Limited land availability is also of particular concern to small island states world-wide. Land degradation through erosion and significant desertification of drylands in the past is an ongoing problem in Latin America. Despite the remaining high number of natural ecosystems in Latin America, unrestrained expansion of the agricultural frontier there could have serious impacts on wilderness areas. In Europe, problems of land degradation relate mainly to irreversible erosion, acidification, and pollution of soils and the subsequent economic impacts. Generally speaking, soil degradation is no longer a priority concern in North America, given the widespread adoption of conservation-based farming practices.
More attention is placed on problems relating to land pollution, and water contamination.
Improving poor agricultural practices, where evident, is vigorously targetted in order to reduce erosion and productivity losses. The decline of natural forest in developing regions has been considerable between 1980 and 1990. Total losses in the tropics have been greatest in Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by those in Africa and in Asia and the Pacific. Industrialization, population growth and related agricultural expansion, and forest product trade are the main driving forces in reducing forest cover in these regions. Rates of deforestation are of particular concern in Asia and the Pacific, and in the highland states of West Asia.