UN reports rate of deforestation falls

The United Nations is reporting a fall in the rate of deforestation around the world in the past decade.



In a report, the UN said this is due in part to large-scale tree planting programmes.



According to the agency, around 13 million hectares of forests were lost between 2000 and 2010, down from 16 million hectares in the 1990s.



Some of the improvement was due to the planting of new forests, particularly in China, India and Vietnam.



Two of the worst offenders, Brazil and Indonesia also significantly reduced their forest-clearing.