20 October 2010: The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has released a set of Environmental Indicators for Latin America and the Caribbean 2009 that highlight improvements in protected area coverage, contrasting with loss of forest cover.

The Indicators compare data from 1990 with the most recent data, revealing that protected area coverage increased 10% since 1990, reaching 19.5% of the region’s territory in 2009. Another indicator that signals a changing trend over the past two decades is in the lower consumption of ozone-depleting substances: from 74.500 tons of ODP (measurement of ozone depletion potential) in 1989 to 6.700 tons in 2008.

In contrast, the loss of forest surface and coverage in the region worsened from 1990 to 2007, with forest coverage dropping from 48.8% to 44.9% respectively, with total loss reaching 78 million hectares. The indicators also show a sustained increase in the intensity of the use of fertilizers and agrochemicals, and include the latest data on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the region. [The Indicators] [Statistical Yearbook 2010]