Deforestation is still largely the result of the conversion of forest to other uses such as agriculture, pasture and infrastructure. The information base 11. At the national level, forest trend estimates for developing countries were based on national reports from recent and older forest inventories. Developing trend information from such reports constituted a major challenge for FRA 2000, as only a handful of countries carry out continuous national forest inventories with comparable time series. For analyses of the vast majority of countries, therefore, the nationally provided information had to be supplemented with other sources of information.
Most countries have more than one inventory.
Satellite images in statistically controlled time series were used to provide additional information on the status and change in forest cover in the tropics for FRA 2000. This information was relevant at the regional, ecological and pan-tropical levels, but not at national levels. Box 2 provides a description of the methodology used. The proposed final FRA 2000 change statistics were then sent to each country for their comments and approval. Regional change assessment with remote sensing FRA 2000 carried out a remote sensing survey to complement the one based on country information.