findings also indicate that, since FRA is used as one mechanism for
tracking progress toward goals like the AICHI Biodiversity Targets, country correspondents may require
additional assistance toward reporting on primary forest, protected forest, and biodiversity conservation
statistics.