UNEP - Global Cloud Forest Extent 20% Smaller Than Previously Thought`

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"Pressures are mounting on one of the Earth's rarest and most distinctive types of forest, scientists have found. The alert comes from the UK-based World Conservation Monitoring Centre, now a part of the UN Environment Programme.

It says the threats to the world's cloud forests, which shelter thousands of rare species and provide water for millions of people, are increasing. The centre says the extent of the cloud forests is about one-fifth smaller than scientists had previously believed.

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Mark Collins of Unep-WCMC said of the report: "A key finding is that cloud forests are rarer than thought, with the true area 20% less than the previous estimate of half a million square kilometres." The researchers found about 60% of cloud forests are in Asia, not in Latin America as had been thought. About 25% of the share is there, with the remaining 15% in Africa.

The report says: "The ability of cloud forests to strip and retain moisture from cloud and fogs is key to abundant, clean and predictable water supplies in many areas, especially during dry seasons."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3465695.stm